Seahawks 53-man roster projection entering preseason Week 1

The Seattle Seahawks will begin their run of preseason games on Saturday, August 10, at 4:05 pm PT against the Chargers in Los Angeles. The game has a bit more meaning than most preseason games because this will be the first time 12s will see new head coach Mike Macdonald leading his team from the sidelines against a team wearing different jerseys than his own.

The great thing about the list that follows is that it will likely change because of what some players do in the team's three preseason games. The predictions are based on how well players have done in training camp so far as well as those veterans who are locks to make the active 53-man roster before Week 1.

Because the coaching staff is almost entirely new - and because general manager John Schneider has the final say over the roster for the first time - the Seahawks could construct the roster a bit differently. Seattle might keep three quarterbacks instead of two, for instance. Based on what we have seen so far, however, these are our best guesses about who will make the 2024 version of the Seahawks.

Projecting Seattle Seahawks depth chart heading into preseason Week 1

Quarterbacks (2)

Starter - Geno Smith
Backup - Sam Howell
Practice squad - PJ Walker

As most expected, there is no drama at this position. Maybe some hoped that Sam Howell would test Geno Smith in training camp and potentially make a run at QB1, but that did not happen. Smith appeared to know new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's offense extremely well and was sharp in leading the offense.

Howell was quite the opposite early in camp. He was late with his throws, off-target, and played more like a rookie than someone who started full-time for the Washington Commanders in 2023. Howell looked so bad early in camp that presumed QB3 PJ Walker might have a better chance at QB2 than Howell did to chase down Smith.

Seattle will likely only keep two quarterbacks on the active roster and hope Walker falls to the practice squad. If that happens, Walker can be on the sidelines during games in case Smith and Howell get hurt. Let's hope that doesn't happen but at least Walker seems to be a decent backup option.

Running backs (4)

Starter - Kenneth Walker III
Key backup - Zach Charbonnet
Filling out the position - Kenny McIntosh, George Holani

The biggest question in this group is whether the Seahawks keep four running backs or three. Prior to Mike Macdonald taking over the on-field product of the team, Seattle saw running backs seemingly get injured every season. Seattle did not just need two good running backs but they needed possibly five because the depth was tested.

Should Seattle only keep three then that is a huge risk. Walker has missed two games in each of his first two seasons. Charbonnet got a little dinged up last year. McIntosh missed most of the first part of the season with a leg injury.

McIntosh seems like he is going to make the roster, but UDFA Holani runs hard and was productive in college. He simply got hurt too much there as well. The guess here is that the Seahawks keep four backs simply because of general manager John Schneider's past experience watching so many running backs get hurt.

Wide receivers (6)

Starters - DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxson Smith-Njigba
Backups - Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, Dee Eskridge

This position gets a bit tricky because of what Seattle might want to do with kickoff returns. The team clearly is trying to make an effort to explore how explosive that part of the game can be so that might mean keeping a seventh wide receiver such as Laviska Shenault. The issue with Shenault is that he has been in the league for four years and in the last two, he hasn't been productive.

Young and Bobo have both had fantastic camps so far. Bobo is a lock to be WR4 and he should be an even better red-zone target this year than he was in his rookie season. He could even see a decently sized increase in his targets from 25 in 2023.

The first three receivers listed above are clearly the ones Seattle is going to count on to be the bulk of the targets. Metcalf is certainly the alpha now. The question is whether JSN will overtake Lockett in 2024 to become WR2.

Tight ends (3)

Starter - Noah Fant
Backups - Pharaoh Brown, AJ Barner

The problem with this group might be that it limits what Grubb can do in terms of flashing something that isn't there. For instance, there are likely not going to be many offensive sets that feature Brown as a receiver. He is much more of a blocker and defenses will know that. Fant is more of a receiver and should be better used being so under Grubb.

The wild card might be Barner and how quickly he can show the coaches that he has full grasp of the offense. In college at Michigan, he did not get a lot of opportunities to catch passes, but that doesn't mean he can't. He should be a solid blocker immediately. If he can hurt defenses as a receiver, that changes the outlook for this entire group.

Offensive line (9)

Starters - LT Charles Cross, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Olu Oluwatimi, RG McClendon Curtis, RT George Fant
Backups - Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford, Nick Harris, Stone Forsythe
PUP - Abe Lucas

Unfortunately, it appears that new offensive line coach Scoff Huff has his work cut out with this group. They mostly looked awful in the team's mock game this past weekend. Maybe that was because the defense is a lot better, or maybe that is because the offensive line is a lot worse. Only Charles Cross has looked good in training camp so far.

There are more questions than answers at this point. Will Abe Lucas return from knee surgery before the season and be in shape? The guess here is no. Plus, will Seattle try to sign Connor Williams who they took a visit with last week? He's a very good center who was hurt late last season. If he signs, he should start ahead of Oluwatimi.

Christian Haynes has not performed as well as hoped so far and might be third-string in Week 1 of the regular season behind Curtis - an undrafted free agent in 2023 - and Bradford, who was awful as a rookie last year. Let's just hope we see some immediate improvement from this group.

