Three huge questions Seahawks must find the answers to in training camp

It is time to celebrate, 12s! The Seattle Seahawks are inching closer to the beginning of another season. Training camp begins in full on July 23 as veterans report. Rookies have already been in camp for a week.

This will be a training camp unlike any other since 2011, the second season after former head coach Pete Carroll came to Seattle. The new head coach is Mike Macdonald, of course. The way camp is held is going to be quite different with more limited access for the media and fans.

What is Seattle trying to hide? The preparation for greatness, one hopes. However, several questions will need to be answered in training camp for a successful 2024 season.

Three questions Seahawks must answer during training camp

Who is starting on the right side of the offensive line?

The left side of the O-line seems set. Charles Cross will be the left tackle for the foreseeable future. Veteran Laken Tomlinson is going to be a one-year rental but should be solid. Center will likely be manned by Olu Oluwatimi and he could stick there for several years, too.

The issue is the right side. Can right tackle Abe Lucas ever stay healthy enough to be counted on long-term? Will George Fant get more reps in 2024 than Lucas at the position? When healthy, Lucas is a beast of a pass-blocker. Fant is fine as a backup, but he does not have Lucas's ceiling.

The mess could come at right guard. In minicamp, second-year pro McClendon Curtis was getting the starting reps and rookie Christian Haynes was running with the second team. Part-time 2023 starter Anthony Bradford was dealing with an injury. Haynes hopefully will be good one day but right guard could be a problem all season.

What does the defensive line rotation look like?

Mike Macdonald will disguise his defensive looks as much as any defensive coach in the league. This includes rotating the defensive line and moving players around. One interesting thing we learned this offseason is that defensive end Dre'Mont Jones, who was played out of position at the beginning of last year, was getting some work at edge rusher so who knows how Seattle's front might look?

The base will be three linemen, but Macdonald will go with four quite a bit. One player that might determine how many looks Seattle can do is rookie Byron Murphy II. If he can adapt and learn the scheme quickly while showing he has enough strength and quickness to play a bunch right away, Macdonald has a lot of possibilities.

If Murphy isn't ready, veteran Jarran Reed would get a lot more run-down snaps. Reed was a good pass rusher in 2023, but he was bad against the run. If Macdonald wants to stick with Reed more in pass-rush situations than free agent signee Johnathan Hankins might see more time on early downs.

Leonard Williams is, of course, going to be an every-down player and can line up inside or out. Jones will play a lot, too, but maybe he does see more reps outside. This might mean Seahawks fans see a lot of alignments of Williams-Murphy-Reed with Hankins filling in on run-downs.

Who are the starting cornerbacks?

After taking two cornerbacks in the 2024 NFL draft, the Seahawks have too many players at the position. 12s can assume Devon Witherspoon will be one of the starting corners. Assuming Seattle plays a lot of three-cornerback sets, which most teams do in today's NFL because teams throw so much, then Seattle needs to find two corners to team with Witherspoon.

One player that makes sense is Riq Woolen. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2022 and wasn't awful in coverage last year. However, he was terrible against the run, and Macdonald might not want to go with Woolen as a starter if he isn't good in that facet in training camp.

The other starting spot is going to be a battle between Tre Brown, Mike Jackson, and rookies Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James. Artie Burns might also factor in. Brown might have the inside track to start, but he did in 2023 before Jackson overtook him late in the season.

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