Three Seahawks rookies with the best chance to make an immediate impact

The Seattle Seahawks begin training camp in full on July 23. Before that, though, rookies report on July 17. This gives the new class a week to be even better prepared for position battles.

Seattle's draft class was eight deep. Not all of the players are certain to make the team. Others should battle for starting positions.

Three players with great opportunities to make immediate impacts are as follows. The trick is they need to be great in training camp. If they are, veterans will lose jobs.

Three Seahawks rookies with excellence opportunities to make immediate impacts in 2024

Defensive lineman Byron Murphy II

Murphy is the clear choice here. He fits an immediate need for Seattle in terms of a run-stopper and he should still supply some of an interior pass rush. In other words, he isn't the kind of player that Jarran Reed is currently as Reed has developed into a solid pass rusher but not the kind of guy who can be counted on every down.

2023's number might not be Reed's entire fault. He was an undersized nose guard and could be moved around quite by bigger interior offensive linemen. One reason Seattle's run defense was so bad was because of Reed but only because he was forced to play out of position.

This won't be the case with Murphy because he has the youthful strength and quickness to battle on the inside. His pass-rush production will likely improve in the following year. Still, he is a threat to get five sacks this year and more in future seasons.

Linebacker Tyrice Knight

The hope is that Knight doesn't have to play a lot right away. He is an inside linebacker and Seattle only has two spots for those. One will be Tyrel Dodson and the other will be Jerome Baker. Should either of those veterans get injured, the defense could be in trouble. That is unless Knight can make the leap from college to getting a lot of snaps as a pro.

Knight has the athletic ability to cover well and be solid against the run. He should be a good fit in Mike Macdonald's system but he shouldn't have to play right away. In 2025, he could become a long-term starter as Dodson and Baker were both signed to one-year deals. Should an injury occur, Knight will have to prove himself sooner rather than later.

Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett

The Seahawks currently have a glut of cornerbacks. Besides Devon Witherspoon - who won't be leaving the team anytime soon - and Riq Woolen, the team does not have any sure starters. Tre Brown and Mike Jackson have been decent veterans over the last two seasons but neither has locked down their spot for 2024.

Pritchett is a long cornerback, the kind former head coach Pete Carroll would have loved, and has lots of speed. He ran a 4.36 at the NFL combine. He was tested by good SEC wide receivers at Auburn and one might wonder why he was not a higher draft pick. He could be a steal for Seattle and could be a full-time starter at some point this season.

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