12th Man Rising
FanSided

Seahawks 53-man roster projection prior to preseason game one

By Lee Vowell

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks gestures during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 11: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks gestures during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 10
Next
Ezekiel Ansah of the Seahawks eats a QB
(Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /

Defensive line

Ends

Starters: Ziggy Ansah and Jacob Martin

Backups: Cassius Marsh, Rasheem Green, L.J. Collier and Quinton Jefferson

Cuts: Nazair Jones and Branden Jackson

I am going with Martin as the starter here opposite Ansah. Martin will be much more a passing down end and might get subbed out a ton on early run downs. Collier would likely be the starter instead of Martin, but Collier is out for an indefinite time with an ankle injury.

Ansah is the key to all of the Seahawks pressure, though. If he gets hurt or is ineffective, Seattle’s secondary will get picked apart. Involving the linebackers in pressuring opposing quarterbacks can only go so far. Therefore, Ansah must have a big year.

Marsh sticks on the team because he knows the system Seattle runs and is a good fit for it. Plus, he is good on special teams. Green needs to be much better in his second year and there is no reason he shouldn’t be. Jefferson has been decent in limited snaps.

Tackles

Starters: Poona Ford and Al Woods

Backups: Earl Mitchell and Jamie Meder

Cuts: Demarcus Christmas

Suspended first six games: Jarran Reed

Ford might be a defensive tackle in Seattle for the next 10 years and be a really good player. He is excellent against the run and might find his way into rushing the quarterback now and again too. Woods is a run stopper only. So is Mitchell and Meder.

And that is the problem with the interior of the defensive line without Reed: They can get no push on the quarterback. This really hurt the Seahawks in 2017 and could do so for the first six games on 2019. By the time Reed gets back, Seattle might be out of the playoff picture.

Home/Seattle Seahawks News