Fan Reaction: Who Will Be The “Breakout Player” For The 2013 Seattle Seahawks?

August 18 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Korey Toomer (59) during the fourth quarter of a preseason game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, I asked the 12s on twitter who they believed would be “breakout player” for the 2013 Seattle Seahawks. The responses I got were incredibly interesting, and I’ve included some of them below.

There are a lot of good options, but my pick to have a breakout year is linebacker Korey Toomer. After failing to make the roster a year ago even though he was a 5th round pick, my choice of Toomer might be considered a “long shot” pick. It’s not even certain that Toomer will make the roster, especially considering the ultra-competitive roster battle that the linebacker position is shaping up to be.

The thing is, if Toomer makes the roster, it’s going to be very difficult for the team to not get him on the field. Toomer is an exceptional athlete. He’s got the size, speed and strength to be an amazing player. What’s held him back thus far has been his lack understanding of the the mental parts of the game.

As a rookie, Toomer reminded me a lot of Aaron Curry, and that’s not a compliment. He then spent almost the entire year on the practice squad. He had a chance to watch, learn, and study with some of the best players and coaches in the NFL. Pete Carroll said after the most recent OTA that Toomer is the team’s most improved player.

All that adds up to a boom or bust situation for Toomer. He’s either going to fail to make the team again, or he’s going to be very difficult to keep off the field. I’ll bet on the latter.

Apparently I wasn’t the only person who thought of Toomer with this question.

James Carpenter was an unexpected answer. I hadn’t thought of him for some reason, but I really like this answer. If Camp can finally get and stay healthy, he should have an amazing year.

I checked. It turns out that Russell Wilson did have a breakout year in 2012. Who knew? Walter Thurmond was by far the most popular pick. Here is a small sampling of those people who suggested Thurmond would have a breakout year:

Then there were a couple others with Thurmond, but also mentioned other players:

Sweezy is another good suggestion. This season, he should finally have some technique and a little experience to go along with his athleticism.

There were a few rookies who got nods from fans.

Christine Michael is an interesting choice. I wonder if people are expecting him to cut into Marshawn Lynch’s carries more than I think he will.

Lane is an interesting choice. The talent is there, and I think he’s ready to step in for a larger role. The problem is that he’ll have to find a way onto the field, and with Sherman, Browner, Thurmond, and Winfield ahead of him on the depth chart, that’s not going to be easy.

KJ is under-appreciated, but I’m not sure he can “break out” since he’s already a huge contributor to the defense.

Miller is already a huge contributor, but his receiving stats can certainly make large improvements over the past couple seasons. He just needs the O-line to be able to hold up on its own, and not need his help all the time.

So what can we learn from this? Well, I learned that I need to follow some more 12s on twitter. That’s something I’ll fix as soon as I’m done writing this.

Other than that, I think it’s pretty clear that we’re all very exciting for this season to begin. Is it August yet?