Seattle Seahawks 53-man roster projection: Pre-training camp edition

We are less than a month out from the start of Seattle Seahawks training camp. Rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp have all come and gone, and now it’s time for a little summer break before things ramp up again in late July.

While we’re in this NFL offseason lull, we might as well do another 53-man roster projection. My last one was prior to the start of rookie minicamp, and there has been some tweaking to the 90-man roster since then. In fact, the Seahawks have a couple of spots open as of this week.

Let’s get to the newest projection/prediction!

Offense (25 players)

Quarterback (2): Geno Smith, Sam Howell

Cut: P.J. Walker

Running Back (4): Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, George Holani (R, UDFA)

Cut: Kobe Lewis, Ricky Person Jr.

Wide Receiver (6): DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo, Laviska Shenault, Dareke Young

Cut: Dee Eskridge, Easop Winston Jr, Dee Williams, Hayden Hatten, Cody White

Tight End (4): Noah Fant, Pharaoh Brown, AJ Barner (R), Jack Westover (R, UDFA)

Cut: Tyler Mabry, Brady Russell

Offensive Line (9): Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Christian Haynes (R), Laken Tomlinson, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford, Nick Harris, George Fant, Sataoa Laumea (R)

Cut: Stone Forsythe, McClendon Curtis, Raiqwon O’Neal, Garret Greenfield, Mike Novitsky, Max Pircher, Tremayne Anchrum Jr, Michael Jerrell (R)

Defense (25 players)

Defensive Line (6): Byron Murphy II (R), Leonard Williams, Jonathan Hankins, Jarran Reed, Mike Morris, Cameron Young

Cut: Myles Adams, Matt Gotel, DeVere Levelston, Nathan Pickering

Outside Linebacker (5): Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, Darrell Taylor, Dre’Mont Jones

Cut: Sunny Anderson, Nelson Ceaser

Inside Linebacker (4): Tyrel Dodson, Jerome Baker, Tyrice Knight (R), Jon Rhattigan

Cut: Patrick O’Connell, Easton Gibbs, Drake Thomas, Devin Richardson

Cornerbacks (6): Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Tre Brown, Mike Jackson Sr, D.J. James (R), Nehemiah Pritchett (R)

Cut: Carlton Johnson, Artie Burns, Andrew Whitaker, Lance Boykin

Safeties (4): Rayshawn Jenkins, Julian Love, K’Von Wallace, Coby Bryant

Cut: Jonathan Sutherland, Ty Okada

PUP: Jerrick Reed II

Special Teams (3 players)

Punter (1): Michael Dickson

Kicker (1): Jason Myers

Long Snapper (1): Chris Stoll

General Notes

• We’ve heard very little about the rookie UDFAs, which has me heavily rethinking how many of them will actually make the roster, including Nelson Ceaser. I’d consider Holani to be the only one with a strong chance of making the 53, if only because Seattle’s current RB3 played no offensive snaps last year. I believe Jack Westover cracks the 53 but used in a hybrid TE/H-back role.
• Most NFL teams keep 8-9 offensive linemen, so while there are some difficult decisions to make for the Seahawks, I don’t think they start the year with 10. Michael Jerrell is a nice story but I believe he’ll be a practice squad candidate and the only Seahawks pick to miss the team.
• If Laken Tomlinson isn’t on the 53, I expect McClendon Curtis to be in his place. I’m of the opinion that the Seahawks are not seriously going to have extraordinarily minimal experience at guard and center just to “let the young guys figure it out.” They brought in a veteran presence for a reason.
• It’s not typical for the Seahawks to stash six wide receivers, but I would think there will be some adjustments to how the rosters are formed with a new coaching staff. I previously left Dareke Young off the roster but upon reflection, his value as a special teams gunner (when healthy) could be an important factor in staying on the squad. Otherwise his role on offense is going to be severely limited.
• For the sake of this exercise, I’m working on the idea that Dre’Mont Jones is making a full-time switch to outside linebacker.
• If Jon Rhattigan fails to make the 53 then I believe Patrick O’Connell (with whom he’s shared first-team reps with during camp) will get his spot. Rhattigan’s veteran special teams presence gives him a leg up on the competition. I really, really hope literally any of the UDFAs can do anything positive in training camp and preseason because inside linebacker is so shaky.
• Another player I’ve flipped from “cut” to “safe” is Mike Jackson Sr. I don’t know if the Seahawks have explored converting him to safety, but I believe the Seahawks will be leaning heavily on its cornerback depth and keeping both Jackson and Tre Brown, even after drafting Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James.
• I expect Jerrick Reed II to start the season on the PUP list, but thinking it over from the last roster projection it’s probably overkill to have five safeties.

And that’s a wrap! We’ll likely have weekly roster projections from training camp up until cutdown day itself on August 28. Share your agreements, disagreements, and your own predictions in the comments section.