The Seahawks played their first preseason game of the year over the weekend against the Steelers.
While there’s plenty of room for improvement, the team did get some promising performances from what will be a critical 2022 NFL draft class. Here’s how we rank all nine picks after their preseason debut.
9
OLB Tyreke Smith
Smith is at the bottom of this list be default, as he’s largely been unable to participate over the last several weeks. At the outset of training camp he was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list due to a hip injury. He has since been activated. However, Smith apparently hurt the other hip at practice this past week and did not play against Pittsburgh.
8
CB Tariq Woolen
No rookie had a tougher debut than the team’s other fifth-round draft pick, cornerback Tariq Woolen. He had been tearing it up at training camp. However, against the Steelers Woolen missed tackles and assignments. In the end he posted a 35.6 PFF grade, which was the Seahawks’ third-lowest mark on defense.
7
CB Coby Bryant
While it wasn’t nearly as bad as Woolen’s experience, Coby Bryant nonetheless had several welcome to the NFL rookie moments of his own. Most of them seem to have come in coverage against George Pickens, who beat Bryant for a touchdown and scorched Seattle’s secondary in general. Bryant posted a 52.3 coverage grade for the day.
6
RB Ken Walker
It was a relatively quiet pro debut for Ken Walker. His longest rush of the day went for seven yards and he totaled just 19 on five caries. Walker’s 55.7 rushing grade was the lowest on the team.
5
WR Dareke Young
One of Seattle’s two seventh-round picks at wide receiver, Dareke Young was a major component of Shane Waldron’s offense. Young got five touches (including a run) and caught a touchdown pass from Drew Lock. However, he also had a bad drop and only posted a 60.1 offensive grade overall.
4
WR Bo Melton
While he didn’t see the end zone, Bo Melton did show his potential as a big-play threat. Melton caught two of his three targets, including a 39-yard catch and run to begin the third quarter.
3
LT Charles Cross
Now we get to the good stuff, which tended to happen in the trenches. Rookie left tackle Charles Cross had an impressive debut, especially as a pass protector. He posted an 82.2 pass blocking grade, the third-highest mark on the team on what was a very-strong effort overall in this part of the game.
2
RT Abe Lucas
As encouraging as Charles Cross’ work at left tackle was, the Seahawks may be even more excited about what they saw from third-round pick Abe Lucas. Not only was he stout in pass protection, Lucas proved to be an absolute steamroller in the run game, posting an 83.4 run blocking grade. Among offensive linemen only Phil Haynes had a better mark.
1
OLB Boye Mafe
Overall, the Seahawks got an atrocious performance from their defense. There was one glaring exception to the rule, though. Second-round pick Boye Mafe was impossible to ignore and was easily the most-disruptive defender on the field. Defensively, Mafe made a big impact, posting two sacks and an 86.6 pass rush grade. He also showed his range by making a big stop on a punt return that might have been a touchdown.
