Three Seahawks that will bump veterans off the team versus Titans

The Seattle Seahawks should resolve a few position battles in Week 2 vs the Tennessee Titans. I expect a few trades or cuts coming after this game. Not like in the locker room right after, but soon.

If anything is constant in life, it's change. The NFL is a perfect example of that. I mean, who expected the Seahawks to move on from Bobby Wagner - twice? But there used to be a guy who hung around the stadium who had a saying - something about competing, I think. Oh yeah, "Always Compete". That was it. Nice guy; wonder what happened to him?

Of course, Pete Carroll became a casualty of his own maxim. The Seahawks were no longer competing at the high level he himself had created. So, Seattle moved from the oldest head coach to the youngest, moving on from Carroll to Mike Macdonald. That movement has been mirrored on the field this offseason. I expect that to continue this week. After the Hawks show up and show out vs the Titans, these three players will lock in their roster spots and push a former Hawks standout out of the nest.

These three will come up big for the Seattle Seahawks all year

Derick Hall

The rookie pass rusher out of Auburn didn't show much as a rookie last year. He had just five quarterback hits and zero sacks in 2023. He was basically non-existent in run support as well, earning a dismal grade of 32.7 in run defense from Pro Football Focus (subscription required). You don't need a subscription to see how poorly he played last year.

He's written a very different story so far this preseason. He recorded a sack and a tackle for a loss vs the Chargers last week and was generally the disruptive force the Hawks expected him to be when they drafted him in the second round. In other words, he looks like he's turning into the player Seattle thought they had in Darrell Taylor. If Hall has another solid game against the Titans, it will finally be time for Taylor to pack his bags.

Laviska Shenault, Jr.

Shenault has been in the league for a few years now. He started with two solid years with the Jaguars, pulling down 121 passes for 1,219 yards and five scores in two seasons. His production declined after moving on to the Panthers, with severe drop last year. Carolina used him on special teams more, and that, in turn, became his ticket to Seattle.

Like Hall, Shenault had a solid game last week vs the Chargers. He was targeted three times, catching two for 31 yards. He showed his true talent on a 44-yard kickoff return. With the new kickoff rules this season, having a dangerous returner is more important than ever. The player he'll force out is Dee Eskridge. Eskridge was targeted three times and came away with nothing last week.

For those questioning Shenault's production as a receiver, let me point out that he was only targeted 10 times last year in Carolina, by far his worst season. He caught all 10 passes for 60 yards and two first downs and ran the ball 12 times for another 55 yards. That's 117 yards from scrimmage in his least productive season. In three seasons, Eskridge has 196 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown in his career. It's time to move on.

Nehemiah Pritchett

Unlike the first two players, Pritchett is a rookie this year. Like Hall, he was drafted from the Auburn Tigers. The rangy cornerback was taken in the fifth round - that alone bodes well for his future in Seattle. What stands out, of course, has been his performance on the field. He was all over the field vs the Chargers, looking quite a bit like a couple of previous fifth-round corners.

The odd man out here should be Michael Jackson. Unlike Taylor and Eskridge, Jackson has played well for the Seahawks and has been exceptional at times. Just as the Hawks gave Nick Harris a lot of exposure in that game to showcase him as trade bait, I expect Seattle to do the same in this game. Don't be surprised to see Jackson have a solid game, and then be traded the following day. With Jackson, it would simply be the best move for their cap space.

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