Seahawks: 53 man roster prediction

NFL training camp presents rookies and soon-to-breakthrough players their most opportune time to shine in front of all the coaches, and most importantly, show them why they deserve a spot on the team’s final 53-man roster. The Seattle Seahawks always have an extremely competitive camp, with plenty of undrafted free agent talent to provide competition to their draft picks, and once all the competition wraps up, here’s my Seahawks final 53 projection.

Seahawks: 2016 roster predictions

Quarterbacks (2): Russell Wilson, Trevone Boykin*

Boykin surprised many by going undrafted, as his talent and potential to play and succeed at the NFL level was certainly shown during his time at TCU. Anyhow, Boykin seems to be the closest thing to a solid fit in Seattle’s offense out of the play callers available. The Seahawks front office hasn’t been common to carry a third quarterback, so those two will likely be all there is, depending on what happens with Boykin’s assault charge.

Running/Full Backs (4): Thomas Rawls, Alex Collins, C.J. Prosise, Brandon Cottom

This is a position on this roster where we will not know even close to certain until the final cuts are made. This list could be stretched to five, but the likelihood of that seems rather low due to recent team history. Even after praise from coaches in training camp, it’s hard to see Christine Michael cracking the roster simply due to situational football decisions. Rawls, Collins, and Prosise have unique situational uses. Michael doesn’t seem to have the correct play-style to put his name in that category.

As for Cottom, he seems to be the clear leader in the fullback race, as his versatility in college holds promise into the NFL. That also allows Seattle to get creative with multiple-back sets.

Tight Ends (3): Jimmy Graham, Luke Willson, Nick Vannett

This is one of the less competitive positions on this roster. Seattle took the six-foot-six, 257-lb Vannett in the third-round to fill the last hole their tight-end group was missing – effective blocking.

Vannett will be a threat in the passing game as well, but if Vannett can solidify Seattle’s outside blocking, it will open up doors for Willson and Graham to be more effective than they ever have in Seattle’s passing game. This makes the Ohio State prospect a near lock for Seattle’s final roster.

Wide-Receivers (7): Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Lockett, Kenny Lawler, Paul Richardson, Kasen Williams, Kevin Smith

The first three players on that short list are no-brainers, but the next three, all could be up in the air. Lawler was selected in the seventh-round because of his potential as a red-zone target down the road for Russell Wilson.

If he shows promise in that aspect through all of training camp, his spot is likely solidified. Paul Richardson has dealt with injuries through his first two seasons in Seattle, appearing in only one game last season, making just one catch (it was a 40 yard catch, however).

Although, Seattle’s coaching staff still seems to see his potential and in return it seems as though Richardson is confident and hungry to make an impact. Kasen Williams will likely make the 53 due to the Seahawks frequent use of wide-outs on special teams plays.

Offensive Line (10): Garry Gilliam, Mark Glowinski, Joey Hunt, Germain Ifedi, J’Marcus Webb, Justin Britt, Rees Odhiambo, Bradley Sowell, Terry Poole, Patrick Lewis

With the linemen named above, the Seahawks roster will have a solid but still developing starting lineup, while holding some depth in case someone begins underachieving.

Rookies Rees Odhiambo and Joey Hunt received doubts after being drafted but Seattle has seemed confident in their play and development skills to where they should make the final roster.

AROUND COVER32

Seahawks: Doug Baldwin finally gets his due

Seahawks: Seattle holds steady at tackle

Andrew Luck: Three thoughts on Luck’s new deal

Wide Receiver $: Who gets the next big pay day

Twitter Tuesday: The NFL says good-bye to Buddy Ryan

Madden Monday: Drafting your connected franchise

Defensive Line (9): Michael Bennett, Frank Clark, Cliff Avril, Quinton Jefferson, Jordan Hill, Ahtyba Rubin, Jarran Reed, Sealver Siliga, Cassius Marsh

This is a real tough group to predict, especially without knowing completely how the versatility of Quinton Jefferson will be utilized. The six-foot-four, 291-lb defensive tackle may get placed outside often, to accommodate his effectiveness rushing the passer. If this is the case for Jefferson, that opens up a spot for another possible defensive tackle in Siliga.

It will likely come down to Siliga or Chris Clemons, depending on where the coaching staff feels they can move the tackles around the line of scrimmage. With Marsh taking reps at defensive end, Seattle should be okay on the outside.

Linebackers (6): Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Mike Morgan, Brock Coyle, Eric Pinkins

Brock Coyle is likely a lock as he is Bobby Wagner’s back up, and it doesn’t seem as if anybody is making moves to absorb that spot. For the SAM linebacker position, Seattle has Pierre-Louis, Marsh, Morgan and Eric Pinkins all competing for the spot. With Mike Morgan likely getting the start, you’ve got at least two deep linebackers at all three spots.

Marsh will play SAM in some packages and move down to a defensive end in others. Many of these backers are versatile and can be moved around, with allows Seattle to keep lesser players on the roster while getting the same production.

Cornerbacks (5): Richard Sherman, DeShawn Shead, Jeremy Lane, Marcus Burley, Tye Smith

Sherman and Shead are Seattle’s clear starters on the outside. Shead last season earned that spot in replacement of Byron Maxwell and with no clear contest he should retain that position in 2016. Jeremy Lane just signed a new deal with Seattle, so his spot in practically a lock as the nickel corner once again.

Further down the depth chart is the question marks. Tye Smith carries great versatility that may get him a roster spot, but may lack the speed to cover faster slot receivers.

Tharold Simon only appeared in one game last season, and his coverage ability was questionable in 2014. Burley played well when called upon in 2015, and the likelihood of Seattle investing in Burley is much higher.

Safeties (4): Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner, Kelcie McCray

Brandon Browner in Seattle’s system will be asked to play safety almost routinely. It is unknown yet how often he’ll be on the field or in what packages he’ll be in but they want him to be able to play up in the box as well as deep safety in the middle of the field. Browner is supposedly making good progress in the mental changes needed to his game with the switch and it’ll be interesting to see how it works out.

McCray is Kam’s back up almost indefinitely as he was last season, playing well in the absence of Chancellor. Tyvis Powell is a rookie physical freak (6-foot-3, 211-lb, 4.46 forty-time) who went undrafted out of Ohio State. Seattle would likely regret letting him go later if they do since he is exactly what you want in a safety in today’s NFL. Powell may have a learning curve but it seems that many are high on him already.

Special Teams (3): Steven Hauschka, Jon Ryan, Drew Ferris

The post Seahawks: 53 man roster prediction appeared first on Cover32.