It’s officially May 4th, which means we only have four months remaining before the final 53-man rosters come out. Which obviously means it’s time for the first round of projections. This is my 100% accurate 53-man roster, four months out. Let’s go. (Players with an asterisk next to their name have a good chance of not being on the roster, because it’s hard to predict some of the deeper players this far out.)
QB: Russell Wilson, Trevone Boykin*.
Wilson is a lock, obviously. He led the league in passer rating last year, despite playing behind an abysmal offensive line, and is easily one of the best quarterbacks in the league. The backup slot is entirely up in the air. Tarvaris Jackson has been a Seahawk for the better part of five years, but he’s getting older and more expensive; he’s going to be making $885k if he signs on with us this year, whereas an undrafted rookie like Boykin will only make $435k. I also really like Boykin. He’s accurate, he’s a good decision-maker, and he’s really mobile in the pocket. Even before the draft, he reminded me of Wilson more than anyone. There’s also been a rumor that the Seahawks are interested in Vernon Adams, and while it would be hilarious if we signed both quarterbacks who didn’t play in the second half of the Alamo Bowl, three quarterbacks is too many, and I like Boykin better.
RB: Thomas Rawls, CJ Prosise, Alex Collins.
Rawls is the clear starter, assuming that he’s healthy this year. He looked incredible filling in for Lynch last year, and certainly looks like our back of the future. Prosise is the best RB we drafted; I love his vision, patience, and ability to hit the hole. He’s also a former receiver, which gives him upside as a pass-catcher. Collins has the ability to run downhill fast and can break some tackles; he’s good depth for our team, and I like his upside more than Christine Michael’s, since Michael doesn’t really have upside at this point. Collins isn’t going to be a star, but if Rawls isn’t able to be an every-down back (he is), Collins might be a good fit for our system.
FB: Will Tukuafu*.
This one is a total crapshoot. Last year we had two good fullbacks, Tukuafu and Derrick Coleman. Coleman is probably a bit better, but he’s also been in trouble with the law like six times this offseason, so there’s always some chance we don’t bring him back. Tukuafu, at 32, is older, but that just means he’s closer to the fullback sweet spot. Glad you asked: the two best blocking fullbacks of all time, Mack Strong and Lorenzo Neal, had their best seasons when they were between the ages of 34 and 37. Assuming that this pattern holds true for all blocking fullbacks (which there’s absolutely no reason to do), one might expect Tukuafu to become utterly dominant in upcoming seasons. We wouldn’t want to miss that. As for other options, none of the backs we drafted really fit at FB; Prosise is the closest in size, but he’s much more of a traditional RB than a run-blocking FB. There’s always some chance we pick up some random FA or UDFA I haven’t heard about, but I doubt it.
WR: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Lockett, Paul Richardson, Kenny Lawler, Kasen Williams*.
Baldwin broke out last year and is an obvious choice. Kearse, while he’s never quite met our expectations, has become a solid #2 receiver and is also an obvious choice. Lockett is a stud in the making, and Richardson looked great in college and may eventually pan out. Which leaves us with the only two guys who are at all in question. Lawler fell to the 7th but looks talented; he’s not the fastest, with a 4.64 40, but he’s got great hands and good instincts. Kasen Williams is a stud. Don’t look at the stats. He’s a stud. Trust.
TE: Jimmy Graham, Luke Willson, Nick Vannett.
Graham is obvious. He’s one of the best pass-catching TEs in the league, and helps make up for the fact that we only have one sure thing at WR. Willson isn’t anything special, but he’s a solid backup. Vannett is the TE we just drafted; he’s a great blocker, and an underrated receiver. I see Vannett taking over the #2 spot from Willson fairly quickly, but Willson certainly won't fall off the roster or lose his spot to Cooper Helfet.
OL: Garry Gilliam, Mark Glowinski, Patrick Lewis, Germain Ifedi, J’Marcus Webb, Kristjan Sokoli, Joey Hunt, Rees Odhiambo, Terry Poole*.
