The 2023 Seattle Seahawks draft class appears to be another successful one. Seattle drafted the best players available at the positions they wanted early in the draft. Later, Seattle chose players who fill positions of concern but those players should be able to help sooner than later.
While some Seahawks should know their place on the roster is cemented, others should not. For instance, Seattle didn't draft a quarterback so not only should Geno Smith feel safe for at least another season, but so should Drew Lock. Simply put, Seattle took players they thought would help them at positions that needed help while the team didn't take players at positions they do not see needing help.
But here are three Seahawks that shouldn't be happy with what Seattle did. At least, they should feel nervous about their stature with the team heading into the 2023 season and beyond. If they do not produce at a high level this coming year, they may not be with the team in 2024.
Seahawks loser No. 1: Cornerback Tre Brown
Brown has had issues staying healthy in his two seasons with the team. He started off injured in the 2021 season but then appeared to be potentially good in the five games he did play. He actually started three games and had a quarterback rating allowed of just 63.3 when targeted. He was potentially going to be a starter for Seattle if he could stay healthy.
But late in 2021, Brown was injured again and missed offseason activities and didn't return until Week 12. Throughout 2022, Brown played a total of 21 defensive snaps in six games. The issue was twofold. He wasn't healthy enough to play and cornerback Mike Jackson was playing well enough to remain a starter opposite Tariq Woolen.
Woolen is going to remain a starter. But the Seahawks also took Devon Witherspoon fifth overall in the draft and he should also be a starter. As well as Jackson played, he should get reps, if he isn't starting to begin the season while Witherspoon acclimates to the speed of the NFL. This leaves few snaps for Brown. If Brown is healthy, he deserves a chance to show what he can do but he certainly seems the odd man out at this point.
Seahawks loser No. 2: Wide receiver D'Wayne Eskridge
Like Brown, Eskridge hasn't stayed healthy enough to consistently be on the field to show the Seahawks what he can do. Also like Brown, Eskridge is a part of the 2021 draft. Unlike Brown, Eskridge hasn't been productive in the limited amount of time he has played.
Eskridge was a second-round pick for Seattle but he certainly hasn't played like it. He was likely expected to be WR3 when Seattle took him. He was fast and could do multiple things in college. But in the NFL, he has caught 17 of his 33 targets for only 122 yards. That's a catch rate of just 51.5 percent and that isn't good enough to earn quality snaps.
Neither is Eskridge's 7.2 yards per catch. That's awful. And the Seahawks seem to have trusted him less in 2022 than in 2021, Eskridge was targeted 20 times and carried the ball 4 times, but in 2022 those numbers fell to 13 and 2, respectively. Maybe the trust in Eskridge is all about health and that if he touches the ball he will get hurt.
Seattle chose Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round. Not only is Smith-Njigba likely a better player than Eskridge anyway, but adding him certainly means fewer reps for Eskridge. This is especially true when 2022 draftee Dareke Young showed in extremely limited targets last season that he might be worthy of taking on a bigger role. Eskridge, if anything, might be a WR5 for Seattle entering the season.
Seahawks loser No. 3: Edge rusher Darrell Taylor
Darrell Taylor seems capable of doing only one thing really well and that is rushing the quarterback. But he is massively inconsistent when doing so. Taylor might go through five-game stretches where he collects 4 or 5 sacks and then goes four or five-game stretches where he disappears. If an NFL player wants to get lots of reps, he needs to make sure that the one or two things he does do well he does at a consistently high level.
In the 2022 draft, Seattle chose Boye Mafe and Mafe could play a bigger role on the defense this season. Mafe seems capable of playing both the run and the pass and players who can do two things decently well versus a player who can do one thing inconsistently well should get more playing time. But Mafe still has to prove himself a bit more.
Taylor missed his rookie season with an injury he suffered in college. This means next offseason he will be a restricted free agent so Seattle can match any offer he might receive elsewhere. Surely, Taylor will get offers elsewhere because even though he can just rush the passer, those guys still get paid a premium.
But in the 2023 NFL draft, Seattle chose Derick Hall in the second round. Hall is strong and has good athleticism. He also appears to be a player who can defend the run and the pass. If he can prove he can do this quickly in the NFL, he will push Taylor further down the pass rush rotation.