Seahawks position preview: Cornerback breakdowns, starters, and cuts
The new Seahawks
Quinton Dunbar
Age: 28
Contract: 3 years $10.5 million (Final year)
2019 Stats: 4 INT’s, 8 passes defended, 37 tackles, 1 TFL
If you have been living under a rock and need to know what is happening with the whole Quinton Dunbar situation from this offseason, in a previous post I broke down the question of will he play this season? Since then, it looks as if the question has been answered and Dunbar will indeed be able to play.
On the football side of things, Dunbar is an exciting player that will most likely be a one a year rental coming over from Washington in exchange for the Seahawks 5th round pick. He had the second-highest PFF grade for a corner last year at 87.6 and had 4 interceptions in just 11 games. He will start opposite Shaquill Griffin this year and looks to be a perfect fit for Pete Carroll who loves tall, long, and one on one specialist corners.
DJ Reed
Age: 23
Contract: 4 years $2,771,372 (3rd year)
2019 Stats: 2 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 1 TD, 13 tackles
Reed makes his way to Seattle after being placed on waivers by the 49ers and then claimed by Seattle. He was placed on waivers by the 49ers after he suffered an offseason injury training away from the team which will now keep him out until at least November. But now because of NFL rules, the Seahawks don’t have to place him on waivers if he is injured and is not on the 53 man roster, and can keep him on the injured list while he recovers.
DJ, when healthy, is an interesting prospect. He played a lot his rookie season and returned kicks, but then last year he was taken off of the return duties (He did still have a similar number of special teams snaps) and went down from 34% of defensive snaps played to 12%. His PFF grades for 2018 and 2019 were also excellent for a backup. His defensive role for San Francisco was primarily the slot corner role, which he could help the Seahawks with when he is healthy at the end of this season or next year.
Jayson Stanley
Age: 23
Contract: 2 years $1,110,000
Stanley has spent time with the Falcons and Jaguars but has never appeared in an NFL game. He was a wide receiver in college but then was converted to a corner. The athleticism and 6′ 2″ size led the Seahawks to give him a two-year contract (No money guaranteed) and bring him in to compete for a backup spot at corner.
Gavin Heslop
Age: 23
Contract: 3 years $2,290,000
Heslop was one of the Seahawk’s many undrafted free agent signings. He was a three-year starter at Stony Brook and of course, he is tall and long, just as Pete Carroll likes with his corners. His highlights look like he could’ve at least been a senior starter for some big power 5 schools, as he is fast and can play the ball well too. Heslop will try to compete for one of the backup spots on the depth chart.
Debione Renfro
Age: 21
Contract: 3 years $2,290,000
Renfro goes from the collegiate 12th man, Texas A&M, to the pro 12th man. He left college early to enter the draft but went undrafted and so the Seahawks scooped him up off the market. He is, you guessed it, tall and long-standing 6′ 2″ with long arms. His inconsistent play during his three years at A&M led him to be undrafted, but with his size and his more positive plays that he had, the Seahawks signed him to a UDFA contract.