The Seattle Seahawks have their well-known stars, of course. Even the most passive of NFL fans know who DK Metcalf and Bobby Wagner are. Possibly even Geno Smith, though he just has one season as a full-time starter in Seattle, has a high Q rating. But teams can succeed or fail based on how well the players that are more unknown do.
For instance, in his recent list of most important Legion of Boom members, K.J. Wright had defensive tackle Brandon Mebane at number five, ahead of guys like Wright and Michael Bennett. The reason was Mebane was a leader in the locker room (Wright learned how to study game film from him), even though he wasn't as productive on the field as some others. A team is made up of 53 active players in the NFL and every one of them can be important.
There are many Seahawks on the 2023 roster who might not be as talked about as others. For every DK Metcalf there is a Dareke Young. But that doesn't mean Young can't be a reason Seattle wins a specific game. What follows are three Seattle players who can also play important parts this coming season.
Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas
I am starting to think Dallas is getting paid on a per-carry basis (that's a joke, by the way). But it is odd how consistently the Seahawks have given him the football. In 2020, he had 34 rushes, in 2021 he had 33 and in 2022 he had 34. He also has had 17 receptions in two seasons and 21 in the other. But each year Dallas has rushed the ball, he has been more productive.
Dallas might be thought of as a smaller, quicker runing back, but he really isn't that small. He is 5'10" and 215 pounds. He has the size to have a bigger workload than he has had. And it isn't like he was a late-round draft pick. Seattle chose in the fourth round of the 2020 draft.
Dallas is versatile as he can return kicks and punts. He doesn't truly excel at returns, but he is solid and can take the role full-time if needed. But what Dallas needs is more rushes in relief of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. Dallas is probably capable of being a decent RB2, but he should be an excellent RB3 and Seattle just needs to find new and creative ways to use him.
Seahawks wide receiver Dee Eskridge
Eskridge was a second-round draft pick in 2021 and so far has either been oft-injured or non-productive. That said, Seattle seems to have a limited way of using him. Before taking him in the draft, the Seahawks must have looked at themselves in the draft room and said, "Now there's a guy who can run jet sweeps!" Because Eskridge has been involved in that type of play much more than other receivers in relation to number of snaps they get.
It could be that Eskridge simply hasn't figured out the work ethic he must have to earn more playing time, even when he is healthy enough to play. I don't mean that as a slight towards Eskridge; Maybe he just hasn't picked up how to have the ability to stay healthy and how to work through injuries. Former Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny struggled with this as well before Adrian Peterson showed him how to play with pain.
Plus, it isn't like Eskridge hasn't ever played. He has been involved in 10 games in both seasons of his career. He's been hurt a lot, sure, but he's been in games and disappeared even more. But this offseason, Geno Smith has sung the praises of Eskridge and said he is growing as a player. For any receiver to succeed, they must have the trust of their quarterback and maybe Eskridge is earning that trust.
Seattle already has Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, plus they draft Jaxon Smith-Njigba this year, so it appears Seattle's top three receivers are set. But teams need more than three receivers to be productive. Eskridge was supposed to be a decent third option when Seattle chose him in 2021, but he could be a solid number four in 2023.
Seahawks cornerback Tre Brown
Tre Brown was taken the same year as Eskridge. Both players have been hurt a bunch, Brown even more than Eskridge. Out of a possible 33 regular season games, Brown has appeared in 11 of them. But the difference between Eskridge and Brown is that when Brown has played, especially in 2021, Brown has been pretty good.
In fact, Brown played so well before being injured in the middle of 2021 that had he stayed healthy he had an excellent chance of entering 2022 as one of the starting cornerbacks. In 2021, Brown was targeted 16 times and allowed 8 completions, and had a quarterback rating allowed of just 63.3. He also allowed just 15 yards after those 8 completions so he showed he could tackle well, too.
It could be easy to chalk up 2022 as a year where Brown was still trying to get back to where he was in 2021 after overcoming a knee injury that required surgery. The issue for Brown is that the Seahawks took two cornerbacks in 2022 (one was Tariq Woolen who isn't going to be replaced in the starting lineup anytime soon, if healthy), and chose Devon Witherspoon high in the first round of 2023. Brown doesn't seem to have a home as a starter right now.
But just like at receiver, teams need quality depth at cornerback. Witherspoon, Woolen, and nickelback Coby Bryant are the likely starters at corner in 2023, but the backups are going to get their chance to prove they are good. Brown has flashed the ability to be a good cornerback and he will probably be counted on again to do that this coming season.