Seahawks Top 4 Job Battles After First Preseason Game: 'Clock Ticking!'
Set to wrap up training camp next week and coming off an exciting preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahawks have only two weeks left before they must trim their roster down to 53 players in preparation for the regular season.
With the clock starting to tick down towards Week 1, coach Pete Carroll and his staff have plenty of decisions to make with just two exhibition games and a handful of practices left on the schedule. Aside from figuring out the initial 53, Seattle has several ongoing positional battles still yet to be decided with starting jobs on the line, including a close competition between centers Evan Brown and Olu Oluwatimi.
Where do Seattle's most notable competitions stand halfway through camp and the preseason? Here's a look at four intriguing battles still yet to be decided:
Center
Current Leader: Evan Brown
Only a few days before Thursday's preseason opener, Carroll told reporters Brown held the advantage over Oluwatimi due to his previous NFL starting experience and as expected, he started for the Seahawks at the pivot position against the Vikings. Playing the first three series, the former SMU standout didn't give up any pressures in pass protection, but he wasn't able to generate much push in the run game on a handful of opportunities.
Once Oluwatimi checked in, the Seahawks started to find traction offensively, scoring a touchdown on his first drive with Drew Lock connecting with receiver Easop Winston. Playing 27 snaps, he didn't give up any pressures and had a couple of nice blocks in the run game to help spring Bryant Koback and SaRodrick Thompson in the second half. For this to truly be a competition, the fifth-round pick needs some snaps with the first-team offense against the Cowboys next week and based on his performance on Thursday, he has earned that opportunity to show what he can do.
While Brown still has a slim lead over Oluwatimi and his experience remains his greatest advantage, the battle to snap to Geno Smith looks poised to go down to the wire with two preseason games left to play.
4th/5th Receiver
Current Leaders: Jake Bobo, Cody Thompson
With the Seahawks losing Dee Eskridge to a six-game suspension to start the season and receivers Dareke Young and Cade Johnson dealing with injuries, a tight competition for the final two or three roster spots has been turned upside down over the past week and change. Making the most of his opportunities, Bobo, an undrafted rookie out of UCLA, has been lighting it up snagging passes from Lock, leading the team with 55 receiving yards and scoring a 19-yard touchdown against the Vikings.
Away from Bobo, Thompson has been impressive on the practice field, including snatching a touchdown from Lock during a scrimmage session last week. Unfortunately, he was held out of Thursday's game with a tight groin, keeping the door open for other players to impress in his absence, including Winston and undrafted rookie Matt Landers, who reeled in an arm punt from third string quarterback Holton Ahlers for a 30-yard touchdown to pad Seattle's lead in the fourth quarter.
Given Eskridge's suspension and injuries stacking up at the position, this remains a wide open competition where Bobo, Thompson, Winston, Landers, and others still have a shot at winning a roster spot. Special teams will be critical as the Seahawks continue to look for kick and punt returns as well as quality tacklers on coverage teams.
Outside Linebacker
Current Leader: Boye Mafe
Continuing to capitalize on Darrell Taylor's absence with a strained shoulder, Mafe stood out as one of Seattle's most impressive players on either side of the ball on Thursday night. Along with pressuring quarterback Nick Mullens twice, he also excelled defending the run, including stuffing running back DeWayne McBride for a tackle for loss in the first quarter after shedding a block and setting a firm edge. Showing growth in every area of his game compared to his rookie season, he has quickly emerged as the favorite to start opposite of Uchenna Nwosu.
However, if Taylor can get back onto the field in the near future, he will still have an opportunity to make a statement for returning to the starting lineup. Compared to Mafe, he's the most explosive edge rusher and he finished with 9.5 sacks last season, showing a knack for finding the quarterback. The key will be demonstrating improvements as a run defender, an area where the former second-round pick has consistently struggled since entering the NFL and reportedly emphasized this offseason.
Further down the depth chart, 2022 fifth-round pick Tyreke Smith may not have a secure place on the roster either. Thanks to the emergence of former USFL standout Levi Bell, who continued his surprising play with five pressures and a sack on Thursday night, he now has viable competition closing in on him and will have to stack several strong days to ensure he remains on the 53-man roster in Week 1.
Cornerback
Current Leader: Mike Jackson
Even with the arrival of top-five pick Devon Witherspoon, Jackson has done his best throughout the offseason program into training camp to force the Seahawks to keep him in the starting lineup. Against the Vikings, he didn't give up any receptions in coverage on Thursday, though he did miss a tackle in a decent, unspectacular outing that didn't necessarily cement his spot as the starting left cornerback.
With that said, Tre Brown wasn't able to seize his first opportunity to stake his claim to the starting spot either. While he did produce a nice pass breakup against rookie receiver Jordan Addison on the opening drive of the game, he missed a bad tackle on tight end Johnny Mundt on fourth down to allow a new set of downs the following drive. Then on the third drive, he wasn't able to get his hands on the ball as Mullens threw a touchdown to tight end Nick Muse, who had slipped behind the corner in the end zone.
As things stand, the race to start across from Riq Woolen should still be considered a three-horse race, as Witherspoon should be back from a hamstring injury in the near future and may yet get his chance to win a job on the outside. But with the Seahawks using the rookie mostly in the slot thus far, Jackson and Brown remain the front runners in a back-and-forth battle that remains up for grabs in mid-August.
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