Seahawks UDFAs (Defense)

Why it is unlikely that any Seahawks defensive UDFAs make the 53-man roster: Seaside Joe 1927

On Sunday, we covered the Seattle Seahawks undrafted free agent signings on offense as a primer for fans knowing these names prior to training camp and the preseason. On Monday, we move to the defense and while it is hard to project any undrafted free agents to make the final 53-man roster this year, it may be even more difficult to imagine most of these players being appropriate for Sundays right now.

It could even be a stretch to envision many of these players making the 2024 practice squad.

With an extra year of eligiblity and the ability to transfer to another college football program whenever you feel like it, the day three and undrafted free agent pool seems even more watered down than usual. Some of these players barely had any mentions of their draft resume written prior to being signed by the Seahawks, most had to grind for at least 5 and sometimes 6 years just to barely get a chance in the NFL.

But it’s not about what you do before you get to the NFL, as long as you get your foot in the door. It’s about what comes next. Could any of these defensive prospects make the roster or the practice squad?

DL

Devere Levelston

As the 48th-ranked player in the JuCo ranks in 2020, Levelston could have chosen to join Devon Witherspoon at Illinois. Instead, he went from Tyler JC to SMU and was on the Senior Bowl watch list in each of his last two seasons.

Levelston had 16 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks in 46 games at SMU.

He’s 6’5, 289, and ran a 4.80. According to NFLDraftBuzz, Levelston was able to hold his own when asked to drop into coverage, something that Mike Macdonald will ask of his defensive tackles and ends. But as a UDFA at the deepest position on the team, it is unlikely that Levelston can break onto the 53-man roster. Not impossible, it’s just that anyone in this group who isn’t being paid a lot of money or is a recent draft pick is fighting an uphill battle.

Buddha Jones

One of the last players added to the 90-man roster before OTAs, Buddha Jones is 6’1, 307 lbs, and a graduate from Troy after transferring from Kent State. He had 4 TFL and 0 sacks last season.

Nathan Pickering

Considered one of the “winners” at the East-West Shrine Game, Pickering is listed at 6’3, 300 lbs and Lance Zierlein thinks he could stand to add some muscle:

Pickering carries an underdeveloped frame and below-average musculation, but he utilizes his length and determination to get to the football. His lack of contact balance sees him end up on the ground too often, but he somehow finds himself in on plays despite lacking key elements associated with success. He’s not a powerful gap-clogger and is missing first-step quickness for disruption as a run defender or pass rusher, so making a squad will be an uphill battle.

Right now, Cameron Young and Myles Adams are probably the seventh and eighth-priority defensive linemen on the Seahawks depth chart, if you list Dre’Mont Jones as a defensive end. In either case, that’s deep before you get to Matt Gotel and the undrafted free agent rookies. It’s difficult to imagine any of these players on the roster, but then again coaches can’t really pick and choose which rookies will stand out. If it’s a defensive tackle or defensive end looking like a major steal, you have to keep him regardless of positional overload.

EDGE

Nelson Ceaser

Every year there’s one undrafted free agent who stands out to fans and in 2023 that was Jake Bobo. In my mind, it’s still kind of just a coincidence that the player with the attention-grabbing name (let’s be real, fans liked his name more than they knew anything about the player) also turned out to be the best undrafted free agent signing. Just coincidence.

This year, the player is Nelson Ceaser. His name is also interesting, but this attention feels more closely related to an expectation that he can play in the NFL.

For his sake, I hope that’s true. Still, I can’t ignore over 250 players being drafted and all of these guys slipped by 32 teams who need edge rusher help. Will Ceaser be the standout who makes the final 53-man roster? Some years, there are no UDFAs who make the roster. So nothing is guaranteed. However, Ceaser enters camp with the most attention among his peers. Zierlein mentions Ceaser’s strengths as “above-average power” and a rush toolbox deeper than just one move:

Ceaser was a two-year starter and 2023 team captain who has average size but above-average power. He's built for contact balance, which shows up consistently on tape when battling against much bigger opponents on the edge. While he has played some stack linebacker in the past, he might not have enough straight-line speed or instincts to survive there as a pro. Ceaser has worked on adding elements to his pass rush, but the only item that might be a translatable winner for him is his speed-to-power long-arm. He has a chance to become a solid backup and special teams performer as a 3-4 outside 'backer.

The Seahawks have four outside linebackers expected to make the team and this will be Joshua Onujiogu’s third training camp with Seattle. Maybe Ceaser will sneak in there, or maybe it’ll be one of the other undrafted edge rushers.

Sunny Anderson

Sundiata “Sunny” Anderson had four seasons as a reserve at Grambling State prior to finally becoming a starter in 2022 and 2023. It took him six years to get two productive seasons out of his college career and then he had 24 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks in the past 21 games. He’s listed 6’4, 245 lbs and FCS Football Central believes he could have value on special teams.

