3 things to watch for as Seahawks mandatory minicamp starts

Seahawks minicamp must-watch No. 3: How Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon look

As much as Seattle is taking it really slowly with injured veterans, the Seahawks are being extremely cautious with first-round picks Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon. Neither has gone full bore in OTAs so far and for good reason. Both were dealing with some kind of minor injury prior to the 2023 draft and so there is no reason to rush them before NFL games start. Both players can be immediately impactful, otherwise, there was no reason to choose them in round one.

But if both are able to play even a wee bit in mandatory minicamp it will give 12s yet another chance to believe that these rookies can be really good. In return, this means if Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon are good in 2023 then the team overall will be improved and even a little improvement could mean a deep run in the playoffs. But I digress.

I have to say that since Witherspoon is a cornerback and Smith-Njigba is a receiver it would be fun to watch them go one-on-one a bit because they are likely set to do that for years to come in practice. Both could make each other better.

And I don’t want to leave out all the other rookies involved. Seattle has a bunch of potentially excellent young players. Seeing them compete, even if there is no hitting, against all the healthy veterans should be something all 12s want to see.