Seahawks claim 2 players on waivers
Seaside Bonus, 8/31/22: Who are Isaiah Dunn and Darryl Johnson?
The Seattle Seahawks added two players to their 53-man roster on Wednesday, both cut by other teams on Tuesday. Who are they and what does this mean for the immediate future of the Seahawks?
As I wrote on Tuesday about how the roster can change “within the next two weeks,” opportunities for Seattle to improve the team could be taken immediately after those difficult final cuts. Decisions will be increasingly more difficult now that the Seahawks have added two names to the roster, although I’m sure they’ve got some injury designations to hand out to offset the changes.
CB Isaiah Dunn
Isaiah Dunn is a 6’, 189 lb cornerback prospect out of Oregon State who went undrafted in 2021. He signed with the New York Jets after the draft and he was considered a bit of a camp standout this year after spending the entire 2021 season on the team as an UDFA rookie.
One writer highlighted how Dunn impressed former Seahawks defensive assistant Robert Saleh, now the head coach of the Jets:
Since making the team last year, Dunn has only continued to impress and he has the eye of head coach Robert Saleh:
“He stands out, he has been sticky in coverage throughout training camp. Obviously, he got to play last year he made the team as an undrafted free agent. He is having a really nice camp and [Dunn] is bigger and stronger than he was a year ago. He is much more comfortable in the system. This wasn’t his only good day, he has been stacking up a lot of good days together. Obviously, he still has a ways to go but at the same time, you just love the direction he has been going in. It has been up since last year when he hit the weight room and showed up to OTAs the way he did and the way he has done everything since then.”
Dunn played in 114 defensive snaps and 80 special teams snaps in 2021.
The Jets drafted Sauce Gardner and signed former Seattle cornerback D.J. Reed, to add to a group that already had Michael Carter II, Bryce Hall, and Brandin Echols, so it is understandable that New York didn’t have a spot for him right now.
Claiming Dunn makes it less likely that the Seahawks would bring back Justin Coleman, at least not until after the season has started. Seattle now has seven cornerbacks on the roster.
Dunn was targeted six times last season, allowing four catches for 61 yards, and making eight tackles. But it is impossible to judge anybody on a sample size and numbers like that.
He was high school teammates with Steelers running back Najee Harris.
DE Darryl Johnson
More experienced than Dunn, Darryl Johnson is a 6’6, 262 lb defensive end with 34” arms who was picked in the seventh round by the Bills in 2019. Playing college football at North Carolina A&T, Johnson was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference defensive player of the year in 2018 and he posted adequate but underwhelming numbers at the 2019 combine/pro day.
The Panthers traded a sixth round pick for Johnson in 2021, but he only appeared in three games last season after going on IR with a hamstring injury and then was cut on Tuesday.
Over his first two seasons in Buffalo, Johnson played in 225 snaps both times (weird), recording almost identical stats of 15 tackles, one sack, and a few QB hits.
What the Seahawks could see in Johnson with such limited production over three seasons is unclear, but the 25-year-old could be the place filler if Seattle decides to put L.J. Collier on short term IR this week.
Rare is the waiver claim at this time of year who becomes a starter, let alone a star, in the future. But it does happen and I think the Seahawks are probably very excited to land Dunn, while they’re happy to give Johnson a decent opportunity after he missed almost all of his one season in Carolina.
The Seahawks did not have any of their players claimed, but I can keep track of the practice squad additions and have a post up later talking about who those players are too.
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Seahawks add 12 to practice squad:
WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
T Greg Eiland
WR Cade Johnson
LB Vi Jones
TE Tyler Mabry
WR Bo Melton
CB Quandre Mosely
LB Tanner Muse
S Scott Nelson
T Liam Ryan
RB Darwin Thompson
LB Aaron Donkor
Seahawks bring back Justin Coleman, cut Josh Onujiogu.
Big nickel all day every day
But no ILB additions? That is surprising to me. I wouldn't have thought the Seahawks would go after another CB... is Pete becoming a hoarder?