We are now nearly two full weeks into Seattle Seahawks training camp and the first preseason game is on Thursday. We might have learned more from training camp and Seattle's mock game last week than we will from the first preseason game, however. Preseason games are more for the guys trying to make the roster than who will be starters.
For instance, Drew Lock has looked really good this training camp, but he isn't going to be a starter. Geno Smith will be the Seahawks quarterback for at least 2023. But watching Lock in the preseason games will tell us how much he has learned about offensive coordinator's Shane Waldron's system.
But in week two of Seattle's training camp, the players wore pads for the first time, some injury updates were noted, and some key players returned. If nothing else, we are one week closer to real games beginning. But here are some winners and losers for the Seahawks this past week.
Winner No. 1 - Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe
As has been written many times by many different sites, Boye Mafe has been one of the best players in Seahawks training camp so far. I realize that the preseason might be meaningless games, and that the presumed starters aren't going to go long in games, or that teams don't scheme against each other, but Mafe will still be worth watching when he does play.
Does Mafe look simply good or does he dominate? Confidence can be the difference between a player having a breakout season in year two or not and any kind of positive experience can breed confidence.
Mafe got the start opposite Uchenna Nwosu in the mock game for edge rushers, so maybe Seattle is already sold on Mafe being the starter? He came into the league fairly raw - this may be why veteran Bruce Irvin got more reps last year at key moments, plus rookies normally have a tough time acclimating and no one should just how good a player will be based on a player's rookie year - but Mafe seems a lot more polished now. He could even be Seattle's most disruptive player in 2023.
Loser No. 1 - Seattle Seahawks receiver Dee Eskridge
This one should be obvious, right? D'Wayne Eskridge has been oft-injured but more so just oft-bad during his two-year career with the Seahawks. Now to begin year three, and after he appears to have had the best training camp of his pro life (possibly spurned on by Seattle choosing Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft), Eskridge was suspended for the first six games of the 2023 season after a reported domestic issue that happened in early 2023.
Eskridge was battling to be WR4 at best. While he had a decent camp this year, so had 2022 pick Dareke Young and 2023 undrafted free agent Jake Bobo. Worse for Eskridge, Young is now out for an unknown amount of time with a hip injury. Young might not be out for too long (hopefully!), but any time he missed could have been resp that Eskridge was taking to prove to Seattle that he still deserves to make the roster.
Bobo, instead, is the guy taking Young's reps. Bobo isn't fast, but he is tall - he is 6'4" - and he has good hands. In the mock game Seattle held last week, Bobo led all receivers with 7 catches and 76 yards. Those numbers are incredible, but any Bobo did would have been better than what Eskridge did because Eskridge didn't play.
Eskridge can practice with the team and play in the preseason, but why give him resp when Seattle could give them to players who might actually help the team in the first six games of the year? Plus, Eskridge hasn't been good in real games so far and is less expensive to release so maybe Seattle should just cut him?
Winner No. 2 - Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith
I recently posted about how Geno Smith seemed to be a divisive figure among 12s, but I didn't understand why. I stand by what I wrote. At no point, though, did I make the case that Smith is a perfect quarterback because he isn't. Even Patrick Mahomes isn't a perfect QB. But for those who don't like Smith, I might ask if they would rather have had more than half the other quarterbacks in the NFL in 2022 over Smith. Heck, would they rather have Russell Wilson back?
Smith isn't perfect, but he was good enough to lead the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs and there aren't many other quarterbacks that would have last year. He knows the offense extremely well, he throws a much better deep pass than most thought he could have, he led the NFC in touchdown passes last year, and he was better than any other option Seattle could have had last year or this.
Again, the argument isn't that Smith is a top-five quarterback, but maybe top ten in Shane Waldron's system. He was also good enough to get Seattle to the playoffs last year with his on-field play and the fact that his teammates clearly wanted him to succeed. Being well-respected by one's teammates is an underrated trait. If players want to play for each other that is something that can be coached and a motivating factor that can get a team a couple of victories more than expected.
But in Seattle's mock game last week, Geno Smith was crisp with his passes and looked in complete control. In fact, he looked ready to be better this year than last. Also, for the argument that he was going up against second-teamers, that's true. But you can bet a lot of those second-teamers are going to have an impact of whether the Seahawks win or lose several games in 2023.
Loser No. 2 - Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Darrell Taylor
I like Darrell Taylor a bunch, but I also had higher hopes for him as a player. Yes, I realize that sounds somewhat silly as Taylor had 9.5 sacks in 2022, but just looking at those numbers is really misleading. Taylor had 6.5 of those sacks in the last six games of the season. He only had 13 quarterback hits which basically means he got home or he didn't make an impact.
Taylor is also astonishingly bad against the run. He's all speed. This is great if a player participates in a league that is all pass, but clearly, the NFL is not. Taylor needs to gain a little mass to be able to take on run blockers and learn how to defend the run better because he is atrocious in doing so. He is a third-down pass rusher at this point only and that won't work long-term, except for maybe a veteran who is past 30 years old who has shown he can do various things but then mostly focuses on the pass. Taylor is only 26.
The problem for Taylor, though not the Seahawks, is that Seattle has chosen two edge rushers in the last two drafts that look like they can play the run and the pass. Boye Mafe (see previous slide) was taken in 2022, and the Seahawks chose Derick Hall in 2023. Both Mafe and Hall have quite a bit more girth than Taylor. Can they play the pass as well as the run in real games? They have in training camp so far.
Taylor is also now dealing with a hurt shoulder. He was in a sling last week, but not this week so far, though he isn't yet participating in contract drills. Any reps Taylor loses he is losing to Hall or Mafe and that could force him further down the depth chart.
Winner No. 3 - Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll is an unusual coach. He has more energy than most other coaches on the sidelines and he also isn't afraid to let the players be themselves. This is partly why Carroll has been so successful over the years; He is the leader of the team, sure, but he doesn't mind if things are less rigid than say, Bill Belichick. The Patriots won a bunch when they had a good quarterback, of course, but they weren't as fun to watch as the Seahawks.
But Pete Carroll has done really well with young rosters throughout his career. He was ultra-successful when he coached in college at USC, but when he and general manager John Schneider came to Seattle in 2010, they remade the roster and weren't afraid to go with younger players as starters. This helped the Seahawks build a nucleus of guys like Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson into an eventual Super Bowl champion.
After years of being close to a contender, Seattle was getting worse results and the team clearly is making an effort to get younger again. The last two drafts alone could produce as few as seven starters this season and likely a couple more. Young players have historically reacted well to Carroll's coaching so there is no reason to think the 2023 class won't be the same.
Carroll has to be overjoyed about the hunger and drive he sees from the young players in camp. He knows players trying to earn their next contracts are highly motivated players, but having rookies and second-year guys not only trying to earn their next contracts but trying to prove they belong in the NFL is even better. Seattle has a lot of talent, and Carroll is going to get the best from them.