This Seahawks rookie will be ready to start in Week 1 versus the Broncos

The Seahawks are battling injuries to a few key starters. Happily, it looks like one rookie is ready to step up. If Seattle needs him to go, this fourth-round pick has shown he can step into the role.

To be sure, it's not the situation Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks prefer. There's a reason they scoured the free agent market the way they did. They got the players they believed would best suit Macdonald's defensive scheme to start them, not to sit them. The Hawks certainly don't want to see any starters on the bench because of an injury.

Yet that's what they're facing at several positions. The ostensible starting right guard Abe Lucas may not be ready to go by week 1. While he's expected to be in the lineup soon, the Hawks' new center Connor Williams is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL. Lucas is a far bigger question mark than Williams, but until we see him on the field, there are no guarantees. At least in both of those cases, the Seahawks have players with some experience ready to step in.

The Seattle Seahawks may need Tyrice Knight to step into some very big shoes

Jerome Baker was signed to be the Hawks starting linebacker at the WILL position, patrolled by Jordyn Brooks for the past few years. Before that, the Hawks were blessed to have K.J. Wright playing the weakside, and few have done it better. But there's an issue in Seattle, as Baker has missed most of camp with a few different injuries. The most recent is a hamstring problem that kept him off the field for the Titans game. Coach Macdonald said he planned to have Baker on the field by week 1.

Well, sure, that's the plan. But what if the plan doesn't work out? Hamstring injuries are notorious for lingering far longer than almost anything else. Well, anything but that stomachache you got from the anchovy-pineapple-jalapeno pizza you ate on a dare. Ha ha, you should have had a bottle of Pepto-Bismol first. Or, you know, the generic stuff.

Anyway, we were talking football. Happily, the Seahawks have an insurance policy at the spot in the name of that fourth-round draft choice, Mr. Tyrice Knight, formerly of the UTEP Miners. Knight was an absolute tackling machine in college, leading the FBS division with 84 solo tackles. Performance like that in college ball is great, sure, but can it translate to the pros?

Well, so far it has. Knight leads the Seahawks this preseason with 12 total tackles. Six of those were stops, including one for a loss. He hasn't missed a tackle yet. In that respect, he looks like he's picked up some of that BWagz talent. Maybe there was a little bit still bouncing around the locker room. That doesn't mean he's got all the tools yet.

Speaking about Knight after Saturday's game, Macdonald told the media, "...very pleased with the tackles. Time to step it to the next level communication-wise, blitz, coverage, play recognition. It's almost like, ‘Hey, man, you’re not a rookie anymore.’ You’ve got to grow up fast. You’ve got to be ready to go if your numbers called."

I think Knight will be ready if need be. We're rapidly approaching the time that Baker has to be on the field to play effectively in the Seahawks defense. That first game is on September 8th, and there's a lot for Baker to work on in these next few weeks. I'm not saying that Knight is better, but at this point, he's better prepared. Moreover, I think he's ready to step up until Baker can step back into his role.

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