A bit over a month ago, there was a legitimate case to be made for Nehemiah Pritchett as one of the odd men out. He hadn't done much in his first two years with the Seattle Seahawks, and this looked like his last chance to make a name for himself.
Fast forward to today, and not only does Pritchett look the part, but he might've been good enough to end the team's pursuit of another cornerback. He's arguably been the team's most pleasant surprise through the first two games of the season.
The Seahawks added Trevon Diggs and Terrion Arnold late in the offseason, with the former on the practice squad and the latter on the Commissioner's exempt list. But after watching Pritchett in yet another dominant win, do they actually need either of them with Pritchett playing this way?
Nehemiah Pritchett may have solved the Seattle Seahawks' biggest roster conundrum
If all are healthy, the Seahawks will start Devon Witherspoon, Ty Okada, Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, and Josh Jobe. With rookie Bud Clark out for the season, those spots should be locked for the remainder of the campaign.
That said, the Seahawks seemed unsettled at their CB2 spot, but that was before Pritchett's surge. Jobe will continue to start, but Aden Durde and Mike Macdonald are mad scientists who enjoy shaking things up on defense, so there will be a role for everyone.
Thus far, Pritchett has given up a grand total of three receptions on five targets for 25 yards (8.3 yards per catch). He's held opposing quarterbacks to a 33.3 passer rating, logging one interception and one crucial pass breakup. He also has two run stops, and his tackling has been much more efficient than in previous years.
Pro Football Focus (subscription required) currently has him ranked as the fourth-best cornerback in the league through two games (79.9), and even though the sample size is limited and no algorithm is 100 percent accurate or reliable, the eye test matches the numbers.
The defending Super Bowl champions continue to boast the most suffocating defense in the game, and standing out from the rest of the pack is a tall ask in this secondary. But so far, it looks like all the buzz he drew in training camp is far from empty noise.
Watching him beat Noah Igbinoghene for a roster spot was a somewhat polarizing decision at the time, but he's validated it through the first two games of the campaign. And while it will take much more to secure his future with the organization, he should have plenty of opportunities to show the Seahawks didn't need to get involved in Terrion Arnold's complex situation to begin with.
They already had their guy.
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