Three takeaways from Seahawks joint practices with Titans

The Seahawks went through two days of spirited practices with the Tennessee Titans ahead of this Saturday’s second preseason game. There were reports of near-fights and plenty of trash-talking (a lot of it coming courtesy of former Hawks Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs). In other words, it was a fairly typical joint practice event.

Mike Macdonald and his Titans counterpart Brian Callahan have already announced that few if any starters will be suiting up for the game on Saturday. They will let the reserves competing for final roster spots make their best case for sticking around. Because of that, there was a lot of attention paid to the starters during the last few days. They competed in individual and team drills and worked on special situations involving goal line and 2-minute offense.

There were no enormous surprises over the two days, but certain things that we all suspected were largely confirmed. Let’s take a quick look at three major takeaways from the joint practice sessions.

Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon is really good – and so is Riq Woolen

Sure Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland are very good. The Cowboy duo create a lot of havoc for an offense. And Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed get plenty of ink with the Jets. The 49ers and Browns are justly proud of their corners. But I’ll take Witherspoon and Woolen and won’t feel any envy whatsoever.

They’re tall. They’re fast. And what stood out against the Titans is that they both have outstanding technique. Witherspoon picked off several Will Levis passes. Woolen stuck like glue to the Titans' Calvin Ridley. The Titans were missing several of their other top receivers for these practices but I don’t think it matters. Opposing receivers are going to have a tough time going up against the Seahawks' corners.

And, as we saw in the Chargers game last week, the Hawks have plenty of talent in reserve. This week, UDFA Carlton Johnson joined the increasingly crowded conversation looking very solid in one-on-one drills.

There might be some more deep threats in 2024

Last year, Seattle didn’t exactly have an explosive deep-passing attack. If the ball wasn’t going to DK Metcalf, it probably wasn’t going far downfield. In practices this week, Geno Smith was able to hook up with several other receivers for deep completions.

Jake Bobo and Cody White aren’t exactly known for their breakaway speed. They are big targets. They are strong receivers. But neither is fast. However, both made very nice plays on long balls in practice. Getting deep isn’t just about speed and if these bigger Hawks receivers can improve their route-running and use their size to shield smaller DBs, they might be on the receiving end of some bigger plays.

With Tyler Lockett and JSN starting alongside Metcalf, there should be plenty of firepower. Now, you can add Bobo and White to an intriguing list of possible depth pieces that also has big, fast wideouts like Laviska Shenault and Dareke Young as potential deep threats.

Injuries could open the door for some long shots

The battle between Kenny McIntosh and George Holani has been one of the main conversation points during camp. It was initially seen as a battle to claim the running back spot behind Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. With both backs performing well in last week’s game, a scenario has been developing which has the Hawks potentially keeping four backs.

However, Charbonnet missed time this week with what is being called a “back issue.” Macdonald has played down the seriousness of the injury but backs are tricky. If the team is worried that Charbonnet may not be at full strength for the beginning of the season, it becomes more likely that both McIntosh and Holani stick. And if things take a turn for the worse and Charbonnet has to spend time on the IR, it becomes a virtual lock.

The tight end situation is a little less clear. But we do know that Pharaoh Brown is also dealing with an injury and at first glance, this one may be more serious. The Hawks took A.J. Barner in the 4th round of the 2024 draft but he has yet to show much.

He will get more chances now, as will Brady Russell and Jack Westover. They seemed like long shots to make the team at the start of camp, but both have looked aggressive in practices. With the Brown injury potentially opening up a spot, the backup tight end battle becomes very intriguing.

Now we get to watch the game and see which of the backups can step up. That’s about it for now. Oh, except I forgot this one – Byron Murphy II is still really good. He made starting guards look like rookies in one-on-one drills. Can’t wait to watch him in more games.

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