Written By: Peter Vandeventer | @PeteVandeventer
With the NFL Combine and Free Agency right around the corner, I thought it would be an ideal time to assess our roster situation. The Seahawks love to go against the grain so they’ll more than likely pull something off out of nowhere. But that still won't stop any of us from trying to predict the inevitable future. John Schneider and Pete Carroll at the helm only means that the whole process will be fun for everyone involved.
Red names represent free agents (either UFA, RFA, or ERFA)
º practice squad players
Italicized names are players that ended the year on IR/PUP
QB
Russell Wilson
Geno Smith
Positional Outlook: Russell Wilson is one of (if not THE) best QBs in the league. Throughout the off-season, Russ has been pretty vocal about wanting to put the ball in his hands more and be more aggressive. So far, the team has signed Greg Olsen but that should just be a starting point. Add a target and protect Russ is priority number one. With Geno Smith being an unrestricted free agent could mean that they bring in smith for another year behind Russ or try to find a long term solution.
Potential fills: Geno Smith, Nick Mullens, Kelly Bryant, Steven Montez, Tyler Huntley, Jalen Hurts, Bryce Perkins
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RB
Chris Carson
Rashaad Penny
Travis Homer
CJ Prosise
Robert Turbin
Marshawn Lynch
Adam Choice
Positional Outlook: The Seahawks had a great season rushing wise, but it was just a revolving door at the end of the year. Having to dip into free agency after losing three backs at the end of the season left Marshawn and Turbin to make their return. There have been some talks about if Beastmode does return, it would be in a Seahawks uniform. He still has some gas left in his tank and he showed it with very little notice this past season. The Seahawks might look to add some insurance due to the injury history in the backfield, but nothing points towards them looking to add anything but depth. Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny look to have the 1-2 punch taken care of and Travis Homer has shown flashes to be a change of pace from the two. *sigh* This should also signal the end of CJ Prosise’s career in Seattle.
Possible fills: Marshawn Lynch, J.D. McKissic, DeAndre Washington, Troymaine Pope, Lamical Perine, JaMycal Hasty, Michael Warren
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WR
Tyler Lockett
DK Metcalf
David Moore
Jaron Brown
Josh Gordon
Malik Turner
John Ursua
Cody Thompsonº
Jaylen Smithº
Brendan Langleyº
Penny Hartº
Positional Outlook: This is going to be one of the two position groups to pay the most attention to in free agency and the draft process. When Russ said he wanted the Seahawks to be more aggressive, I’m sure this is a position group he would enjoy seeing an upgrade at. The Seahawks do have a decent number of free agents here with players like David Moore and Malik Turner. But an interesting name to watch is Josh Gordon. I’m not close to his case nor do I attempt to but its a commonly known fact that Pete Carroll doesn’t hide from adversity nor give up on players that easy. He sounded to have really enjoyed his experience in Seattle and seems to be involved with the team via social media. But I won’t say much because his health and safety is a higher priority than anything else right now. Z-receiver is the position to address right now since both Lockett and Metcalf have locked up their roles.
Potential fills: David Moore, Malik Turner, Josh Gordon*, Paul Richardson, AJ Green, Keelan Doss, Jalen Reagor, Justin Jefferson, Laviska Shenault, Denzel Mims, Brandon Aiyuk, Bryan Edwards, John Hightower, James Proche
*Gordon is currently suspended indefinitely
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TE
Will Dissly
Greg Olsen
Jacob Hollister
Ed Dickson
Luke Wilson
Tyrone Swoopes
Wes Saxtonº
Justin Johnson
Positional Outlook: The Seahawks looked to have made their move at TE right now. Now its just time to clean up a bit. Ed Dickson has proved to be a poor signing and should be released in the near future to save a nice chunk of cap space. This will leave the Seahawks with Will Dissly, Greg Olsen, and Jacob Hollister (who should be in the future plans). Russ loves using TEs and I’m sure Schotty does too. Olsen is still in great form and will get another shot to play in an offense that will get him involved early and often.