Anderson is projected as a quality NFL rotational prospect, his potential lies in his ability to adapt and improve. He could evolve into a formidable defensive force in the NFL with targeted training to enhance his pass-rushing technique and physical strength. His versatility, special teams value, and knack for creating turnovers make him a valuable asset for any team looking for a dynamic and promising talent on the edge. 

Rason Williams II

A graduate from Louisiana Tech, Williams played four seasons at Stephen F. Austin prior to transferring in 2023. I think if this exercise has taught me anything about modern college football-to-draft trends, it is that many of these undrafted free agents were 22 or 23 years old and had no NFL future prior to breaking out at the last possible second. Were it not for the NIL agreements and the extra year of eligibility provided by the NCAA due to the pandemic, a lot of the players probably would have been out of football a year or two earlier. Now they’re fighting for jobs on NFL rosters thanks to those extra opportunities to develop, but also to sometimes be 3-5 years older than your competition when you finally breakout.

Isn’t that the same as being a 28-year-old in AA baseball?

This sounds like I’m directing this at Rason Williams specifically, but I’m just using this space as an opportunity to share a thought. Williams as a player who makes the 53-man roster and pushes Darrell Taylor out of a job or something? I don’t want to say it is impossible, but that is farfetched. The players coming into the league via 2024 undrafted free agency just seem a hair or two below the undrafted free agents of previous years.

LB

Devin Richardson

After transferring to Washington State in 2023, Richardson posted 62 tackles (31 solo), one sack, 2.5 TFL. It’s tough for me to ignore what I just wrote and then not mention that Richardson had three years at New Mexico State and two years at Texas prior to finally having an impact that made him an “NFL prospect” in 2024. It took six years and three schools. Though Richardson was a Freshman All-American at New Mexico State, that was five years ago and he couldn’t crack a role on defense at Texas.

Easton Gibbs

Gibbs is a 6’, 232 lbs linebacker who played at Wyoming and made first-team all-conference in his final two seasons. Gibbs had 230 tackles and 13 TFL in those two campaigns combined. But Zierlein says he is not an "NFL athlete:

Linebacker with average size and good production that doesn't always reflect his consistency of play. Gibbs falls below the cutoff line as an NFL athlete, lacking explosiveness and suddenness in his play. The instincts and paths to the action often create inefficiencies as a run defender, and he doesn't have the athleticism to handle man coverage asks in the passing game. The college production is a nice starting point, but he might not have the athleticism or skill level needed to make a roster.

S - None

The Seahawks didn’t sign any undrafted safeties.

CB

Ro Torrence

A junior college star at Hutchinson Community College, winning NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, Torrence has crazy length at 6’3 with 34” arms. Unfortunately, he also runs like a big guy as his ~4.70 40-yard dash time is basically, to quote Lance Zierlein, “not an NFL athlete”.

I have tracked undrafted free agent signings for at least the past 14 years and though you always expect them to have worse resumes than drafted players, it’s hard to ignore that 2024 feels like a significant step down because so many of these prospects needed 5-6 years of development and opportunities just to get a toe in the door and then they test and it’s almost impossible to envision them going against NFL players and having success.

At least, not before we see some of these players in training camp and preseason. So far, I can’t say there have been any standouts in rookie camp and OTAs to the level we saw from Bobo, or even Joey Blount, the only UDFA to make the team in 2022.

Carlton Johnson

Johnson does have “the elite speed of a pro cornerback”, per Hero Sports, posting a 4.28 at the Fresno State pro day:

“Playing youth football, I had some traits that other kids didn’t have and I had some people let me know that I do have some talent,” Johnson said. “Just taking it with a grain of salt, I put it in my head that this might be a possibility.”

Johnson didn’t participate in drills at the combine due to a hamstring injury, though. When asked what sets him apart from other cornerbacks in this class, Johnson’s answer was simple.

“My speed,” he said. “My tenacity.”

But Johnson also has the same long journey as many of these undrafted free agents: Southern Utah in 2018, Riverside Community College in 2021, Fresno State in 2022. A six-year, three-school journey to go undrafted. Hero’s Colton Pool compared him to Riq Woolen, which feels like an absurd thing to say. Especially given that Johnson is only 5’11, 173 lbs, helping to explain the speed. Woolen is 6’4, 209.

It will be difficult for Torrence and Johnson to make the team, as corners currently on the roster include Devon Witherspoon, Woolen, Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, Artie Burns, and draftees Nehemiah Pritchett, D.J. James, in addition to Coby Bryant and Andrew Whitaker. If Macdonald keeps six corners, that leaves no room past Burns or the drafted rookies.