Seattle Seahawks roster, depth chart: 3 underrated 2025 players

Pete Carroll is among the most impactful figures in Seattle sports activities historical past, so when the mutual resolution was made for Carroll to maneuver on from his place because the Seahawks’ head coach following the 2023 season, anyone changing him was going to have a tricky highway in following a man who utterly redefined the franchise on and off the sector.

The group took its time in deciding on Carroll’s substitute, hiring Mike Macdonald on Jan. 31, 2024 — three weeks after Carroll “stepped down.” The previous Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator had put collectively nice models on that facet of the ball each within the Allure Metropolis, and for Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines in 2021. Macdonald appeared to have all of the attributes to guide a group on the highest degree, besides, shifting to a wholly new atmosphere is not any small factor.

Total, Macdonald’s first season struck an attention-grabbing steadiness between frustration and encouragement. The offense floundered underneath Ryan Grubb, who has been changed by Klint Kubiak. Geno Smith was forged apart in a commerce to the Las Vegas Raiders, the place he’ll be reunited with Carroll, the person who saved his NFL profession. Sam Darnold, Smith’s substitute, had an unexpectedly nice season for the Minnesota Vikings final season, and the wedding between Kubiak and Darnold would appear in precept to be nearly excellent.

Will 12 months 2 of the Macdonald regime convey the primary postseason slot for the Seahawks since 2022, and the primary playoff win since Jan. 5, 2020? If that’s to occur, everybody must be at their finest — not simply the distinguished names.

Within the continuation of our “Hidden Gems” collection, we take a look at three Secret Superstars for these Seahawks — one underrated veteran, one underrated free-agent signing, and one underrated draft decide — who may assist convey again the glory days.

Underrated Veteran: Security Coby Bryant

The 2024 season marked an attention-grabbing transition for Seattle’s protection. Within the swap from Carroll to Macdonald, the Seahawks picked up a variety of extra superior ideas that Macdonald adopted via his profession, and actually perfected in 2023.

When gamers have a brand new protection to study, it all the time takes a minute for all the things to hit the precise means. That was the case for Macdonald’s Seahawks, who ranked fifteenth in Defensive DVOA within the first half of the season, and jumped to seventh from Week 10 via the tip. Followers ought to completely be enthusiastic about what issues may appear to be in 2025 given Macdonald’s personal defensive genius, and the expertise on the roster.

One man who actually began to point out up and present out within the second half of the season was defensive again Coby Bryant, who has seen his personal profession turn out to be a collection of transitions. Chosen within the fourth spherical of the 2022 draft out of Cincinnati as an out of doors cornerback, Bryant performed principally slot defender in his rookie season, and had far fewer total reps in 2023.

However with the Macdonald transfer, Bryant lastly discovered his ideally suited spot in Seattle — the final line of protection as a deep security. Accidents pushed Bryant to the fore on that position in Week 7, and total final season, Bryant allowed 20 catches on 25 targets for 213 yards, 57 yards after the catch, one landing, 4 interceptions, two move breakups, and an opponent passer score of 75.9 — the bottom for any Seahawks beginning defensive again.

Along side veteran Julian Love, Bryant confirmed an actual acuity for the fixed security shifts from pre- to post-snap in Macdonald’s protection, and his clever opportunism was everywhere in the tape. Bryant didn’t appear out of step with all of these tactical necessities, and he may play single-high simply as nicely.

“Coby is a superb instance of how we wish to construct this factor,” Macdonald mentioned in December. “Are available, work, compete, do the issues day by day, stack all the nice reps, get the boldness, get a possibility, take benefit and run with it. Then let your skills go from there.”

Former Seahawks receiver D.Ok. Metcalf was much more impressed, giving Bryant the nickname “Ed Reed.”

“I do know it’s a stretch, however simply hear me out,” Metcalf mentioned final 12 months. “No offense to Ed Reed or something, however simply the best way that [Bryant] tracks the ball, he’s all the time close to the ball. Simply going again to when he was a rookie, he’s all the time had a nostril for the ball, whether or not that was punching it out, catching picks or making an open-field sort out. I simply thought he had the entire bundle to be an incredible defensive participant.”

Effectively, let’s not go all the best way there simply but, however it’s good to know that in Bryant, the Seahawks now have some of the vital issues any NFL group can hope for on its roster — the younger, legit deep-third defender that permits coaches to scheme and gamers to roam elsewhere with confidence.

Underrated Free-Agent Signing: EDGE DeMarcus Lawrence

DeMarcus Lawrence isn’t actually underrated in a profession sense. Chosen within the second spherical of the 2014 draft out of Boise State, the 6’3” 265-pound Lawrence has put up 69 sacks and 475 whole pressures in a outstanding 11-year profession with the Dallas Cowboys. And the Seahawks actually weren’t underrating him once they gave him a three-year, $32.5 million contract with $18 million assured this offseason.

However you’ll have to select via your reminiscence banks a bit if you need Lawrence highlights. Final season, he missed all however the first 4 video games with a foot damage, and on condition that he turned 33 on Apr. 28, you might surprise simply how a lot Lawrence nonetheless has within the tank.

