Every NFL team has a superstar or three, but often seasons are made or broken by the quality of depth. Unsung players need to step up and be great sometimes. Thankfully for the Seattle Seahawks, the team has a number of players the casual football fan may not know but who could have important years for the team.
Seattle does have some top-end talent. Players such as DK Metcalf and Leonard Williams are among the best at what they do. Seattle should be able to count on them to have excelent production.
But the four players that follow could also play a big part in the team being successful. These players stem from veterans to second-year pros. Each, hopefully, will have excellent seasons.
Four unsung Seattle Seahawks who could play a big part in the team's 2024 success
Running back Kenny McIntosh
McIntosh had a weird rookie season. In training camp with starter Kenneth Walker III and backup Zach Charbonnet sidelined with minor ailments, McIntosh got a lot of reps. He looked explosive and versatile and able to help the team in various ways. Then in the team's mock scrimmage in early August, McIntosh hurt his leg and had a difficult time returning. He ended up playing in only three games in 2023 and all the snaps he got were on special teams.
Now that DeeJay Dallas has left in free agency and signing with the Arizona Cardinals, this should mean that the third running back available on game days is McIntosh. New head coach Mike Macdonald offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb could choose to do things differently, but in most recent years, Seattle has only had three running backs active on game days.
McIntosh should have the versatility - in college and in training camp he showed he could run and catch - to get several reps a game. He also has good enough speed to play in the league. 2024 could be Kenny McIntosh's break-out season.
Cornerback Michael Jackson
To be fair, both Jackson and Tre Brown get overlooked a bit. If there was an issue with the cornerback group in 2023, it certainly was not rookie Devon Witherspoon and Jackson was good again once he finally got the chance to start again. The problem was Riq Woolen who in his second season appeared to be afraid to tackle people (for most of the year) or set a hard edge against the run.
Jackson was a full-time starter in 2022 and he wasn't bad then either. The drawback for Jackson is that while he can play sticky coverage, he doesn't create many turnovers. Every coach loves it when their defense can get the ball back for the offense, but former head coach Pete Carroll liked that more than others. He would sometimes base his depth chart on who might create turnovers and who didn't.
Between Weeks 6 and 14, Jackson only had one game when he had more than 11 snaps. In four games, he received two or fewer snaps. But there was no real reason to stop playing Jackson, especially since the Seahawks had such an issue tackling people and Jackson is a good tackler. He only missed a tackle attempt in three different games. His three missed tackles in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers skewed his overall statistics, otherwise, Jackson would have missed only 6 percent of his attempts.
But Jackson deserves the chance to start in 2024. If he does, he will make a positive impact. While he didn't get an interception this past season, he also did not allow a touchdown.
Right tackle George Fant
As it turns out, the Seahawks knew what they were doing when Seattle signed college tight end George Fant in 2016 and turned him into an offensive tackle. He has developed into a good pass-blocker, but he isn't an awful run-blocker either. He's also mostly been a full-time starter for most of his career and not because he had to be but because he was worthy.
In two of his seven seasons, he has allowed 3 or fewer sacks. He is also capable of swinging from left tackle to right tackle without any drop-off in his efficiency. Fant also doesn't cost his team by getting a bunch of silly penalties which implies he is fairly technically sound. Since 2018, he has only had one year where he had more than 4 penalties.
The reason that Fant is so important to Seattle in 2024 (and is such an undervalued free agent signing) is that there is no guarantee that presumed starting right tackle Abraham Lucas can stay healthy enough to be counted on to be available for most games. Lucas is dealing with what Pete Carroll called a "chronic" knee injury last year. He missed most of the season and when he did return he had to be rotated out quite often.
Seattle adding Fant might mean they never expect Fant to be fully healthy. Fant was signed for two years so Seattle wants the security of having him around. For much of the season, 12s could see Charles Cross at left tackle and George Fant at right tackle. If so, Fant should be good enough to at least not have the team worry about how good the tackles are on the offensive line, just the rest of the line's ability.
Wide receiver Jake Bobo
Bobo was a happy surprise last training camp and preseason. Of course, he seemed humble and charismatic enough for fans to like him quite a bit, but he also overcame one important stigma. Many NFL teams thought Bobo was simply too slow to ever produce in the league. Sure, he had great size, but if he could never create space for a quarterback to throw him the ball, what difference would his size make?
But Bobo proved he could do a few things. One is that he ran routes crisply. He also had good hands and did not drop many passes. Plus, he knew how to use his size to shield defenders. The receiver might not be the fastest of players, but he is still a decent athlete.
He wasn't just a preseason wonder, however. Bobo did not get a lot of chances during the regular season (in fact, he likely got too few), but he usually made the best of what he did get. He caught 19 passes for 196 yards but two of his catches were for touchdowns and he only dropped one pass. He also ran for a touchdown. Bobo also showed he was a fantastic blocker and he was the second-highest-graded run-blocker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Bobo is not going to likely ever lead the Seahawks in receptions or receiving yards, but he very well could see an increase in his production. He proved capable of making catches under duress and should be an excellent fourth option for the team. The guess is that new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will figure out how to use Bobo better in the red zone as well.