The Seattle Seahawks held their final OTAs practice yesterday, which means the team is done until training camp begins in late July. That also means we have officially reached the peak of rankings season.
So far we have ranked all 32 teams around the league, the top 50 available free agents and Seattle’s position groups from strongest to weakest. Today we decided to do an internal power rankings. At first the plan was to rank all 90 players on the offseason roster but then we remembered it’s the middle of June. Instead, we went with a top 25 players list.
To get our list we took several factors into account, including the player’s age, skill level, contract situation, position and draft status. The goal was to put together a ranking based on how long we expect the player to be with the team.
First, a well-deserved honorable mention for Seattle’s trio of tight ends. Will Dissly, Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson all played well last season in their own roles but none of them truly broke out – effectively cancelling eachother out. Anyway, only Dissly is under contract past this coming season and his role will likely diminish as the team embraces more 11 personnel sets…
25
LG Damien Lewis
We’ll begin at guard, which is arguably the most-replaceable position in the modern game. Damien Lewis played well enough last season but there’s no guarantee he will be re-signed after his rookie contract runs out at the end of 2023.
24
RG Anthony Bradford
Anthony Bradford may only be a rookie, but he’s clearly the next guy in line to start at right guard after Phil Haynes, who’s on a one-year deal. Bradford should be taking that spot in the starting rotation no later than the 2024 season.
23
OLB Darrell Taylor
Edge rusher is an important spot in the modern game, and Seattle has a bunch of young options to chooe from. Darrell Taylor has been the most-promising of them, posting 9.5 sacks last year. However, he’s entering the final year of his rookie deal and there are several younger successors available, including two more second-round draft picks.
22
OLB Derick Hall
One of those options is rookie Derick Hall out of Auburn. Hall has his work cut out for him to earn playing time, but he produced well at the college level. Over the last two seasons, he posted 15.5 sacks, 24 tackles for a loss and four forced fumbles.
21
OLB Boye Mafe
Boye Mafe set the field on fire in the team’s first preseason game in 2022. However, we didn’t get to see much of him after that. Mafe finished his rookie year with three sacks, four TFL and four QB hits. If he can beat out Taylor this summer he may earn a long-term spot opposite Uchenna Nwosu.
20
NT Cameron Young
Nose tackle is not an exceptionally difficult position to play for a rookie, at least compared to cornerback or QB. Cameron Young looks to be the team’s best option to start at this spot and he’s been taking the first-team reps at practice. Even if he doesn’t start Week 1, Young is the most-logical long-term option.
19
LB Jordyn Brooks
Seattle sank a first-round pick into Jordyn Brooks in 2020, but so far he hasn’t quite lived up to that status. Now he’s coming off an ACL tear and didn’t get his fifth-year option picked up, so his future with this franchise is far from certain, no matter what Pete Carroll says.
18
DT Jarran Reed
After a year with the Chiefs and another with the Packers, Seattle’s 2016 second-round pick is back in town on a two-year deal. Jarran Reed hasn’t missed a single game since the 2019 season and will be starting next to Cameron Young and Dre’Mont Jones up front.
17
DB Julian Love
Our highest-graded free agent pickup this year is Julian Love, who also signed a two-year deal. We may see him in the slot, or with Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as part of three-safety sets. No matter where Love is lined up, fans should expect to see a lot of him through 2024.
16
RB Zach Charbonnet
The Seahawks love nothing quite like using early-round draft picks on running backs. The latest is UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, who’s earned high praise from Chip Kelly for his work ethic and may eventually challenge Ken Walker for the featured rusher role in the backfield.
15
RB Ken Walker
While Ken Walker is looking over his shoulder at Charbonnet, he’s the easy choice to start at running back Week 1. Walker was one of the NFL’s most-explosive rushers as a rookie. If he can improve his success rate it will help maintain his position at the top of the depth chart.
