The Seattle Seahawks are blessed with one strength among many, in particular, and that's strength at starters. Across their roster, the Seahawks have very good to elite-level skill and talent at their starting positions. On defense especially, the Seahawks are living the dream.Â
Seattle already boasts what is likely a top-five NFL starting cornerback duo (Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe), maybe the league's best defensive tackle duo (Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy), a top veteran at defensive end (DeMarcus Lawrence), and a top safety pairing in Nick Emmanwori and Julian Love.Â
The Seahawks are loaded in general, but their defensive starters are all at the top of their positions, or quickly on their way. Rylie Mills isn't a top player at his position yet. He’s not even a primary backup. That said, Mills is certainly on his way, which makes the position battle in his group one of the more exciting ones in training camp right now.Â
Rylie Mills is making a real case for progress at the Seattle Seahawks' training camp
Before we get ahead of ourselves, Mills isn't going to do enough to steal a starting spot at defensive tackle or end before Week 1 of the NFL season. What bodes well for Mills, though, is that he can play at both positions and is even listed under both on the Seahawks' official depth chart. What Mills is doing at camp, though, is turning heads in the right direction.Â
The second-year player is participating in his first NFL training camp after watching last season's from the sideline with an injury as a rookie. Mills was recovering from reconstructive knee surgery that ended his college career at Notre Dame in December of 2024. The Seahawks selected him as their fifth-round pick last summer.Â
Mills is playing behind one of Seattle's strongest defensive position groups. At defensive tackle, veteran Williams and Jarran Reed are one and two, with Mills at the third spot. At defensive end, Mills sits behind Lawrence and Mike Morris. At either position, Mills will find it tough to outplay Reed or Morris, but not totally impossible.Â
That being said, the reviews are starting to come in from Seattle's training camp, saying Mills is killing it on the field. Furthermore, there appear to be no lingering issues from his injury last year. In June, Mills stated to the media that he's feeling back to who he was before his injury, which is great news for the Seahawks.Â
What could be better news for Mills, though, is if he can persuade his coaching staff to move him up a peg in the depth chart during the duration of camp. Reed is a 10-year veteran, which could be a reason why a younger, quicker player like Mills outplays him in camp.
One moment from this past week during a practice was when Mills blew by guard Gray Zabel with a swim move, and the very next play, beat out Zabel again. Both Leonard and Reed were right there to pat Mills on the back.
Mills is one of the best examples of positive signs of progress from a player the Seahawks are very high on. As long as he continues to push at camp, he won't knock off Williams or Lawrence as a starter, but he could play his way into a primary backup role. Training camp is a young player's best chance to prove themselves worthy, and Mills is certainly making his case by the day.
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