Seahawks host player capable of replacing both DeeJay Dallas and Jamal Adams

The 2024 NFL draft is a week away and in less than two weeks, Seattle Seahawks fans will know who the newest members of their favorite team is. What we do not know is exactly where Seattle's picks are made in the draft. The reason for that is the general manager John Schneider is likely to make a trade or two, especially early in the draft, in an attempt to add more picks, especially a second-round choice.

Seattle has been hosting players they have some interest in for several weeks now. Each NFL team can visit with as many as 30 players and do interviews and medical examinations. This is on top of the players Seattle met with at the NFL Combine in February.

One player that has reportedly met with Seattle in the past few days is one who can do many roles at a high level. In fact, the issue might be that this player, Iowa's Cooper DeJean, does so many things well that Seattle might have a difficult time trying to get him pinned down to just one. The great part is that DeJean does not have to only be a defensive player.

Seattle Seahawks reportedly met with Iowa's Cooper DeJean ahead of the 2024 NFL draft

DeJean's main role, of course, is going to be playing somewhere in the secondary. He is capable of playing cornerback or safety equally well, though he mostly played cornerback at Iowa recently. His skillset - he is nearly 6'1" and 205 pounds and extremely athletic for his size - should allow him to make an impact wherever he plays. The most ideal spot could be at safety as Devon Witherspoon is Seattle's slot corner and having DeJean at safety could provide for more use of his versatility.

New head coach Mike Macdonald used three safety sets more than any other coach when he was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. One reason he did this is that the design allowed him to disguise his alignments better. Adding DeJean in place of someone such as Jamal Adams allows Macdonald to have a safety who can excel in coverage but also play in the box against the run.

The other aspect DeJean might be able to help Seattle is in returning punts. In 2023, DeeJay Dallas was the Seahawks' main punt returner, but Dallas signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent this offseason. Seattle does not have a player truly capable of returning punts currently.

At Iowa over the last two seasons, DeJean returned a combined 31 punts with a very good average of 13.1 yards per return. He returned one punt 70 yards for a touchdown in 2023. Schneider might want to choose DeJean only to play defense, but doing so would take away a potential weapon on Seattle's special teams.

DeJean is going to be a first-round choice, most likely. He might be around even if the Seahawks trade back a few spots. But since DeJean seems to be a perfect fit in Mike Macdonald's defense, Seattle might just stay at pick 16 and take the Iowa product.

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