Players that will be magic for the Seahawks in 2019

The Seahawks roster has a lot of young and exciting players, most of who are expected to stand out when the season comes.

I might be getting a little head of myself with these superlatives but it’s difficult to not be excited by the talent the Seahawks have after drafting two great draft classes in a row. Many of these young players have the chance to outperform others at their position.

Comeback player

The Seahawks drafted Will Dissly in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft to be their blocking tight end, a role that Jimmy Graham just couldn’t quite fulfill. From the start of the season, Dissly exceeded expectations.

His four-game breakout performance— 8 receptions, 156 yards, 2 touchdowns— would have easily continued deep into the season had he never been injured.

When Dissly returns— and if he performs at the same level as he did before he was injured— he’s easily the top candidate for Seahawks comeback player of the year.

Breakout star

Some consider 2018 to be Tre Flowers‘ breakout year, and they’re not entirely wrong. Flowers, who ranked first among rookie DBs in run-defense )according to Pro Football Focus), proved to be a smart addition for the Seahawks‘ defense last year.

Flowers— who converted from safety to corner after being drafted— is going to be the one to watch in the Seahawks secondary in 2019. He has a high upside and a ton of potential.

Unlike Shaquill Griffin‘s underwhelming transition from year one to year two, ESPN’s Brock Huard is optimistic about Flowers’ growth heading into his second season.

Rising star

Originally deemed too short and not physical enough, Poona Ford has defied all the expectations and evaluations that scouts put on him prior to the 2018 NFL Draft. To some, his stats might not seem like much. But despite only starting one game in his first season, Ford had an impressively underrated rookie year where he finished with 21 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits.

Pro Football Focus credited Ford with the best run-defense grade by a rookie interior defender (91.5) since 2006, surpassing Aaron Donald‘s 90.8 rookie grade.

Ford was due to have an improved role on the Seahawk’s defense in 2019 no matter what, and after the news of Jarran Reed‘s suspension, he might be given an even bigger role than we thought.

Under the radar

Bradley McDougald started every game for the Seahawks in 2018, including the playoffs. He had a total of three interceptions on the season, two of which came during their season opener at Denver.

The Seahawks do have several safeties on their roster. Tedric Thompson started a good chunk of the season at free safety after Earl Thomas‘s injury while McDougald took over at strong safety.

Signs currently point to McDougald staying put in the box in 2019, an area where he feels he performs best. He’s only getting better as his career progresses and should see a huge leap in 2019 in terms of production.

Sleeper

Rasheem Green was all the talk during the Seahawks 2018 preseason. But as the season went on, Green quietly slipped into the shadows of the Seahawks defense. During the preseason, he put on a dominant performance against the Colts and Chargers, finishing with three total sacks.

Green— who suffered a minor injury early on— played in 10 games during the regular season but only produced for one sack and not very many tackles. He has a lot of potential to contribute to the Seahawks defensive line but was just overshadowed by the talent the team had last year.

With really no sure starters going into 2019, Green has the chance to really emerge as a future star. There’s a lot of hype surrounding him heading into training camp and the new season.