Gilliam had a decent year at RT last season, and the FO has hopes that he’ll be successful in a transition to LT, filling the shoes of the often-injured Russell Okung. Glowinski has looked decent at guard, albeit briefly, and hopefully will continue to improve. Lewis is dubious at center, but he works decently with Wilson and is decidedly better than Drew Nowak, whom I think will get cut. (Actually, in the time since I wrote this section, he got waived! Called it.) Ifedi has the talent to play guard or right tackle (I don’t think he has the agility or technique to be a good LT), but he’ll almost certainly start inside, where he’ll only be competing with the abysmal Justin Britt, who should be cut. Odhiambo is talented and might very well become a great piece on this line, but he’s injury-prone and I suspect he rides the bench for the first year. I see him at guard in the future, or possibly even tackle.
Assuming that the Seahawks play Gilliam at LT—he’s risky, but decidedly a better choice than any of our other tackles—we’re left with an interesting choice at RT. Bradley Sowell is currently in line to start, but he’s one of the worst linemen in the league, and quite possibly the worst tackle outright, and should undoubtedly be cut. Ifedi, as I mentioned, should start inside. Webb is a decent player, not good but not as terrible as Sowell or Britt, and will probably get the nod at RT. Poole is the other option, but I think he’ll require a bit more development, while Webb is already starter-quality (or at least not as far below starter-quality as our other options). It's possible we drop Poole to the practice squad in order to hold on to more "established" un-talent like Britt or Sowell, but that would be a horrible mistake.
Finally, the most intriguing young talent: Sokoli is an insane athlete, but he also has exactly one year of experience playing on the OL and is the very definition of a project. Hunt is the opposite: he’s very skilled, but relatively undersized at 6’0, 295 lbs. But he has a great football IQ, surprising strength, and a strong relationship with his college quarterback, who is none other than Trevone Boykin. And at center, intelligence is much more important than at any other position besides QB. If nothing else, having Boykin and Hunt hold down our second team will be fun to watch.
DE: Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Frank Clark, Cassius Marsh, Chris Clemons*.
Bennett and Avril form one of the most talented and underrated duos in the NFL. Bennett has versatility on par with JJ Watt (well... almost), while Avril is dominant off the edge. Clark looked great filling in last season, and Marsh is looking like he might be able to contribute more this season. There isn’t really much debate at this position. Clemons is the interesting addition; he was fantastic for the Seahawks from 2010-13, but he’ll turn 35 this season and didn’t look great in Jacksonville last year. He may have something left in the tank, but it’s rare to see a guy as old as Clemons contribute much to the pass-rush (it’s more common on the interior, with guys like Kevin Williams, since speed isn’t as much of a factor). I doubt he’ll see many snaps, and there’s a decent chance he ends up getting cut.
DT: Ahtyba Rubin, Jordan Hill, Jarran Reed, Quinton Jefferson.
Everything I’ve heard about Reed, without exception, has fallen into the category of effusive praise. People love him. I've heard him called him the steal of the draft. He’s certainly a great run-stopper, and although there are questions about his pass-rushing ability, most people (including the Seahawk’s FO) see him as having a similar skillset to Brandon Mebane, who held down Seattle’s interior DL for nine years. Rubin is also a gifted tackle, and he played well for us last year. Hill is a physically unexceptional player who nevertheless is very good at achieving penetration and seems perpetually on the verge of a breakout (at one point in 2014, he notched 5.5 sacks in 6 games). Jefferson is a talented athlete whose college career was punctuated by injures and misfortune. He could very well see a number of snaps at 3-tech, a position where we desperately need depth. Given that DT was a position of concern for us in this offseason, it’s nice to see such promising talent being developed.
MLB: Bobby Wagner, Brock Coyle.
There is little, if any, debate here. Wagner is an elite MLB who could start for almost any team, and Coyle’s only competition for the backup spot is Nick Moody, who’s a practice squad guy at best. This is the nice thing about having a front office that excels at picking studs in every round.
