You've heard all of their names and all three have played well this preseason. They still face uphill battles to make the roster as the Seahawks have the enviable problem of having too much talent at some spots. Still, I believe all three will make the final cut. No visits from the Turk here!
The Seahawks are getting some incredible competition at several roster spots this preseason. That's exactly what's expected, of course. That "Always Complete" sign isn't just for show, as we've seen so many undrafted free agents not only make the roster but quickly become starters. I assume you're familiar with names like Doug Baldwin, Joe Nash, and Dave Krieg, right?
As for low draft picks, the Hawks found Chris Carson and J.R. Sweezy in the seventh round. They even picked up Derrick Fenner and Dwayne Harper in the 10th and 11th rounds. It takes work, but the Hawks have proved to be masters of the craft.
One caveat here: at this point, I think it would be cheating to include Jake Bobo on this list. It's not that I think he won't make the 53-man roster. No, it's that Bobo is almost as much a lock at this point as Jackson Smith-Njigba. I'm not saying he's as good as JSN; that would be ridiculous, even for the guy who thought Eddie Lacy was going to be great in Seattle. But Bobo is clearly the number four wide receiver at this point.
No matter what, Seahawks will have a running back fly in under the radar
I'm hedging my bets here and going with two selections. Yeah, I just said I wasn't going to cheat by including sure-thing Bobo. Well, I'm not cheating here, either. Everything depends on the health of seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh. We haven't heard a peep about his recovery from his sprained knee since John Boyle reported the injury two weeks ago. The good news, if there is any to be had here, is that Pete Carroll said at the time that it "might be a couple of weeks". We can only hope so because the Georgia standout looked great throughout camp.
So if McIntosh is healthy, even if it's after the Seahawks preseason finale verus the Packers, he's on the roster. He can run between the tackles, he's a great receiver, and was lauded as the best blocking back in the draft. He doesn't have quite the burst or speed of K-9, or he'd be starting. But make the roster, absolutely.
But if he can't go, then I see SaRodorick Thompson making the team. Yeah, I know I was all about Bryant Koback after the Viking game, but Thompson looked even better against the Cowboys. He's a little bigger than Koback, 220 versus 210 pounds, and faced tougher competition in college, Texas Tech's Big 12 in comparison to Toledo's MAC.
What really matters is that Thompson looked more explosive on the field. His 50 yards rushing would have been 70, if not for a holding penalty, and even more had he not touched the sideline with his little toe on his big 29-yard run. I'm more than comfortable with Thompson in the backfield, but I still really want to see K-Mc.
Linebacker, edge rusher, fullback? Seahawks have another Nick Bellore
Okay, so Levi Bell isn't actually a fullback. It isn't too likely we'll see him line up in the Hawks backfield again. You know, unless he can throw a spiral as sweet as Pete Carroll. In that case, all bets are off. No, Bell makes his living throwing football players. And that he does quite well, whether he's lined up as a linebacker or defensive end.
At 5'11" and 262 pounds, Bell doesn't fit at either position, at least not according to his size. But the motor he's running in that chunk frame, now that's a different story. After playing two years at Louisiana Tech, Bell transferred to Texas State for his senior season.
All he did there was lead the Bobcats with 13.5 tackles for a loss, plus five sacks. The easiest way to describe the Seahawks' usage of Bell is captured in the photo above, as special teams coordinator Larry Izzo gives Bell his read for the next play: "Hulk smash".
As Lee Vowell wrote about Bell, he's shown the ability to rush the passer while providing stout run defense. And he can lead the running back into the endzone untouched. He wound up with one tackle and two assists against the Cowboys, after two tackles and a sack versus the Vikings in the first preseason game. His solo tackle was a run-stopper for no gain, while one of the assists was on the Cowboys' final play when Tyreke Smith dropped the Cowpokes QB for a magnificent 20-yard loss. Yeah, he's too short; all he does is play.
12s will see a young safety making huge hits for the Hawks
The Seahawks' defensive backfield is as crowded with talent as any position group in the league. That doesn't even include the impending return of Jamal Adams (and hopefully we'll see that soon). We started off with so many cornerbacks, last year's fourth-round pick Coby Bryant is moving to safety - and looking pretty good there, too.
I hope, along with the Hawks coaches, that Michael Jackson's performance last week against the Cowboys was an aberration, an extreme outlier. It had every 12 singing Remember the Time when he was good, and looked like a Smooth Criminal. Jackson needs to take a look at The Man in the Mirror before he loses his job to Tre Brown. Okay, I'll stop, but a voice inside my head keeps saying, Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough. Yeah, okay, you've had enough.
So, back on topic. The move of Bryant to safety makes the path for New Mexico's Jerrick Reed II that much tougher. Like Thompson and Bell, Reed didn't play in a Big 5 conference, so his college record might not hold the same cachet as someone who played in a major conference - requiescat in pace, PAC-12. The Mountain West just isn't the same, although it might have a few of the same members soon. Regardless, Reed was dynamic at New Mexico, leading his team in pass defenses in his junior and senior seasons, racking up 11 in his final year as a Lobo.
As Jake Luppino wrote when the Hawks drafted him, Reed made his name with his hard-hitting run defense. How often did we sigh after yet another missed tackle last season, 12? Well, Jerrick Reed II can hit, and when he does, he wraps up his victim like Spidey handles bank robbers. Yay, two Marvel references in one article! Certainly, Julian Love is the starter until Jamal Adams returns, and Bryant is ahead of Reed. When The President returns to Lumen Field, Seattle will have another tough choice to make. At least until then, Jerrick Reed II has to be on this roster.