3 Seahawks already tumbling down the depth chart at training camp

The Seattle Seahawks and new head coach Mike Macdonald will begin their preseason this week when the team plays the Los Angeles Chargers. By this time, the team will have had a bit over two weeks to begin deciding which players to keep on the team and which to let go. Most of the team was decided even before camp, but there are certainly roster battles still happening.

The three players that follow are a mix of veterans and one rookie. The rookie is certainly going to make the team. His issue is that he might not be anywhere near starting in Week 1.

Of the veterans, they might also make the active 53-man roster, or they might be trade pieces before the season. One player might not make the team due to the glut of players at his position. All are struggling to earn reps, however.

Three Seahawks who appear to be tumbling down the depth chart in training camp

Edge rusher Darrell Taylor

Taylor has always been an inconsistent pass rusher, and at his best, that is really the only thing is does well. He is atrocious against the run and new head coach Mike Macdonald likes players who can be positional flexible. All Taylor has proven he can do is sometimes be good at chasing down quarterbacks in spurts.

There is no coincidence that when Taylor got more starts after Uchenna Nwosu was injured (Taylor started the first two games after Nwosu was hurt in Week 7) the Seahawks' run defense diminished greatly. The edge rusher is either incapable or unwilling to be good against the run, and Macdonald will want to see improvement in that phase.

Nwosu is back and Boye Mafe might take another leap in 2024, but Taylor's issue is that Derick Hall has been a lot better in training camp than he was as a rookie. Hall deserves a lot of the reps that Taylor might get should the season start next week. Taylor will still have a role as a rotational pass-rusher, but that might be only if he is willing to rework his deal and not be paid the $3 million he is owed in 2024.

Right guard Christian Haynes

When Haynes was taken in the third round of the 2024 draft, there was a hope that he would be a Week 1 starter. He had lots of college experience, had the size to compete, and had the mentality to be ultra-aggressive. In minicamp, he did not flash high-end efficiency and the hope was that once pads came on he would be better.

There have been a couple of practices where Haynes has been OK. Overall, however, he has not been consistent. He has been running mostly on the second team of the offensive line behind second-year player McClendon Curtis. Curtis did not play any offensive snaps in 2023 so he doesn't have any kind of experience that would imply he should start over Haynes.

Both Curtis and Haynes will battle Anthony Bradford to start at right guard. None of the players has separated themselves in training camp and Bradford started camp with an injury. Bradford did start some last year, however, and that could give him an advantage. That could mean that instead of starting, Haynes could drop to third-string ahead of Week 1.

Cornerback Mike Jackson

Jackson has started as the odd man out in the last two training camps even though he was a full-time starter in 2022. Last year, he started the season behind Riq Woolen and Tre Brown, but he was eventually able to regain a starting spot late in the season due to Brown getting dinged up and Woolen's inefficiency.

In the draft, however, the Seahawks chose two cornerbacks, Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James. James is more of a nickel, but Pritchett is a direct competitor to Jackson. Pritchett has shown some great coverage ability in training camp while Brown is expected to start. This could mean Jackson will fall behind Pritchett and Brown (and Woolen will certainly start at the other outside corner spot).

Jackson could be closer to not making the roster than he is gaining a starting spot. Pritchett could back up Brown or Woolen in three cornerback sets. Many times Seattle might only have two corners and those would be Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.

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