Potential fills: Jacob Hollister, Tyrone Swoopes, Charlie Taumoepeau, Josiah Deguara
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OT
Duane Brown
George Fant
Germaine Ifedi
Jamarco Jones*
Chad Wheeler
Positional Outlook: According to Pete Carroll, the Seahawks want to keep continuity along the OL. But this is probably gonna be hard knowing that they are going to lose either George Fant or Germaine Ifedi due to the high demand for tackles. I think Fant is going to be more economically correct and his play down the stretch was enough to prove that he is worth a long term deal. He’s a feel-good story from the start and deserves his shot to start once again. But Brown at LT isn’t getting any younger. They may add a developmental project to get mentored by Duane Brown but that certainly isn’t in the plans as of now for the pro bowl LT. No matter what happens, the Seahawks will need to spend a pretty penny and bite the bullet because protecting Russ is the highest priority on this side of the ball.
Potential fills: George Fant, Jack Conklin, Austin Jackson, Isaiah Wilson, Trey Adams, Matt Peart
*Jamarco Jones is an OT but looks more fluid right now at Guard and will likely get more shots there __________
G/C
DJ Fluker
Mike Iupati
Ethan Pocic
Justin Britt
Joey Hunt
Jordan Roos
Phil Haynes
Kyle Fuller
Jordan Simmons
Demetrius Knox
Kahlil McKenzieº
Positional Outlook: The Seahawks are all over the place at Guard right now and no one (including the staff) knows what the Center positional will look like in 2020. Iupati was expected to be a filler while we develop some players but he performed well enough to not discount another shot. Britt could be a cap casualty while also having issues with a majority rostered bigs having injury problems this season. I still think that the future of the interior of the OL lies in this draft though. The IOL class this season is secretly one of my favorite position groups in this draft.
Potential fills: Joey Hunt, Jordan Roos, Jordan Simmons, Joe Thuney, Lloyd Cushenberry, Cesar Ruiz, Tyler Biasasz, Robert Hunt, Netane Muti, Ben Bredeson
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DE
Ziggy Ansah
Jadeveon Clowney
LJ Collier
Rasheem Green
Branden Jackson
Shakir Sotoº
Position Outlook: Welcome to the other position group to pay heavy attention to in free agency and during the draft process. The Seahawks had issues rushing the passer for most of the season despite all the money, talent, and draft capital spent. With half rostered defensive ends (along with Quinton Jefferson) set to be a free agent, the front office has their work cut out for them. Clowney will be asking for a LOT of money and definitely deserves it but finding someone to go alongside him will be tough. The Seahawks avoided going LEO in the draft and decided to go with a 5T defensive end by the name of LJ Collier this past season. Hopefully, pass rush development on the part of Collier and Green can mean some cool sub-packages but they certainly don’t fill the mold of a LEO edge rusher. Shaquem Green is listed as an LB but played down the stretch from LEO and was able to be productive at times. Any
Potential fills: Jadeveon Clowney, Branden Jackson, Yannick Ngakoue, Michael Bennett, Vic Beasley, Everson Griffen, Josh Uche, K’Lavon Chaisson, Alex Highsmith, Jonathan Greenard, Jabari Zuniga
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DT
Jarran Reed
Poona Ford
Quinton Jefferson*
Bryan Mone
Demarcus Christmas
Nazair Jones
Al Woods
Positional Outlook: Was a little bit of a disappointing season from the interior DL. No real pass rush production and the run defense had issues that certainly wasn’t just their fault. Demarcus Christmas was never able to see the field as he spent the year sidelined due to a back injury. Jarran Reed missed part of the season to a suspension and wasn’t able to ever get back in his grove which is difficult for him on a contract year. But his leadership and comfortability in our defense should be enough for the front office to offer forward a 1-year “prove it” contract, at the very least. Al Woods had an amazing season before being handed down a suspension late in the year, was an unsung hero in the middle of the defense when on the field.
