The disappointment continues for Seahawks fans who hold out hope every year that John Schneider will pay for a quality offensive lineman or two.

While Schneider did well to quickly sign Sam Darnold on Monday, he has yet to find a starting left guard — and the best options are dwindling.

In a small twist of irony that Darnold is probably chuckling over after he endured so much pressure in the playoff loss to the Rams, the Vikings actually have signed two linemen that Seahawks fans were hoping Schneider would get: center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries.

The Seahawks reportedly were among the teams talking to Fries, but the Vikings gave him a deal worth over $17 million a year — and we all know Schneider hates paying that kind of money for guards.

The Vikings also added Jonathan Allen, the former Washington star defensive lineman. There is no word on whether the Hawks had shown any interest, but the Vikings look very good for beefing up their trenches with Allen, Kelly and Fries (plus Javon Hargrave on the defensive side, too).

Schneider still has a shot at showing fans he is trying to upgrade Seattle’s O-line. The next tier of linemen include Chicago guard Teven Jenkins and Green Bay center Josh Myers. Both have flaws but would be seeming upgrades over what Seattle has.

After that, the Hawks would be looking at aging guards like Brandon Scherff, Kevin Zeitler and Will Hernandez.

Schneider added versatile guard/swing tackle Josh Jones from Baltimore on a cheap one-year deal, but Seattle had better not be looking at him as a starter.

Draft and develop?

It is closing in on the point where the Hawks are locked into their “draft and develop” plan, which both Schneider and Mike Macdonald have referenced.

But the only way “draft and develop” works in the NFL is when you draft linemen high — Rounds 1 and 2. Of the top 13 lines in 2024, six had at least three linemen they had drafted in the first or second round. Three others had at least two from the first two rounds. That’s nine of the top 13 using high picks to build their lines.

Denver, Buffalo, Kansas City, Arizona and Washington all used free agency to augment their lines.

After the Eagles won the Super Bowl by dominating the line of scrimmage, Schneider said he wanted to pattern Seattle’s line after the Eagles’ standard. The Eagles had four homegrown players — a first-rounder, two second-rounders and a seventh — and one free-agent guard (Mekhi Becton, who is a free agent again as well).

Schneider told 710 AM: “We have to be a strong developmental team. (The Eagles have) done a great job. Their offensive line coach (Jeff Stoutland) is really good (and has) been there for a long time. And they’ve done a really nice job getting acquisitions and developing there. That’s what we need to improve on. We need to improve our ability to identify and develop because it’s 50% both ways, and you have to be able to develop these guys.”

Seattle has one first-rounder: Charles Cross. Abe Lucas was picked in the third (as was bench player Christian Haynes). But the rest of the developmental crew includes a bunch of recent Day 3 picks: Olu Oluwatimi (Round 5), Anthony Bradford (4), Sataoa Laumea (6), Jalen Sundel (UDFA), Michael Jerrell (6). You cannot put together a great line with athletically inferior players. You have to invest in talent.

They need upgrades at left guard and center (they can use one of their Day 3 guys at right guard). One of those has to come in free agency, because they cannot rely on the draft for two starters — even if they do have five picks in the top 92.

They need to use their first-round pick or at least one of their 2s on the offensive line. Alabama’s Tyler Booker is the dream in the first round — he could plug right in next to Cross for the next four or five years. But, if he is gone before Seattle’s pick at 18, then they need to look at offensive line with their picks at 50 and 52.

If Schneider fails to add a good starting vet and then also whiffs on the line in the first two rounds, Darnold will find himself in the same spot Geno Smith was in during his three years as Seattle’s starting QB.

The success of Seattle’s offense depends on Schneider improving that line — just like the Vikings did when they scooped up two guys Schneider should have had.