Entering Final Year of Rookie Deals, Seahawks' 2018 Draft Class Has Much to Prove
After wrapping up the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider couldn't contain their excitement.
Entering the weekend without a day two selection in the second and third rounds, the duo had managed to trade back with the Packers to acquire a third-round pick as well as a sixth-round pick. In the process, they still landed the player they wanted at No. 27 overall in San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny.
"We would have taken him at 18, so that's why we feel super blessed," Schneider said of Penny at the time. "Whenever you move back, people are always like, 'Oh, you just moved back.' It's a pretty hard thing to do. You have to find a partner - we had several people walk away from us - and we felt real blessed that Green Bay hung in there with us."
By the end of the weekend, Seattle had turned the two additional picks acquired in the trade down with Green Bay into USC defensive end Rasheem Green and Temple linebacker Jacob Martin, adding two intriguing young pass rushers. At the time, Carroll and Schneider were ecstatic about the team's new nine-player class, believing the group would play a critical role in getting the Seahawks back into Super Bowl contention.
Fast forwarding three years later, however, while the group has shown flashes of brilliance in short spurts, the class as a whole has been a major disappointment in large part due to injuries.
Most notably, Penny - whose durability stood out as a key factor in the decision to draft him - has missed 21 games in three seasons. He played in just three games in 2020 after a lengthy recovery from a torn ACL and when he has been healthy, he hasn't come close to meeting expectations.
Overweight upon his arrival, Penny's injury woes started immediately, as he suffered a cracked finger and missed most of his first training camp and the preseason. He wound up playing in 14 games, but rushed for only 419 yards and two touchdowns in a reserve role behind starter Chris Carson.
The following season, Penny appeared to be on the verge of breaking out with a 129-yard performance in a win over the Eagles and a stellar multi-touchdown outing against the Vikings the next week, only to suffer a devastating knee injury against the Rams in Week 14. Though he averaged 5.7 yards per carry, he finished another disappointing year with just 370 rushing yards and three touchdowns in 10 games.
Unfortunately for Seattle, Penny hasn't been the only player from the team's 2018 draft class who has battled through persistent injury problems.
While Green did manage to play in all 16 games in 2019 and led the team in sacks, he missed six games as a rookie with an ankle injury and spent nearly two months on injured reserve with a neck stinger last season. In those two seasons, he produced 3.0 sacks and seven quarterback hits in 20 games, providing minimal contributions.
With the exception of fifth-round pick Michael Dickson, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors as a rookie and has been one of the league's premier punters since being drafted, Seattle's late round picks have also had trouble staying healthy and been inconsistent when on the field.
Fourth-round pick Will Dissly has been especially unlucky, suffering two severe season-ending injuries after red-hot starts in 2018 and 2019. The young tight end had eight catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns in just three games as a rookie before suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in his knee. Then, after reeling in 23 receptions for 262 yards and four touchdowns in Seattle's first five games the next season, he tore his Achilles in Cleveland in Week 6.
Coming off a second grueling rehab, Dissly finally stayed healthy in 2020 and played in 16 games for the first time in his career. But he wasn't able to replicate his success as a receiver from his first two seasons, catching 24 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. After having six games with 40 or more receiving yards in 2018 and 2019, his season high was just 38 yards in 2020.
Cornerback Tre Flowers, a fifth-round pick who played safety at Oklahoma State, spent time on injured reserve last season with a hamstring strain and has missed six games in his career. When healthy, though he has started 37 games over the past three years, his performance has been streaky at best, as opposing quarterbacks posted a 105.0 or better passer rating against him in two of the past three years and he's missed 29 tackles during that span.
On the plus side, Flowers did show major improvements during the 2019 season, allowing a 72.5 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks while allowing only one touchdown in coverage and intercepting three passes.
Meanwhile, versatile lineman Jamarco Jones missed his entire rookie season with a broken ankle and missed the final five games of last season on injured reserve due to a groin injury. Though he's given the team invaluable snaps at both guard spots as well as both tackle positions when called upon, the former fifth-round pick out of Ohio State has underwhelmed with 56.2 and 49.1 overall grades from Pro Football Focus the past two seasons and hasn't developed into a starter-caliber player.
As for the rest of Seattle's 2018 class, linebacker Shaquem Griffin was waived out of training camp last year and though he spent most of the 2020 season on the active roster, he has recorded just 25 tackles, a sack, and six quarterback hits in 46 games. Martin was dealt to Houston to acquire Jadeveon Clowney after his rookie season, while quarterback Alex McGough has bounced around with multiple teams and never dressed for an NFL game.
Entering the final year of their rookie contracts, the clock is ticking towards midnight for Penny, Green, Dissly, and the rest of this once-promising group to turn things around. But if there's a silver lining, there's still an opportunity for many of these players to emerge as key contributors for the Seahawks next season.
With Carson and Carlos Hyde slated to hit free agency, Penny could finally have a chance to be Seattle's featured workhorse back. He won't have to worry about rehabbing this offseason and should benefit from the arrival of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who will likely use more under center formations with an emphasis on wide zone runs that fit the runner's biggest strengths.
Though L.J. Collier passed him on the depth chart, Green found his groove down the stretch last season, registering five quarterback hits and a sack in Seattle's final three regular season games. Set to turn only 24 years old in May, he should see extensive snaps both as a base defensive end and 3-tech defensive tackle on passing downs.
As for Dissly, now being more than a year removed from his Achilles injury, the organization remains optimistic he will bounce back as a bigger focal point in the Seahawks' passing game. The presence of Waldron should create more opportunities for him as a receiver by default and without Greg Olsen on the roster, he will be the team's undisputed No. 1 option at the position.
Flowers and Jones may also be in the mix for starting roles, depending on what the Seahawks choose to do with pending free agents Shaquill Griffin and Mike Iupati. If Griffin leaves, Flowers could start across from D.J. Reed in the secondary, while Jones will be a candidate to step in at left guard if Iupati isn't re-signed or another veteran isn't added in free agency.
Regardless, the 2021 season will be a critical one for all of these players and the organization. Futures will certainly be on the line and to this point, the 2018 draft class hasn't lived up to the hype. But if the group can stay healthy as a whole, there's still a chance for them to make a difference for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