Defensive line (6)

Starters - Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Dre'Mont Jones
Backups - Jarran Reed, Jonathan Hankins, Cameron Young

Having an overabundance of rotational pieces along the defensive line is needed, but keeping this group to six seems the logical way to go as of now. The reason is that rookie Byron Murphy has been so good in camp so far that he appears ready to take on a veteran's load of reps. He could even be the starter between Leonard and Jones in Week 1.

Young is more of a pure nose guard and did not get much of a chance to show what he could do as a rookie in 2023. He should at least be able to help against the run which would spell Murphy and, possibly, Reed in the middle of the line. Reed has positional flexibility, however, so Mike Macdonald is going to find different ways to use him.

One player to keep an eye on would be Mike Morris. He has had a good camp and played under Macdonald at Michigan. Keeping a seventh defensive lineman means making another position group thinner, of course, and there is a lot of talent in the group of six above.

Linebackers (8)

Inside linebacker starters - Tyrel Dodson, Jerome Baker
Inside linebacker backups - Jon Rhattigan, Tyrice Knight
Outside linebacker starters - Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu
Outside linebacker backups - Derick Hall, Darrell Taylor

The starters at inside linebacker and on the edge are set. Assuming Baker and Dodson can stay healthy, they should be great fits in Macdonald's system. Mafe and Nwosu could be one of the better edge rush duos in the league in the new defensive scheme as well.

Depth is a concern. Hall seems much improved over his dismal rookie season but will that translate to real games? Taylor has been ineffective against the run in his career and needs to prove to the new coaches he can get better in that area.

Seattle could go with five inside linebackers and keep Patrick O'Connell who has good athleticism. Knight might not yet be ready to play a large numbers of reps as he seems raw currently. Rhattigan is a solid, if not spectacular, backup.

Cornerbacks (6)

Starters - Devon Witherspoon. Riq Woolen
Backups - Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, Nehemiah Pritchett, D.J. James

This is one of the trickier units to predict because of the mix of veterans and youth and because of the potentially high-end talent of Woolen and Witherspoon. Those two on the roster mean everyone else is fighting for one spot. In a three-cornerback set, Witherspoon will play the nickel, Woolen one outside spot, and, likely, Brown will be the third.

Brown had his chance to start at the beginning of last season too, though, and Jackson - the full-time starter in 2022 - ended up replacing him. Brown can be solid, but he struggles against bigger receivers. Jackson might be more of a trade piece at this point.

If Seattle decides to go with five cornerbacks instead of six, James would be the first guy out. He is more of a nickel and that is Witherspoon's job. Should something happen to Witherspoon (hopefully not), then Coby Bryan could move into the slot as he has started there before. The Seahawks had enough faith in James to take him in the draft so clearly they see some promise in him and might not want to release him.

Safeties (5)

Starters - Julian Love, Rayshawn Jenkins
Backups - K'Von Wallace, Coby Bryant, Marquise Blair
PUP - Jerrick Reed II

Mike Macdonald used more three-safety sets in 2023 than any other defensive coordinator when he was with the Baltimore Ravens. That gives the defense the ability to show different looks against both the pass and run. The key is to have players who are versatile enough to play deep but also crunch the line. Love and Jenkins can probably do that, but the rest are more unknowns.

Blair sticking on the roster is iffy. He didn't play anywhere last year either. His reputation is one of being a bit of a hot-head, and that has already shown up in camp. Still, he is a physical safety and John Schneider and Macdonald might both love that.

Reed is working his way back from an injury late in 2023. He is elite on special teams and can also be physical. The guess is that Blair makes the Week 1 roster because Reed isn't yet ready to play.

Specialists (3)

Kicker - Jason Myers
Punter - Michael Dickson
Long snapper - Chris Stoll

There is absolutely zero drama with this group. Myers, Dickson, and Stoll are all signed through at least 2025 and all are good at their jobs. Myers has been great in camp and made a few kicks beyond 60 yards in game-like drills. Dickson likely averaged about 60 yards a punt in the mock game. Stoll is brilliant in terms of his repetitiveness of snapping the ball exactly where Myers and Dickson need it to be.

The only issue might be if Myers's form in the regular season matches his inconsistency of 2023. If so, he is expensive as a kicker over the next two years - his cap hit is a bit over $6 million in each of the next two seasons - and the team might look elsewhere next offseason for a new, and less expensive, kicker.

Coaching staff and schemes

One of the more exciting things about the 2024 season for fans (and likely for players, though in a more nervous way) is that 12s cannot be too sure what the Seahawks will look like. We won't learn much from the preseason games because no team schemes against the other and no team shows its full playbook.

Unlike the last 14 seasons when former head coach Pete Carroll had the final say over the roster, general manager John Schneider now holds the final decisions. He will obviously get input from the new coaching staff, but Schneider being in charge may mean Seattle's final 53-man roster is a bit different than in recent previous years.

For instance, Mike Macdonald likes positional flexibility on his defenses so Schneider might keep a player or two simply based on that need. Ryan Grubb's offense might want bigger receivers so that means Dareke Young stays and Dee Eskridge leaves. Either way, the roster drama adds a new element to watch in the preseason and training camp for 12s.

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