Seahawks 90-man roster, 53 projection

Where the Seahawks roster stands after the draft and undrafted free agency

It is impossible to predict what the Seahawks 53-man roster will look like when Mike Macdonald and Klint Kubiak make final cuts, but very easy to relay to you what the 90-man roster looks like today.

That’s really what today’s newsletter intends to do: Get us all on the same page as far as where Seattle’s roster stands today. But as a bonus, because it just makes sense to have a guess, I’ll also dance around* the idea of a 53-man roster projection. YOUR GUESS (which I want to read in the comments) is as good as mine.

*Really, it’s nothing more than a tease and I don’t project 53 players

bold - seems solidly on the roster

italic - roster spot likelier than not?

QB (3) - Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe

The Seahawks will keep three quarterbacks and they will keep these three; anything else would be shocking.

RB (6) - Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Damien Martinez, George Holani, Jacardia Wright

FB (2) - Robbie Ouzts, Brady Russell

Russell might have the versatility and special teams accumen to secure a spot on the roster, but drafting Ouzts in the fifth round does complicate his case.

I actually think Martinez is more likely to make the roster than McIntosh. Klint Kubiak wasn’t involved in drafting the sometimes-injured McIntosh and he must have had some say in Martinez, who has been called a steal that late in the draft.

WR (12) - Cooper Kupp, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tory Horton, Jake Bobo, Ricky White III, Steven Sims, Dareke Young, Cody White, River Cracraft, John Rhys Plumlee, Tyrone Broden

If the Seahawks keep six receivers, the competition for the last two spots will be intense. White could be a seventh round steal, but he would have to push out some fan favorites like Young — and possibly Jake Bobo? — to do it.

TE (6) - Noah Fant, Elijah Arroyo, A.J. Barner, Eric Saubert, Marshall Lang, Nick Kallerup

Trading Fant makes sense, but with Arroyo’s durability concerns and the amount that will be on his plate as a rookie, maybe it’s not as immediate as we expected. Keeping four tight ends is feasible.

OT (6) - Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Josh Jones, Michael Jerrell, Amari Knight

iOL (10) - Grey Zabel, Olu Oluwatimi, Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford, Sataoa Laumea, Jalen Sundell, Bryce Cabeldue, Mason Richman, Federico Maranges, AJ Gillie

I made nine names bold, but in reality I might only be comfortable with three or four. It might make more sense to swap Laumea for Richman or Bradford for Cabeldue or Maranges for Sundell. I mean seriously, who the heck knows with this bunch???

Total Players: 45

Total Bold: 22

Final Roster Needs: 25ish

DE (4) - Leonard Williams, Mike Morris, Jared Ivey, TJ Jackson II

NT (4) - Byron Murphy, Johnathan Hankins, Quinton Bohanna, Wy’Kevious Thomas

DT (4) - Jarran Reed, Rylie Mills, Brandon Pili, J.R. Singleton

It’s one of the most talented starting DL groups in the NFL, but it’s unclear to me if this is adequate depth or not. The team re-signed Hankins this week because they’re not sure either.

EDGE (9) - DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Tyreke Smith, Jamie Sheriff, Seth Coleman, Connor O’Toole, Jalan Gaines

If edge is not a need, how is it that Seattle’s “fifth-best” is a player who can’t keep a roster spot to save his life? And the top four have huge question marks and/or are upcoming free agents. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a standout in camp like O’Toole who ends up making the roster and having a role.

LB (6) - Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, Josh Ross, Drake Thomas, Jackson Woodard, Patrick O’Connell

Looking at the Seahawks roster for this exercise, it seems the theme of the defense is “potentially elite starters, questionable backups”. If I’m an undrafted free agent like Jackson Woodard, I see a PHENONEMAL opportunity to win a job out of training camp over players like Ross and Thomas. The same could be said for a lot of the depth on defense.

CB (11) - Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Nehemiah Pritchett, Shemar Jean-Charles, Damarion Williams, Tyler Hall, J.T. Woods, Zy Alexander, Isas Waxter, Isaiah Hamilton

I have seen better players than Josh Jobe get cut, so his name is bold by default. Again, who is going to step up and win a job because Seattle didn’t draft any corners this year?

S (7) - Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Nick Emmanwori, D’Anthony Bell, Jerrick Reed II, A.J. Finley, Ty Okada

If Emmanwori is as good as the Seahawks are betting he’s good, then Macdonald could have the best “starting 3” at safety in the NFL. The depth here actually does seem good.

Total Players: 45

Total Bold: 16

Final Roster Needs: 25ish

I’m being cautious with choosing players to bold for the final roster, but if we add in “italics” players that brings the total to 23.

ST (3) - K Jason Myers, P Michael Dickson, LS Chris Stoll

The Seahawks have not added a kicker, as some of us thought they might, so there’s no reason to expect a competition right now.

Overall

The Seahawks definitely go into the offseason with room for EVERYBODY on this 90 (93?) man roster to compete for a job on the real team in September. I might feel okay with choosing 53 players right now, but that list will definitely be wrong by at least five names, probably more. In fact, Seattle will add players between now and Week 1 who should make the team, as is always the case, and this snapshot might inform us where (CB, LB) those targets could play.

Seaside Joe 2250