Seahawks Training Camp Observations: Dre'Mont Jones, Uchenna Nwosu Dominate
Back in shoulder pads for a second straight day and closing in on their first scrimmage later this week, the Seattle Seahawks ramped up the physicality once again with plenty of hard hitting and thumping in their sixth training camp practice.
What went down at the VMAC? Here are five quick observations from Tuesday's latest camp practice, including disruptive performances from Uchenna Nwosu and Dre'Mont Jones in the trenches:
1. Though they did finally find the end zone, Seattle's offense once again struggled in red zone drills.
Before the pads came out, as expected, the Seahawks were able to put points up in bunches inside the 20-yard line. But those fortunes have taken a 180 degree reversal over the past two days, as Geno Smith and company followed up a scoreless Monday with another difficult sequence of plays in the red zone.
Immediately out of the gate, coaches blew the whistle dead on the first snap after Smith couldn't find an open receiver and the pocket collapsed on him with Dre'Mont Jones ready to sack him. Two plays later, Devon Witherspoon played sticky coverage on Tyler Lockett on a crosser, closing the window for the quarterback and leading to an overthrow out the back of the end zone. On the next play, rookie Jerrick Reed played physical coverage on DK Metcalf in the back right corner of the end zone, managing to knock the ball out of the receiver's hands as he went to the ground.
With the first-team offense again shut down, Drew Lock benefited from a pair of offsides penalties that pushed the football up to the 10-yard line. Thanks to the gifted yardage, he eventually found receiver Dareke Young on a quick dump off pass and spun out of a tackle attempt, waltzing past the goal line to snap an ugly two-day scoring drought.
2. After few fireworks on Monday, big plays returned to the menu, headlined by Lockett's downfield magic.
Though the Seahawks didn't find much success in the red zone period, the offense did open up a bit in the rest of their 11-on-11 team drills with several long touchdowns, including waking up a bit in the run game after being limited to just one yard on six carries against the first-team defense on Monday.
In the opening run period, DeeJay Dallas busted free for a 40-yard touchdown scamper behind a strong pair of blocks from center Olu Oluwatimi and right guard Phil Haynes, who continues to have a fantastic camp. Taking advantage of rare reps with Seattle's best receivers, Lock followed up with a touchdown pass to DK Metcalf on play action, hitting him on a quick out despite being interfered with in the secondary and drawing a flag.
Shortly after the red zone period, Smith made his best throw of the afternoon after Lockett sprung free down the hash against coverage from Coby Bryant and Julian Love, delivering a strike to the dynamic receiver in stride for a 50-yard touchdown. Two plays later, after the quarterback evaded pressure and stepped up in the pocket to buy time, he found a wide open Colby Parkinson in the middle of the field and the tight end sprinted to pay dirt for another long score.
3. Living in the backfield all afternoon, Jones and Nwosu keep proving themselves to be worth every penny.
With their defense finishing 25th in points allowed and 30th in run defense, the Seahawks made improving their defensive line a priority, spending more than $50 million to sign Jones in free agency and handing Nwosu a three-year extension worth nearly $60 million. Already knowing what Nwosu can do after setting career-highs in sacks and quarterback pressures last year, Jones has wasted little time showcasing his talents on the practice field as well.
After registering a pair of tackles for loss on Monday, Jones picked up right where he left off, blowing up Dallas with immediate penetration on just the second play from scrimmage during team drills for a one-yard loss. Blowing through the A-gap with a quick first step, he started off the red zone period with a bang too, collapsing down on Smith and generating a quick whistle for a training camp-style sack.
As for Nwosu, he dominated during one-on-one periods against Seattle's offensive line and once team drills kicked off, he frequently made visits into the backfield, starting with a quick pressure on Smith as he rolled out for a blown dead sack. Towards the end of practice, with the first-team defense in the shadows of their own goal post, he exploded off the snap to split through block attempts by Haynes and Abraham Lucas on a hard slant to smack Kenny McIntosh in the backfield for a three-yard loss, helping turn the offense away again without a touchdown.
4. Energized and aggressive lining up outside and in the slot, Devon Witherspoon takes a big step forward with his best practice yet.
Being a top-five pick, Witherspoon has understandably been the center of attention over the past three practices. Under the microscope, his mistakes have been magnified to this point, including getting beat by Lockett after the catch on a curl route in one-on-ones during Monday's practice.
But on Tuesday, Witherspoon enjoyed a bit of a coming out party, putting his coverage skills, athleticism, physicality, and aggressive nature on full display for fans to see. Getting a bit of payback against Lockett, he stayed with him with tight coverage into the end zone, leading to a high throw and an incompletion. Moments later, he decked receiver Dee Eskridge and celebrated the hit, leading to the third-year receiver jumping up and confronting him helmet-to-helmet along the sideline. Going to back to the huddle, teammates high-fived him and his energy proved to be infectious.
“He had a heck of a day," defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt said after practice. "Super competitive. He’s going to tackle, he’s going to get in [run] fits and obviously we know what he can do as a cover guy, so really an impressive day.”
Relishing the chance to play the physical brand of football he became known for at Illinois while seeing extensive action in the slot with the first-team defense, he drew a quick whistle on a sack blitzing off the edge. Only a few plays later, he stuffed Dallas at the line of scrimmage on a run play as teammates mobbed him in celebration in the backfield, showing off his all-around game and fiery presence on the field.
5. While cornerbacks have garnered more attention, safety depth continues to be a major plus for the Seahawks.
With Witherspoon entering the mix competing for snaps against Mike Jackson and Tre Brown, who have each been standouts in camp to this point, Seattle has a wealth of riches at cornerback that will only get better when Riq Woolen returns from the PUP list. But even without a healthy Jamal Adams, the team may have equally as impressive of a safety unit.
Filling in for Adams as he continues to work back from a torn quad tendon at the strong safety spot, Julian Love continues to come up with big plays on a daily basis. After picking off a deflected pass earlier in camp, he registered his second interception early in Tuesday's team session, dropping back to snag a slightly underthrown deep ball from Smith intended for Eskridge in the end zone. He also was involved in several run stops playing up in the box.
Shining with the second unit, Joey Blount keeps stacking up quality days and has exhibited more versatility than advertised. Playing both safety positions throughout camp, he has been a regular hitting running backs in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage, including hitting McIntosh for a two-yard loss on a blitz during Tuesday's session. Further demonstrating the team's depth, Reed denied Metcalf a touchdown in the end zone on a rare rep with the ones and rookie Jonathan Sutherland also had a pass breakup with the second unit.
With the first scrimmage coming up on Friday at Lumen Field, a fun competition is heating up between Blount, Reed, and Sutherland for one or two roster spots that bears watching in coming days.
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