14
C Olu Oluwatimi
For now it seems like Evan Brown is favored to start at center for the Seahawks Week 1. However, it’s only a matter of time before Olu Oluwatimi takes over at that spot. Oluwatimi is the most-promising and decorated rookie center to arrive in Seattle in the PC/JS era and he should serve as the long-term leader for the OL unit.
13
OLB Uchenna Nwosu
Last season Uchenna Nwosu was easily the team’s best front-seven piece and their most-consistent defender from week to week. Nwosu totaled 9.5 sacks, 12 tackles for a loss and 26 quarterback hits in 2022 and is an excellent candidate for a contract extension.
12
DT Dre'Mont Jones
Pete Carroll and John Schneider like Dre’Mont Jones so much that they broke precedent and splurged to sign an outside free agent. Jones’ contract is worth $51 million over the next three years, making him the team’s highest-paid defensive player by a wide margin.
11
LB Bobby Wagner
The returning Bobby Wagner is a beloved franchise legend and an obvious choice to resume his role as defensive captain and wearing the green dot on his helmet. He would have ranked higher on this list, but Wagner’s contract is only a one-year deal.
10
SS Jamal Adams
Jamal Adams’ recurring injury issues are unfortunate. However, these Seahawks invested two first-round picks and a ton of money into getting and keeping him, so Adams isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He’s still under contract for another three years.
9
FS Quandre Diggs
Since coming over in the lopsided trade with Detroit, Quandre Diggs has established himelf as the best ballhawk in the league at his position. While he’s now on the wrong side of 30 years old, as long as he’s healthy Diggs will be playing that centerfield role for Pete Carroll’s defense.
8
QB Geno Smith
Usually the team’s starting quarterback is a bit higher than this. However, Geno Smith is 32 years old and has been in the league for 10 seasons. Smith signed a very team-friendly three-year deal and projects as this team’s QB1, at least until they draft a potential replacement.
7
WR Tyler Lockett
Tyler Lockett has been a model of consistency ever since he was drafted back in 2015. By rights he should be ranked a little bit higher, but he’s also past 30 years old and can’t be expected to play at this level indefinitely. Nevertheless, Lockett is a critical piece for this offense and will remain so for at least a few more seasons.
6
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
This is a lofty place for a rookie that has yet to play a single snap. However, Jaxon-Smith Njigba was the No. 1 wide receiver in this year’s draft class and it would come as a shock if he didn’t pan out at this level. Once he gets up to speed, JSN might be one of the NFL’s top slot WRs.
5
CB Devon Witherspoon
The same dynamic should be true for Devon Witherspoon, who the Seahawks used their precious No. 5 overall pick on. Cornerback is a challenging position for any rookie, but we expect Witherspoon to eventually develop into a star and stick around for a long time.
4
CB Tariq Woolen
The Seahawks somehow got lightning strike twice here – landing another superstar cornerback in the fifth round with Tariq Woolen, just one spot removed from where they found Richard Sherman in 2011. Woolen has all the physical tools he needs to become the best cornerback in football and ideally will be in Seattle at least the next 10 years.
3
RT Abe Lucas
Seattle also managed to get two long-term starters at the critical offensive tackle positions in the 2022 draft. In the third round they took Abe Lucas out of Washington State and he hit the ground running as a rookie. So long as Lucas keeps growing, he should be a top-10 tackle some day.
2
LT Charles Cross
While his rookie year wasn’t quite as exciting as Lucas’ was, the Seahawks clearly found themselves a passable long-term starter at left tackle in Charles Cross. His game is already extremely refined for a 22-year old and he should only get better with more time in the NFL.
1
WR DK Metcalf
Tariq Woolen may eventually give him a run for his money, but for now the greatest athlete on the team is still wide receiver DK Metcalf. Last summer he signed a three-year, $72 million extension and he should cash in again with another huge deal when that contract runs out. Unless the front office screws up, Metcalf should remain in Seattle for his entire career.
