Seahawks 2021: Predicting who makes the team on offense post-draft

Now that most of free agency is done and the 2021 NFL draft is over, here is a guess at who makes the Seahawks offense this coming season. Of course, there will likely be some more changes but nothing that Seattle does offensively should change the roster much on that side of the ball.

Quarterback is clearly set for Seattle and most of the starters, especially at the skill positions, are already assumed. But depth many times becomes the difference between whether a team makes the playoffs or not. Starters get injured and good players need to replace them.

Perhaps the biggest question about Seattle’s offense is how many offensive linemen they keep and how that makes decisions of who gets cut at other positions even tougher. But here is who I think makes the Seattle roster on offense in 2021.

A guess at who makes the Seahawks offense in 2021

Quarterback

Starter: Russell Wilson

Backup: Geno Smith

Cut: Danny Etling

Practice squad: Alex McGough

Clearly, Russell Wilson is going to be the Seahawks starter at quarterback for the foreseeable future. All those trade rumors circling around this offseason seem silly now. Geno Smith will likely be Wilson’s backup as long as he is content to keep getting paid around $1 million a year.

Running back

Starter: Chris Carson

Backups: Rashaad Penny, Nick Bellore, DeeJay Dallas, Alex Collins

Cut: B.J. Emmons, Travis Homer

Practice squad: Josh Johnson

Carson was re-signed for two seasons and should be the starter in both of those years. Penny is likely in the last year of his Seahawks deal as he never stays healthy for very long. Dallas is a decent third down option and under contract for three more years. The toughest choice is Collins versus Homer. Homer is unimpressive as a runner while Collins has shown at times to be a tough inside runner. Bellore is a special teams beast and will make the team as Seattle’s only fullback.

Wide receiver

Starters: D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and D’Wayne Eskridge

Backups: Freddie Swain and Penny Hart

Cut: John Ursua, Cody Thompson, Darvin Kidsy, Cade Johnson and Connor Wedington

Practice squad: Aaron Fuller and Tamorrion Taylor

I am not going to discuss Lockett and Metcalf much as they are certainly one of the best duos in the NFL. But I can’t wait to see what new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron does with Eskridge. I think he can get very creative with him. None of the other receivers are locks to make the team but I think Hart and Swain did enough in 2020 to show they should be on the 2021 roster.

Tight end

Starter: Gerald Everett

Backups: Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson

Cut: Tyler Mabry and Nick Guggemos

Waldron knows well what Everett can do and that’s why Everett is the starter. Dissly is going to get a lot of snaps too and be productive. Parkinson is still pretty much a question mark.

Offensive line

Starters: LT Duane Brown, LG Damien Lewis, C Ethan Pocic, RG Gabe Jackson, RT Brandon Shell

Backups: Cedric Ogbuechi, Jordan Simmons, Jamarco Jones, Phil Haynes and Kyle Fuller

Cut: Tommy Champion, Jake Curhan, Jared Hocker, Brad Lundblade, Greg Eiland and Pier-Olivier Lestage

Practice squad: Stone Forsythe

At this point, unless Seattle brings in another center, Pocic is going to be the starter. The rest of the line is set and should be a good group. Lewis is flipping to left guard but he will have Brown next to him and that is a good thing.

The Seahawks might choose to keep Forsythe on the active roster but he probably isn’t going to play much. That he fell to the sixth round also probably means when he is cut that another team won’t pick him up and Seattle can get him back for the practice squad.