Potential fills: Jarran Reed, Al Woods, Michael Brocker, Bryan Mone, Quinton Jefferson, Michael Pierce, Danny Shelton, Leki Fotu, Ross Blacklock, Justin Madubuike, Davon Hamilton
*Quinton Jefferson is marked as both a DT and DE (love Q’s versatility)
__________
LB
Bobby Wagner
KJ Wright
Mychal Kendricks
Ben Bur-Kirven
Cody Barton
Shaquem Griffin*
Dekoda Watson
Emmanuel Ellerbee
Sutton Smithº
Pita Taumoepenuº
Positional Outlook: The heart of the Seahawks defense is KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner. After a career season for KJ, his extension looks better every day. Mychal Kendricks was part of the 3-head trio for most of the season before his season-ending injury. In his place, Cody Barton filled in and played well. The Seahawks should feel comfortable to sit on their chips with BBK and Barton being developed into the future. This is a good thing since this is an extremely weak LB class this year
Potential fills: Kevin Pierre-Louis, Jordyn Brooks, Tae Crowder, Shaquille Quarterman
*Shaquem Griffin is listed as an LB but played mostly off the edge in sub-packages
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CB
Shaquill Griffin
Tre Flowers
Akeem King
Ryan Neal
Jeremy Boykins
Kalan Reed
Neiko Thorpe
Brian Allenº
Positional Outlook: Seahawks fans love to overreact to the issue we saw at the end of the season. But I’ll say this once again, Tre Flowers has been playing CB for TWO seasons. Of course he will have technique lapses but people forget that he is in just his second season and had stats similar to Shaq’s season last year. But even with wanting to delay pressing the panic button, it’s still a pass-heavy league so it’s probably a good idea to have several corners that can cover…
Correction, it’s definitely a good idea to have several corners that can cover.
Potential fills: Ryan Neal, Kalan Reed, Jaylon Johnson, Bryce Hall, Jeff Gladney, Troy Pride Jr., Kindle Vildor
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FS
Quandre Diggs
Marquise Blair
Ugo Amadi
Tedric Thompson
Positional Outlook: Since the dismantlement of the LOB, Seattle has been in search for possible replaces...Quandre Diggs is that. Diggs showed clear playmaking potential that no one else on the defense can come close to. But the former 2nd round pick, Marquise Blair, had similar moments when he was given a shot. The Utah product wasn’t given a lot of consistent playing time but when he saw the field, he made himself present. Ugo Amadi was expected to be the clear NB for Seattle but has yet to take meaningful snaps at the position. It’s hard to assess the rookies right now but they showed streaks when given a shot. Tedric Thompson is on the opposite end of this though. TT had some questionable play at times and didn't stick to his technique which caused huge issues on the back end of the defense. But after a season-ending injury, Tedric looks to be losing his grip in the rotation at safety
__________
SS
Bradley McDougald
Lano Hill
Positional Outlook: Bradley McDougald has SS on locks right now. But due to how fluid the Seahawks have seemed to run their safety combos, you can’t assume anything. McDougald is the veteran in the secondary and hasn’t shown any signs of regression to cause concern. There shouldn’t be many (if any) changes at safety over the offseason. If anything then we might see Seattle move on or find a better fitting SS than Lano Hill. He has been a liability at times and has been getting snaps over younger safeties only due to his experience and not his athletic ability.
Potential fills: Kyle Dugger, Jeremy Chinn, Brian Cole, Geno Stone, Myles Dorn
__________
Punter
Michael Dickson
Positional Outlook: Started off the season as just ‘ok’ but he lived up to his rookie season during the last few weeks. Dickson is set to be the Punter for the foreseeable future. No surprise here.
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Kicker
Jason Myers
Positional Outlook: After taking some grief off and on through the season (just like most other kickers), Myers was able to show his clutchness which Seattle has lacked in recent memory. They may have overpaid for him but Seattle has a consistent kicker and that’s all that matters right now.
The 2020 offseason is going to be what sets the Seahawks apart in the very close, NFC West. Making smart, aggressive decisions will be key for the Seahawks as they begin their resurgence in the NFC in hopes of making a push for SB 55.