Three key position battles for the Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Position Battle No. 2: Linebacker

I am going to go out on a limb here, but Bobby Wagner is about as safe as they come in terms of being the starter. It is the weakside and strongside linebacker positions that are up for competition. Last season, KJ Wright manned the weakside spot, where Mychal Kendricks was the strongside linebacker.

The current linebackers (including edge players) on the roster:

• Bobby Wagner
• KJ Wright
• Bruce Irvin (edge)
• Cody Barton
• Ben Burr-Kirven
• Shaquem Griffin (edge)
• Jordyn Brooks

Seattle paid heavily to bring Bruce Irvin back into the fold. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was used almost solely as an edge (pass-rushing specialist) and therefore not a starter. Shaquem would fit into the same bill.

Pete Carroll said last year that Ben Burr-Kirven is Bobby Wagner’s backup. While things change over time, I do think this is the best spot for him now and in the future. This leaves KJ Wright, Cody Barton, and Jordyn Brooks as the main competition for the two linebacker starting spots.

KJ Wright

Wright is about as well respected on the field, as he is off. He has led the NFL multiple times in tackles and has been near-elite for years. Yet, somehow outside of the Seahawks community, not many people know who he is or what he has accomplished.

When I think of Wright, I think of an exceptional pass defender, with a sky-high football IQ.  However, Wright has visibly slowed down over the past couple of seasons.

This leaves one to wonder how effective he will be going forward. Seattle has drafted what appears to be his replacements in each of the last two drafts. Could this be the year that Wright is done in Seattle? Wright is in competition for both weakside and strongside spots, per Pete Carroll.

Cody Barton

Cody Barton was the golden boy last off-season. Between the coaches, players and media, everyone raved about the guy. He appeared to be the perfect rookie, he was hard working on the field and studied even harder off the field. He listened before he spoke and made every effort to not make the same mistake twice.

He started a handful of games last year. He showed glimpses of being a high football IQ player. However, it was not consistent. He allowed a completion percentage of 77.8% on 9 targets. However, in the two playoff games, Barton showed some significant improvement. He didn’t allow a single completion. He had 2 passes defended, 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.

Barton’s two best positional fits would be middle linebacker and strongside linebacker. However, he does have experience playing in all 3 spots.

Jordyn Brooks

The final piece of the equation would be Jordyn Brooks. He is an unknown entity, as he has yet to take a snap for the team. In college, he played all 3 linebacker positions and played them well.

His main strengths are run defense, man coverage, where he uses his speed and football IQ to diagnose and make the play. His biggest draw was his poor performance in zone coverage, which was truly atrocious. So long as he can stay in man to man, or as a spy, he should be golden.

The best two positional fits for him would be middle linebacker and weakside linebacker. Long-term, I like him inside. But as we all know, that is Wagner’s spot and he doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Conclusion

It really depends if there is a training camp/pre-season etc. If there is, I can Brooks speed and football IQ winning him the weakside spot. If there is not, the team will likely elect for a more experienced group with KJ at weakside, and Barton at strongside.

I think Seattle will keep the core of Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright together for one more year, this time Wright will be at the strongside. Look for year 3 of Cody Barton to move into a full-time role as the strongside linebacker.

My Pick:

Weakside Linebacker: Jordyn Brooks

Middle Linebacker: Bobby Wagner

Strongside Linebacker: KJ Wright

Backup: Cody Barton