There’s a new coach, a new system and hopefully new results on the defensive side of the ball for the Seahawks in 2024.
Saturday Field Gulls took a look the roster for the Seattle Seahawks on the offensive side of the ball in order to make a projection of the players who might remain once cuts are made down to 53 at the end of training camp. Which means now it is time to do the same thing on the other side of the ball, so without wasting any time, here are the projections for commenters to complain about.
Defensive End (3):
Keep: Dre’Mont Jones, Leonard Williams and Mike Morris
Cut: Myles Adams, Devere Levelston, Nate Pickering and Rason Williams
It will not be a surprise for the Seahawks to stay somewhat light at this position group because of the positional flexibility of guys like Jones and Williams, who are likely to line up all over the line based on the situation. Mike Macdonald lined Justin Madubuike up all over the line in 2023, including more than 300 snaps at defensive end and almost 500 snaps at defensive tackle or nose tackle, and it will not be a surprise at all for any of Jones, Williams or Morris, or even first round pick Byron Murphy, to line up anywhere on the line of scrimmage.
This is also a group where someone could make a name for themselves during training camp and the preseason and earn a spot on the roster. However, for now the top of the depth chart is pretty well defined along the defensive line, while that isn’t the case at linebacker, meaning linebacker is likely where extra players are kept until things shake out and the team knows a little bit more about what it has.
Interior Defensive Line (4):
Keep: Byron Murphy, Johnathan Hankins, Jarran Reed and Cameron Young
Cut: Buddha Jones and Matt Gotel
Murphy and Hankins are the easy names to keep around here. Murphy because of his draft status and potential, and Hankins due to his familiarity with Arden Durde after the two were together with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 and 2023. Behind them, the veteran Reed and young Young provide depth, while either Jones or Gotel could become practice squad candidates.
Linebacker (9):
Keep: Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, Derrick Hall, Sunny Anderson, Jerome Baker, Tyrel Dodson, Tyrice Knight and Jon Rhattigan
Cut: Nelson Ceaser, Easton Gibbs, Patrick O’Connell, Joshua Onujiogu, Devin Richardson and Drake Thomas
Nwosue, Mafe, Baker, Dodson and Knight are the easy keep names, and then Taylor and Hall likely stick around as well given their draft pedigree and the potential they have flashed in certain areas at times. It’s anybody’s guess how things will shake out at the bottom of the position group both at the outside linebacker and off ball linebacker. At outside linebacker Anderson gets the nod over Ceaser simply because I won’t misspell his name 4,000 times over the course of the season, while Rhattigan sticks around at off ball because of his ability to contribute on special teams.
Cornerback (7):
Keep: Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Tre Brown, Nehemiah Pritchett, D.J. James, Mike Jackson and Ro Torrence
Cut: Lance Boykin, Artie Burns, Carlton Johnson and Andrew Whitaker
Barring injury, Witherspoon and Woolen are the presumed starters at cornerback, with Brown providing the flexibility to play either outside or in the slot. Pritchett and James stick around as draft picks while it seems likely that one of the undrafted free agents is likely to shine enough during the preseason and offer enough on special teams to warrant a spot on the 53.
Burns could easily fill a similar depth role as he has in years past from the practice squad, providing the ability to play inside or outside, should injuries or inconsistency hit the position group. There will certainly be a number of fans who are ready to move on from Mike Jackson, but I’m going to continue to push for moving Jackson to safety. Given how barren the safety position is behind the top two names at that group, using Jackson in a more safety-like role based on the situation won’t be a surprise.
Safety (3):
Keep: Julian Love, Rayshawn Jenkins and Coby Bryant
Cut: K’Von Wallace, Ty Okada, Jonathan Sutherland
PUP: Jerrick Reed
Love and Jenkins each individually have more experience in the NFL than the entire rest of the position group combined, making them the unquestioned top of the depth chart. As noted above while discussing the cornerback position, it won’t be a surprise for Mike Jackson to see a role at safety given his skillset and the absolute logjam of younger players with more team control at cornerback.
And that’s the projection on the defensive side of the ball, so now it is time to proceed to the comments to complain.
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