3 Seahawks I expect to take a leap forward in 2020
By Geoff Shull
Rasheem Green – Defensive end
Rasheem Green quietly had a very productive year, last year. He led the team in sacks (4) despite playing in a reserve role. While many casual fans expected Green to make more of an immediate impact, it is important to note he is only turning 23 this year. He is still a very young player. It is notoriously known that defensive ends are one of the slowest positions to translate from college to the NFL.
His stats from the 2019 season: 29 tackles, 16 pressures, 4 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 3 forced fumbles.
Coming out of college Green was listed as one of the top boom or bust candidates. He was just 20 years old and had a lot of room to grow in strength, refinements to his technique and understanding concepts. I am comfortable after seeing the growth from year 1 to year 2, to tell you that Green has All-Pro potential if he keeps going. His comp coming out of college was Carlos Dunlap, I can clearly see the resemblance now.
With all the speed Seattle has acquired this off-season (Bruce Irvin, Benson Mayowa, Darrell Taylor, Jordyn Brooks, and Quinton Dunbar) this should be enough to generate the outside pressure that was sorely lacking last season. Green’s improvement to technique last year and his lateral agility are off the charts. Give him a year with some true speed coming from the outside, and watch him cook.
Look for Rasheem Green to take a monster step forward. Year 3 is typically the year players break out. A couple of the most recent examples: Doug Baldwin in 2013, Bobby Wagner in 2014, Justin Britt in 2016, Jarran Reed in 2018 or Shaquill Griffin last season. This is the year we will see Rasheem Green make a name for himself in the way all the players listed above did before him.
Projected stats for 2020:
- Tackles: 42
- Sacks: 8
- TFL: 14.5
- FF: 2