6 Seahawks looking more "blue chippery" lately
Seahawks enter the home stretch on a hot streak with these 6 breakout players: Seaside Joe 1763
I can sense that there’s some reasonable “pumpthebrakesalation” on the Seahawks lately because in spite of getting back into the playoff picture with back-to-back wins, this is still a team that sometimes doesn’t score many points and sometimes gives up a lot. Since Week 6, the Seahawks are 27th in point differential (-52) and have averaged 19 points per game, which is 26th.
The Seahawks can’t erase what’s happened. Luckily, they can still atone.
With two more wins, Seattle has slightly better odds to get the six-seed than the seven, even though they were swept by the L.A. Rams, the team currently ahead of them. The Rams face the Giants this week, but their finale against the 49ers is likely to carry number one seed implications for San Francisco and so L.A. is going to be a Week 18 underdog, at least.
The Seahawks can win their last two games and it basically wouldn’t matter that they got swept by the Rams. At least not for first round playoff difficulty. Either they’ll be in the same place or a very similar position with minor or negligible differences.
Also, Seattle might actually be the best version of themselves today and how you play at this time of the year and next month is more important than the bracket.
“But the Seahawks suck on the road in the playoffs, the bracket matters!”
I agree. However, few of us had expectations going into the season that Seattle would win the division. This is where they are and it’s better that the Seahawks have improved in some areas in the last two games—namely pass defense, fourth quarter execution, grinding out tough yards on the ground—than to look like the team they were in November.
Especially because a handful of players on the Seattle Seahawks are recently standing out in the manner we had hoped for going into the season, when I wrote that I saw no CURRENT blue chip players on the roster except for on special teams. And I emphasize “current” so I can’t be accused of writing that the Seahawks had no hope for blue chip emergence…
Chip Chart: Have the Seahawks had any blue chip players emerge this season?
Over a month ago, I wrote that the Seattle Seahawks need more blue chip players to emerge this season and placed all of the potential options in tiers ranging from “Blue Chip Now” (a very short list without an offensive or defensive player on it) to “Red Chips” and guys who could be “Blue Chips Soon”.
Quite the opposite, Seattle had as much blue chip hope as any team in the NFL. What they needed was blue chip development, emergence, growth, and bloom.
“Bloom, you say?”
Maybe even a whole legion of it.
These six players on the Seahawks look like much improved versions of themselves recently. Could we be putting them on a pedastal by 2024? Or sooner?
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Honorable Mention: C Evan Brown
I don’t want to say that Brown is a blue chip center, or even a red chip, but I wanted to highlight at least one offensive lineman and Evan Brown had the best game of the unit against the Titans. Though Charles Cross and Abe Lucas could become elite left and right tackles, that hasn’t been the case for all of this season. Not to criticize them, it’s just what I’ve observed.
With rookies Olu Oluwatimi and Anthony Bradford on the roster and likely pushing to start in 2024, Brown could be the best option among the interiors (Damien Lewis, Phil Haynes, Brown are free agents) to bring back because he does have proven positional versatility. He could start at either center or guard, depending on which young players stand out or where Brown is needed based on injuries and circumstances.
RB Kenneth Walker
YouTube suggested this video to me of a 49ers fan watching the Seahawks-Titans game and it’s clear just how much respect people have for Walker’s run style these days. Even the Niners have to respect him.
Walker rushed for 1,050 yards in 15 games as a rookie, but he’s been even better in 2023. Though his rushing yards per game is down (70 to 60), his success rate is up (39.9 to 46.4), his receiving yards are up (165 to 234 in two fewer games), and if he’s not comfortable putting the offense on his back then he does a great job of hiding it.
In the past two games, Walker’s stats don’t stand out (35 carries for 140 yards, 28 receiving yards, one touchdown) but he’s been a huge help lately in giving the defense a runner who they have to worry about.
And by the way, 472 touches into his career, Kenneth Walker hasn’t fumbled.
“Joe, you jinxed him!”
Pretending I believe in curses or jinxes, Walker came into the league with a reputation for protecting the football. He once went 300 carries in a row in college without fumbling, which isn’t as long as his streak in the NFL.
Is Walker a blue chip running back? Not yet. However, when you look at the state of the running back position, who do we think is definitely better than him? Christian McCaffrey is going to have the best stats. But Kyren Williams, James Cook, and Raheem Mostert are the only other backs with 1,000 yards.
I don’t see a gap between Walker and that group. I often see a gap between Walker and would-be tacklers.
WR DK Metcalf
If I had to take back anything I’ve written this season, it’s that the Seahawks need to consider trading DK Metcalf next year. And I honestly don’t even know if I wrote that, but I thought it over a few times. Haven’t we all?
