3 Seattle Seahawks players with overlooked potential in 2023

The Seattle Seahawks are a team with a bunch of high-end talent, though a lot of that talent is young and unproven, especially when it comes to the 2023 draft class. The rookies might be absolutely fabulous this year, but many times it takes first-year guys a season to acclimate to the speed and power of the NFL. In other words, Seattle might need other guys to step up even more this year.

The players that follow include two second-year players and one player who has already played in two years. Two might just be getting their chances to shine. The other is a player who we know can do one thing fairly well but if he learns to do multiple things well, he could be a star.

All three of these players should make the active 53-man roster for 2023, but all three could be backups. Or, with any injuries, they could play important roles. But all three are capable of doing excellent work.

Seahawks linebacker Vi Jones

As great as Bobby Wagner is and as solid of a tackler as Devin Bush appears, Vi Jones might be Seattle's most physically gifted linebacker. He is extremely fast - more like an edge rusher than an inside linebacker - but he seems to have a nose for sniffing out run plays well enough to play inside for Seattle. ILB should be where Jones fits for Seattle in at least 2023.

Jones was undrafted out of college in 2022, was added to Seattle's practice squad, and after being elevated from the practice squad, he played in three games without recording a statistic defensively. Jones played 43 snaps on special teams, however. If he makes the active 53-man roster this year, he will likely get a ton of special teams snaps. His speed and overall athleticism should be excellent tools to help the third phase of the game be fantastic again for Seattle.

But Jones has bulked up by about 10 pounds since last year. He's now 6'2" and a more solid 235 pounds. This should allow him, if he does get some play at inside linebacker, to hold up under NFL-type punishment. The Seahawks are relatively thin at linebacker after Wagner and Bush, but expecting those guys to stay healthy for every down of every game might be asking too much. If Jones has to take on valuable reps, he should be able to create a few explosive and possibly game-changing plays.