4 Seahawks in danger of losing their starting spots after Week 6

These four Seahawks might need to make way for potentially more productive players.
Johnathan Hankins of the Seattle Seahawks
Johnathan Hankins of the Seattle Seahawks / Jane Gershovich/GettyImages
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The Seattle Seahawks still have time to fight their way back into being in playoff position. After winning their first three games, Seattle has lost its last three and now sits behind the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC West lead. Seattle has three tough games ahead - Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams - before the bye week.

Seattle has some problems that need to be fixed. One is the run defense which has been gashed several games in a row. The other is the right side of the offensive line.

The Seahawks should also think about changing out some players who are getting starting reps currently. Any upgrade at the spots would be welcome. The question is whether the coaching staff decides to take a chance and make the needed changes.

These four Seahawks should be in danger of losing their starting spots

Right tackle Stone Forsythe

Forsythe should have never had to have been a starter over several games in a row. Seattle thought they had a fix to their right tackle issue in case presumed starter Abraham Lucas could not play due to being hurt. The team signed George Fant to take Lucas's reps, but then Fant got injured as well. Hence, Forsythe has been Seattle's starting right tackle since Week 3.

After a promising first couple of games, Forsythe has been fairly terrible in the last few games. He has allowed a combined 27 total pressures, and he has been just as bad against the run. Of course, Forsythe is doing his best, but his best simply is not good enough to consistently help a team win games.

Seattle could turn to veteran Jason Peters to take over for Forsythe until Fant or Lucas are able to return. Peters was signed to the practice squad a few weeks ago. He was once a fantastic player, but he is not 42 years old and with a limited ceiling. However, he might still be a better option than Forsythe.

Right guard Anthony Bradford

Replacing Bradford has been something Seahawks fans have wanted for a while now, but the team has been reticent to make a change. The reason is two-fold. One is that Bardford is a huge right guard and could be a bulldozer of a player if he was good. The other reason is that rookie Christian Haynes might not be ready to take on starter-type reps.

The flaw in that logic is that in the limited snaps Haynes does get, he appears to potentially be much better than Bradford. Bradford has allowed 18 pressures in 249 pass-block snaps. Haynes has allowed three pressures in 58 pass-block reps. Haynes is also a better run-blocker.

The question isn't whether Bradford needs to be replaced, but why hasn't he been already? The likelihood is Bradford will remain the starter for now, but he shouldn't. He needs to be replaced by Haynes immediately.

Cornerback Tre Brown

Seattle made a mistake in trading Mike Jackson before the season. Last season, Brown was given the same chance to take over one of the top-three cornerback spots at the beginning of the season and he could not hold on to it. Jackson began to start more games, and he was better than Brown. This year, because of the trade, Jackson overtaking Brown again couldn't happen.

Brown started off the season decently, but he has been terrible in the last few games. This was especially true in Week 5 when the New York Giants abused Brown by completing passes on five of the six times Brown was targeted for 93 yards and a touchdown. Brown's quarterback rating allowed so far is 2024 is an atrocious 136.6.

Brown's replacement would need to be rookie Nehemiah Pritchett. He has allowed only three completions on the eight times he has been targeted, but he has been a bad tackler - he has been in on two tackles, but he has missed three. Brown might keep his job until Pritchett can prove he can wrap up better.

Nose tackle Johnathan Hankins

Hankins has had to take on more starter reps than the Seahawks likely anticipated this season. The hope was probably that rookie Byron Murphy II would develop into a full-time starter quickly. The problem is that Murphy was injured in Week 3 and has yet to return. The rookie did practice on Monday, so maybe there is a chance he will come back in Week 7.

Hankins, though, could be replaced by Cam Young. Young returned from injury in Week 6 and was only in on two snaps. Still, Hankins has been so bad - he has missed on 15.8 percent of his tackle attempts and only has two quarterback pressures - that giving Young a chance to play cannot hurt.

If that happens, Murphy can be more of a rotational piece for a couple of games before becoming the starter between Jarran Reed and Leonard Williams. Hankins can revert back to being a situational player only, and Young can show he should be an important piece on the Seahawks defensive line for the next few seasons.

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