A way too early 53 man roster projection for Seahawks offense

It’s Memorial Day weekend, which means that the final portions of the NFL offseason program have arrived before the absolute dead period of the slowest of slow summer season. As every year here at Field Gulls that means it is time for the way too early 53 man roster projection for the 2024 Seattle Seahawks, which starts by taking a guess at which players make the team on offense. Thus, without wasting any time, here’s to jumping right into the projections and why.

Quarterback (2):
Keep: Geno Smith and Sam Howell
Cut: N/A

The Hawks will most certainly need to add a camp arm or two before hitting the field for practice in July, however, for the time being, given that Smith and Howell are the only two quarterbacks on the 90-man roster, there’s not a lot of analysis that needs to be performed.

Running Back (4):
Keep: Zach Charbonnet, Kenneth Walker, Kenny McIntosh and George Holani
Cut: Kobe Lewis and TaMerik Williams

Barring injury Charbonnet and Walker are all but certain to lead the Seattle ground attack in 2024, with the true competition likely to be to replace DeeJay Dallas, who departed for the Arizona Cardinals in free agency. McIntosh spent half of his rookie season on injured reserve recovering from a knee injury suffered early in training camp, while Holani comes to the Seahawks after tearing up the Mountain West Conference to the tune of 3,596 rushing yards and a pair of 1,000 yard seasons to his name during his college career.

If those numbers look familiar, it may be because they are not dissimilar from the 3,656 rushing yards and a pair of 1,000 yard seasons 2017 first round pick Rashaad Penny posted while tearing up the Mountain West Conference several years ago.

Tight End (3):
Keep: Noah Fant, Pharaoh Brown and A.J. Barner
Cut: Tyler Mabry, Brady Russell and Jack Westover

The front office gave Fant and Brown more than $14M guaranteed in free agency, so unless one of them gets injured, they’ll be on the 53 man roster. Barner, having been a special teams monster for new special teams coach Jay Harbaugh at Michigan has the inside track on the third tight end spot, and will likely be an instant contributor on special teams while being afforded the time to develop behind Fant and Brown.

An injury to any of the top three would give Mabry, Russell and Westover an opportunity to slide onto the 53-man roster, but for now they’re on the outside looking in.

Wide Receiver (5):
Keep: Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dee Eskridge and Dee Willams
Cut: Jake Bobo, Hayden Hatten, Laviska Shenault, Cody White, Easop Winston and Dareke Young

This is a position where the top three in Metcalf, Lockett and JSN are unquestioned, but arguments could be made for any of a number of permutations behind them. Here, Eskridge and Williams are given the nod due to their potential to contribute in the return game.

The biggest pushback likely comes from fans who would be upset about the team moving on from Bobo and Shenault, but cutting doesn’t necessarily mean moving on. Specifically, in Shenault’s case, he’s a veteran and his contract is fully guaranteed. That means the Seahawks can release Shenault at roster cuts without needing to worry that he might clear waivers, and then they can bring him back to the 53-man roster once they’ve sorted things out elsewhere. Or, because of the full guarantee on his base salary, the Hawks could even put keep Shenault on the practice squad early in the season, using gameday elevations to get him in action on Sundays while waiting to see how things shake out.

There will likely be no shortage of outrage from Bobo fans in the comments, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Bobo made the team, but for now he doesn’t make the cut.

Interior Offensive Line (6):
Keep: Olu Oluwatimi, Nick Harris, Christian Haynes, Laken Tomlinson, McClendon Curtis and Sataoa Laumea
Cut: Mike Novitsky, Tremayne Anchrum and Anthony Bradford

This a position group that will be interesting to watch during the preseason. Obviously fans are excited about Oluwatimi and Haynes due to their draft status, but the reality is that Tomlinson has more experience than the entire rest of the interior offensive line room combined. The team is certainly excited about Haynes, but they name dropped Curtis multiple times this offseason, so getting to actually see the second year player in action in the preseason will be interesting.

It’s the projection to move on from Bradford that is most likely to draw the ire of many fans, but the reality is that he struggled in pass protection as a rookie, just like he struggled with pass protection in college. Combine that fact with the fact that the young players the Seahawks have added to the offensive line this offseason have been those who have excelled at pass protection, and the addition of so many other players at the position could spell the end of his time in Seattle after just a single season.

Tackle (4):
Keep: Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, George Fant and Michael Jerrell
Cut: Raiqwon O’Neal, Garret Greenfield and Stone Forsythe

The wild card in this group is, obviously, the knee of Abe Lucas. If Lucas’ knee is healthy enough to allow him to play, then it’ll be he and Cross with Fant and one of the youngsters in a depth role. If, however, Lucas’ knee issues prevent him from playing, then the competition behind Fant will be one to watch during the preseason.

Regardless of how things turn out at the position, the reality is that the Seahawks felt compelled to add veteran Fant on a two year contract, while adding Jerrell in the sixth round and giving Greenfield the most guaranteed money to an undrafted free agent in franchise history. If one wishes to read into what those tea leaves are saying about Lucas’ knee, one may, but the reading isn’t one many Seattle fans are likely to enjoy.

And now to the comments to complain.