Pete Carroll Breaks Down Seahawks Additions Dakoda Shepley, Nigel Warrior
Less than 24 hours after the Seahawks initial 53-man roster came out, the front office was already hard at work looking for ways to fortify their depth at numerous positions using the waiver wire.
While it remains unclear how many players they put in claims on, Seattle was awarded former 49ers center Dakoda Shepley and former Ravens cornerback Nigel Warrior off waivers on Wednesday morning. In corresponding moves, the team waived guard Phil Haynes and terminated the contract of veteran quarterback Sean Mannion.
Asked first about Shepley, who played collegiately at the University of British Columbia north of the border, coach Pete Carroll indicated after Wednesday's practice that the team plans for him to work at center. During the preseason, he played the majority of his snaps for San Francisco at the pivot position, impressing Seattle's scouting department.
"Really, really liked him at center. We were surprised that he was available as we watched him," Carroll said. "Our guys did a really good preseason evaluation of him and then, as it came down to last night, it was really one of our favorite guys. And shoot if he didn't show up for us. So we were very fortunate to get him."
Previously breaking into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Jets in 2018, Shepley re-emerged on the NFL's radar after a stellar season with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in the CFL in 2019. Starting 14 games at right guard, he was unanimously selected as the team's rookie of the year and finished in second place for the league's rookie of the year award.
When the CFL was forced to cancel its 2020 season due to the pandemic, Shepley opted out of his contract and returned to the NFL, signing with the 49ers midway through training camp. Though he was cut in early September, he signed with the practice squad and dressed for three games in December, playing five snaps on special teams.
Making strides in his second camp with San Francisco, Shepley logged 96 offensive snaps in three preseason games, with 70 of them coming at center. He didn't allow a single pressure on 36 pass protection snaps, earning a stellar 80.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Currently, the Seahawks have Kyle Fuller and Ethan Pocic on their roster and a starter has yet to be named for Week 1, though Fuller seems to have the advantage after receiving the bulk of first-team snaps during training camp. If he or Pocic falters, Shepley could be poised to compete for playing time down the road at a position the team questionably chose not to address during the offseason.
As for Warrior, like Shepley, he came into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee and signed with the Ravens last spring. After participating in training camp, he was waived and re-signed to the practice squad, where he remained for the rest of his rookie season without seeing any game action. The team brought him back on a future/reserve deal in January.
A safety at the college level, Warrior produced 229 combined tackles, five interceptions, 11 pass breakups, a defensive touchdown, and three forced fumbles in four years at Rocky Top. His best season came as a senior when he picked off a conference-best four passes and earned First-Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press.
In Baltimore, Warrior transitioned from safety to outside cornerback, where he played 56 of his 63 defensive snaps during the preseason last month. Primarily playing on the right side, he allowed six receptions on 10 targets for 35 yards and no touchdowns while also generating a pair of pass breakups.
"He's really tough, he's a physical, tough dude and plays really hard," Carroll said of the aptly-named Warrior. "He played a lot of safety at Tennessee and you can see the mentality come out in his play. And, you know, we love the guys that show that kind of energy about the way he plays. And so, we're looking forward to seeing him join up with the guys."
Always valuing versatility, particularly in the secondary, it shouldn't come as a surprise the Seahawks were drawn to Warrior given his past background playing both safety and cornerback. Likely intrigued by his long 32 5/8-inch arms and physical play style, Carroll told reporters he would stay at cornerback, though he didn't mention which side specifically he would be playing.
Assuming Warrior stays on the right side primarily as he did in Baltimore, he will be competing against Tre Flowers and fellow newcomer Sidney Jones, who Seattle acquired from Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick earlier this week. Rookie Tre Brown could also be thrown back into the mix once he comes back from a sprained knee.
A starter has yet to be named on either side, but Flowers looks to be the front-runner at the moment at right cornerback. But considering his issues with consistency in his first three NFL seasons, his leash could be a short one entering the final year of contract and the door remains open for other players to vault into the lineup.
Joining the Seahawks with less than two weeks until the regular season begins, Shepley and Warrior will need time to get acclimated with their new team and as is the case with all players claimed off waivers, expectations must be tempered. But given the question marks and lack of stability at both of their respective position groups, they could be positioned to vie for snaps sooner rather than later if they are able to make strong first impressions and retain their spots on the 53-man roster.
