Learning Slot Cornerback on the Fly, Seahawks DB Marquise Blair Finding Comfort Zone

RENTON, WA - Coinciding with the arrival of Jamal Adams in late July blockbuster trade, in an expected move, Marquise Blair has been in the process of adapting to a new potential role for the Seahawks since training camp kicked off last week.

Even before Adams came to Seattle in exchange for two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and veteran Bradley McDougald, Blair seemed to be on the outside looking in battling for playing time at safety. But coach Pete Carroll badly wanted to find a way to get the second year defender on the field, mentioning on multiple occasions during the offseason that he could see action in the nickel cornerback role.

Four practices into camp, Carroll's prior suggestions have become reality on the practice field as the Seahawks have started to experiment with three safety looks featuring Adams, Blair, and Quandre Diggs. For Blair, it's a significant changeup, as he told reporters on Monday he has never played the slot position and only played safety previously.

In comparison to playing deep center field as a free safety, lining up in the slot presents vastly different challenges. On one play, Blair could be matched up in man coverage against tight ends such as 49ers star George Kittle. Then on the next play, he could be tasked with covering a speedy slot receiver such as Deebo Samuel.

But despite the stark differences, after logging significant playing time as a strong safety in the past, Blair remains confident his skill set will translate effectively to the slot. He indicated many of Seattle's coverage rules stay the same as well, which is a major plus when trying to transition to a new position.

"I feel like I can cover, I feel like I can blitz, I can fit run gaps, just everything that a nickel does," Blair stated.

During his time starring at Utah, Blair earned a reputation as a physical, disruptive defender with a penchant for delivering punishment. He spent as much time near the line of scrimmage as he did dropping back into deep zone coverage, always aggressively pursuing the football aiming to rock ball carriers and dishing out hit sticks to brave receivers who dared to run routes into his vicinity.

Sometimes, that physical mentality got Blair into trouble, as he was removed from games on multiple occasions for targeting penalties.

As a rookie with the Seahawks, Blair displayed many of those qualities in spurts. Playing in 14 games with three starts, he logged 230 defensive snaps and over 200 special teams snaps, producing 32 combined tackles, a pair of forced fumbles, and a pass defensed. He endured himself to the fan base with several big hits on the kickoff coverage team as well.

According to Carroll, however, the coaching staff also had trust issues with the young safety, who struggled to master the playbook and his assignments. Even after showing well for the most part in three starts from Week 7 to Week 9, the acquisition of Diggs pushed Blair back to the sidelines and he played just 19 total defensive snaps over Seattle's last seven games.

Hoping to make better use of Blair's talents, Carroll gushed about the possibilities with him on the field in an attacking nickel role alongside Adams and Diggs. Though he hadn't seen them on the field together yet, he couldn't wait to see such sub-packages "come to life."

"We are really pumped about this camp to figure that part out," Carroll said shortly before the start of camp. "For the most part, we have to figure out Marquise. He's the one that's going to get the opportunity to get in on the slot and do some stuff that puts him in a position to be really active and be part of the pressure packaging and some really aggressive parts of the play, so that's cool for him."

Trying to adjust to a new role without the benefit of OTAs or minicamps, Blair has turned to fellow 2019 draftee Ugo Amadi, his main competition at the position, to help learn the position. He also has sought guidance from Diggs, who played slot cornerback for the Lions earlier in his career, as well as legendary former Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor, who worked with him periodically during the offseason.

When asked what advice Chancellor provided him heading into year two, Blair responded, "Just to stay in the playbook. He told me, 'don't move around before the ball is snapped, get lined up so you know what's going on.' Just little stuff like that."

After taking his share of lumps as a rookie, Blair plans to put those lessons learned to good use. Having already experienced learning a new position in a new scheme this time last year, he's far more comfortable handling such a scenario this time around with a great opportunity to carve out a key role in Seattle's defense.

"Everything was brand new to me [in 2019], so really it's just re-learning everything. I feel like it's easier. I knew what I was doing, but you still don't want to mess up. Now I'm just rolling."