OLB: KJ Wright, Michael Morgan, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steve Longa*.
The bad part about having a front office that excels at finding studs is that you can’t keep all the studs you draft. The Seahawks had to let go of Bruce Irvin, who has been an exceptional OLB for us and yet is somehow only the third best player we drafted in 2012. Wright, fortunately, is still a superb OLB, and Michael Morgan… can hopefully be a decent starter? I say it every year, but one year it will come true: Kevin Pierre-Louis is going to be a stud. Mark my words. It’s coming.
Longa, a UDFA, is a pet pick of mine. You're not going to see anyone project him to make the roster for a long time, and in fact there's a good chance he won't make it at all. But I'm calling it now: this guy's gonna be good. He's a little short at 6'1, but at 241 lbs, he's by no means small. He's underrated in coverage, and although he does have a little trouble getting off blocks, his motor never turns off. But the real reason I like him is simple: He's the best tackler, at the college level, I've ever seen. Hands down. He rarely misses tackles (he missed only seven last year, while making 113), and his tackles almost never get broken (only two last year). He's got great instincts and a nose for the ball, and he thrives on contact. I've seen him absorb a huge hit, from none other than Ezekiel Elliott, and hold on to make a beautiful sideline tackle. He's like a pit bull. You can't teach tackling like this. There's a decent chance the Seahawks don't sign him, because his game is nothing like Bruce Irvin's and they may be looking for someone with more pass-rushing chops, but wherever he lands, watch out for Steve Longa.
CB: Richard Sherman, DeShawn Shead, Jeremy Lane, Marcus Burley, Brandon Browner, Tharold Simon, Tye Smith.
Sherman is still elite, and is my pick for the best corner in the league at the moment. There’s a significant question as to who will start at the other corner spot. Browner is, of course, a charter member of the Legion of Boom, but he was never a particularly great corner to begin with, and he’s gone downhill a little in the past few years. I suspect we brought him back to be third or fourth corner. So we're talking Shead vs. Burley, and I think Shead has a clear edge. Lane is the nickel starter from now into eternity. Tharold Simon is a guy Seahawks fans have been quietly liking for a couple years now, and he’ll certainly make the team. Finally, Tye Smith is super young (he just turned 23 literally yesterday) and the FO likes his player profile a lot. He won’t get in that many games this year, but he can probably fill in fairly well if he does.
FS: Earl Thomas, Steven Terrell.
Thomas is one of the best free safeties in the NFL. Terrell is the backup basically because he’s there. We brought in UDFA Tyvis Powell, but frankly I think he’s a bad player; he’s slow to the ball, unphysical, and doesn’t commit to the play until the very last moment.
SS: Kam Chancellor, Kelcie McCray.
Kam had a bad year last year, sitting out the first few games and playing poorly even when he came back. Hopefully neither of those things happens this year, and Kam gets back to his former glory. McCray, like Terrell, is here basically because there’s not another backup SS on the roster.
K: Steven Hauschka.
Not much of a question. Hauschka is a superb kicker, and could realistically play for the Seahawks for 5-10 more years.
P: Jon Ryan.
Again, not much of a question. Ryan is, however, 34, which means he doesn’t have quite as long as Hauschka. We’re probably talking five years rather than ten.
LS: Drew Ferris.
To be quite honest, up until five minutes ago, I knew nothing about Drew Ferris. The first time I learned his name was in finalizing this roster. That being said, I am 100% certain he will be on the final 53-man roster, because he’s a long snapper. Oh, and by the way, since I’m so thorough that I actually did research on the long snapper, I discovered that he’s Jewish. We have a Jewish Seahawk. Booyah. Oh, and three years ago, he said that when he graduates college, he wants “to get a job being a medical sales rep, human resources, or do some sort of research in the field of addiction and self-control.” Instead he’s getting paid $1.62 million over three years to play football for basically five minutes a week. Oops.
