Seahawks worst-case scenario might be coming true in Week 7 versus Falcons

There is no getting around the truth here: Things are bad for the Seattle Seahawks currently. The team has lost three straight games and, defensively, has not looked good doing that. But defensive atrociousness is likely not Seattle's greatest concern heading into Week 7 versus the Atlanta Falcons.

The defense won't be helped by so many members of the secondary either being placed on injured reserve in the days before the game or simply being ruled out for Week 7. The list includes safety Rayshawn Jenkins and cornerback Artie Burns - both placed on IR - and cornerbacks Riq Woolen and Tre Brown - both ruled out for the Falcons game. Seattle hopes to get great play by rookie Nehemiah Pritchett and veteran K'Von Wallace in those players' absences.

But the secondary injuries are not the worst thing for Seattle against Atlanta either. The offensive line is.

The Seahawks offensive line is facing a worst-case scenario in Week 7 versus the Falcons

Right tackle Stone Forsythe has been ruled out with a hand injury. The only reason Forsythe had been starting since Week 1 was because presumed starter Abraham Lucas has not made it back from offseason knee surgery, and main backup George Fant was hurt in the first game of the season. Forsythe was not good in his starts, but at least he had some experience in the NFL.

In Week 7, Seattle will be starting rookie Michael Jerrell at right tackle. Jerrell did not play Division 1 football but played at DII Findlay. This means even in college he did not play a high caliber of edge rushers. He was good at what he did, but he was playing diminished competition. Jerrell has yet to play a down in the league as he was a healthy scratch for the first five games and did not play in Week 6.

Now, the Seahawks are asking Jerrell to go from zero to 60 against the Falcons. The rookie doesn't know what he doesn't know, and maybe that will be a good thing in Atlanta. He can just react instead of overthinking. That is the hope, anyway. Likely closer to the truth is that Jerrell will be overwhelmed at times and be forced to rely on right guard Anthony Bradford for help. Bradford isn't a good player, though.

Oddly, Seattle did not elevate veteran Jason Peters for the game. Peters is too old to be a great player, but if he is healthy, he would at least supply a veteran presence that Jerrell cannot. Peters not being elevated to the active roster means the Seahawks have to hope Jerrell and left tackle Charles Cross do not get injured because they literally have no healthy backups.

Seattle did elevate two cornerbacks from the practice squad - Josh Jobe and Faion Hicks - but the team could have elevated one of them as well as Peters. Teams can elevate two players at a time, and having an extra cornerback and an extra offensive tackle would have made sense.

12s can expect Seattle to go with a lot of two tight end sets against the Falcons. AJ Barner or Pharaoh Brown will probably line up next to Jerrell a lot to give him some assistance. This alignment might cause the Seahawks' offense to be limited in their scheme, though.

With so much of the secondary being banged up and Seattle's inability to stop the run, the Seahawks have to hope to outscore the Falcons. If Jerrell is playing and with him needing extra help, Seattle might need to slow things down and run a lot more. That hasn't been a recipe for success for the Seahawks in 2024 so far, though.

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