In case you do watch his 2024 reps, when he had three sacks and 9 whole pressures on simply 89 pass-rush snaps, it’s fairly clear that Lawrence’s mixture of energy, hole velocity, method, alignment versatility, and pure effort was nonetheless a significant factor when he was on the market. This was very true in Week 1 in opposition to the Cleveland Browns, when Lawrence had two sacks and 7 whole pressures, and it was principally unattainable to cease him.

On the homeowners conferences in April, Macdonald laid out precisely how he sees Lawrence contributing to an edge group that already has Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, and Derick Corridor.

“Actually enthusiastic about him,” Macdonald mentioned. “He compliments our room rather well. He’s a heck of a six-technique [aligned over the tight end, or just outside the offensive tackle]. He’s a disruptor. He performs the best way we wish to play technique-wise. He’s actually, actually sensible. He creates extra damaging performs on early downs to get us in additional advantageous conditions [third-and-long]. After which clearly the move rush component. He suits proper in.”

Experiences point out that Lawrence has been collaborating in minicamps, so the foot damage seems to be a factor of the previous. Macdonald is among the NFL’s higher minds in relation to various stress ideas, so if he sees a selected position for a productive veteran like Lawrence, that may very well be a really massive factor in 2025. Perhaps Lawrence received’t be a 10-sack man (he’s solely totaled double-digit sacks twice in his profession), however that’s probably not the purpose. Each nice line of defense has one man who glues all the things collectively, and Lawrence actually has the chops to get that finished.

Underrated Draft Decide: RB Damien Martinez

The 2024 Seahawks had a fairly productive operating again duo in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. In some methods, that’s. These two guys mixed for 15 speeding touchdowns and 11 runs of 15 or extra yards, however there’s solely to this point you possibly can take the committee factor in relation to precise yards gained. Final season, Walker gained 573 yards on 153 carries, Charbonnet totaled 569 yards on 135 carries, and total, Seattle’s 1,627 speeding yards was the NFL’s fifth-lowest whole. Solely the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets had fewer speeding first downs than Seattle’s 88, and this isn’t the place Mike Macdonald needs issues to be.

On the scouting mix, Macdonald shone the sunshine on the optimistic facet, hoping that new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s run ideas will assist.

“I believe we’ve bought three actually good soccer gamers, good runners. They will all do all three issues. Play all three downs for us. I believe Ken and Zach’s types complement each other. Kenny [Macintosh has] proven the flexibility to run huge zone rather well, too. So it’s going to be enjoyable to see how the reps shake out all year long and the roles now we have for him.

“However holding Kennedy Polamalu as our operating again coach was superior for us, and he did such an incredible job with these guys this 12 months. And I do know Klint has an incredible imaginative and prescient for all three backs on our offense. And, excited to work with him once they come again.”

That’s all nicely and good, however with the 225th decide within the seventh spherical, the Seahawks stole a man who may very well be a significant addition to that run sport in Miami’s Damien Martinez. Final season, Martinez gained 1,006 yards and scored 10 touchdowns on simply 160 carries, forcing 42 missed tackles, averaging 4.46 yards per carry after contact, and gaining 15 or extra yards on 13 of these carries. Martinez was dinged within the draft course of as a result of he’s extra of a sustainer than an clearly explosive again on the second and third ranges, however that may very well be simply what this offense wants. And Martinez does have extra wiggle within the inside zone reps he had at Miami than some might imagine — he’s an clever headbanger.

“I believe you realize that,” Macdonald mentioned on the finish of the draft, when requested if Martinez suits the model of run sport he prefers. “I believe you respect that about him, about guys that may run the ball bodily, downhill. Had a variety of nice guys come via this constructing which have run it like that. Nod to these folks. Simply once more, actually excited concerning the guys now we have on our roster. Are available and are available kick butt with the remainder of them. It’s going to be an incredible competitors. However we’re actually enthusiastic about him.”

Whereas Martinez was extra of a niche and inside zone runner at Miami than a pure outdoors zone man, each run sport has completely different wrinkles. Final season, the New Orleans Saints underneath Kubiak ran outdoors zone 200 occasions, the fifth-highest charge within the league. However they had been additionally accustomed to inside zone (77 carries), and there have been sufficient hole and energy ideas to inform you that Kubiak isn’t simply going to lean on one factor.

There’s additionally the truth that in 2022 and 2023, when he was at Oregon State, Martinez ran much more zone ideas, and he was simply high-quality with that.

“I do know it’s loads just like type of what I ran once I was again within the Pacific Northwest with Oregon State,” Martinez mentioned of Seattle’s run ideas after he was drafted. “It is going to positively be good for me to run the zone.”

Martinez additionally mentioned this when requested to explain his total model:

“Bodily runner. You’ve bought one other Beast Mode 2.0 developing there. Get able to see it.”

Effectively, that might be good.

(All superior metrics courtesy of Professional Soccer Focus and Sports activities Information Options).