What I did write is that Metcalf is not an elite receiver and I still think that’s true, but mostly because I’m not as fickle with my opinions as the talking heads on TV. How many times this season have the talking heads changed their opinion on Josh Allen? In the first month, the Bills should consider benching him because of interceptions. In the last few weeks, he should win MVP?
“The Dolphins are the best team! No, it’s the 49ers! No, it’s the Ravens!”
Look….it’s the Seahawks.
Metcalf’s numbers are really good and the only reason they’re not “bigger” is probably the fact that the Seahawks are the only team in the NFL with three wide receivers who have at least 50 catches. Metcalf’s 16.6 yards per catch is seventh in the NFL and the only other three receivers with at least 1000 yards (Metcalf has 998, so I’m rounding up) and 16 yards per catch are Brandon Aiyuk, George Pickens, and Amari Cooper.
Better than that, Metcalf has balled out in critical situations recently.
He’s averaging 19.4 yards per catch on third down (12 of his 14 catches on third down have moved the chains) and he’s had five catches for 88 yards this season when Seattle is trailing and under two minutes to go. We saw it against the Eagles.
Another thing I know I wrote this season about Metcalf is that he isn’t going to change. The penalty thing isn’t going away, so either you think he’s worth it or you don’t, but you don’t try and change him. I wrote that he had to be better to justify the penalties.
He’s been better. The Seahawks can’t trade him unless he demands it.
DL Leonard Williams
Honorable mention: Dre’Mont Jones
Williams stands out every week, whether he’s getting to the quarterback or helping someone else get to the quarterback or making a run stuff. With Seattle, Williams has three sacks, seven tackles for a loss, and eight QB hits in eight games. He has 28 tackles and only one missed tackle.
But Williams has also made those around him better and as Pete Carroll noted himself, helped move Dre’Mont Jones outside which has increased the $17 million man’s value too.
The Seahawks must re-sign Leonard Williams.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
The ongoing theme here is that Seattle’s “blue chippery” talents are not exactly dominating the leaderboards, but the impact is obvious when you’re watching the game. Or listening to Pete talk about the players on Monday, especially JSN.
For the last few weeks, Carroll has consistently highlighted Smith-Njigba as a special talent and that the Seahawks need to keep getting him more involved. It’s amazing that he doesn’t have a 65-yard game to his name yet (thanks to the refs in the Cowboys game) because he’s impossible to cover with any confidence.
Again, the Seahawks have three STARTING receivers and they also like to involve their tight ends, running backs, and occasionally their Bobo.
If this turns out to be Tyler Lockett’s last season in Seattle, then Metcalf and JSN could both get 1,200 yards and 10 TDs in 2024.
S Julian Love
The Seahawks have shut down Jamal Adams for the rest of the season and in my speculative opinion, this is the result of not taking a demotion well. Adams is just not a good football player anymore and his presence was hurting the defense. Without him, Seattle has held their last two opponents to 17 points each. If they had given up 20, they might have lost both games.
We all know how vital Love’s presence has been to not giving up those additional three points.
Love had two key interceptions against the Eagles—picks that Adams NEVER would have made—and he was up big again against the Titans. Love has 102 tackles, four interceptions, 10 passes defensed, one forced fumble, and Pete’s favorite fact: Plays some special teams.
Julian Love as a “blue chip” safety? I don’t know if we’ll ever get there. But the safety position is the type where players can emerge later in their careers, such as Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer on the Bills. Love is only 25. There’s time left for that to happen.
OLB Boye Mafe
While Julian didn’t show any brotherly “Love” to the Eagles, then Boye Mafe was the music city miracle: Six tackles, four QB hits, a batted pass, and two sacks.
Mafe has nine sacks on the season and he’s had to play half of the year—as the entire defense has—without Uchenna Nwosu, the forgotten man of 2023. I underestimated Nwosu and I’m wondering now how good Seattle’s defense would be today if he hadn’t gone on season-ending IR.
Great news: The Seahawks get Nwosu back next year (and he’s not recovering from a lower body injury, which is fortunate), plus Jarran Reed, Mafe, Dre’Mont Jones, and Cameron Young. If they re-sign Williams, that’s a sixth. Maybe Bryan Mone returns on a vet minimum deal, Myles Adams, Mike Morris, Mario Edwards, and that’s a really good defensive line. Arguably a great one—and the Seahawks aren’t going to stop there.
Is it reminiscent of the 2013 line with Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril?
It is to me.
I love the optimism and I don't disagree with it. The Hawks have righted the ship and they might even make some noise in the playoffs if they can get there.
Devon Witherspoon????