Assessing the Seahawks Roster: Safeties

by Danny Kelly on Jul 18, 2011 2:00 PM PDT in Seahawks Player Analysis

The Seahawks appear to be set at the free safety position with Earl Thomas locked up for the next few years, but the strong safety spot is still up for grabs. Who lands the starting job is anyone's guess; free agent Lawyer Milloy could come back for an encore year, second year player Kam Chancellor has a shot, and rookie Mark LeGree will compete there as well. Jordan Babineaux is the darkhorse candidate to play there as well.

We've talked about the safety positions in this defense a lot during the offseason and we've pointed out that the two (strong and free) safety spots are fairly interchangeable and versatile. Both players have to be strong against the run, instinctive, and rangy enough to cover the deep middle of the field.

Though the depth is promising at that spot for the Seahawks, a sure-fire starter is not currently on the roster. Milloy and Jordan Babineaux are likely candidates to re-sign, there are free agents that could be attractive once the lockout is lifted, and there are, of course, trade candidates out there as well. Let's take a look...

On the Roster:
Earl Thomas
Kam Chancellor
Mark LeGree
James Brindley (?)
Brandon Browner (?)
Josh Pinkard (?)

I place question marks next to Brindley, Browner, and Pinkard because they are all 'tweener' style players that could contribute in certain packages as safeties or cornerbacks, and could best be described as 'defensive backs'. Regardless, they're probably not going to be starting over Chancellor or LeGree.

Free Agents of Note:
Eric Weddle
Dashon Goldson
Danieal Manning
Michael Huff
Quintin Mikell

UDFAs of Note:
Jeron Johnson, Boise State
DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson
Duenta Williams, North Carolina
Brian Lainhart, Kent State
Will Hill, Florida
Joe Lefeged, Rutgers

The Lowdown:

The biggest question here is whether the Hawks front office and coaching staff believe that Kam Chancellor or Mark LeGree are ready to step into a starting role. More accurately, are they willing to bet that Chancellor and/or LeGree are ready? If not, then they will need to make a free agent signing or two or bring in a player through a trade that can start in Week 1.

The good news is that they have cap space and a talented pool of safeties to choose from. Eric Weddle is arguably one of the best safeties in the NFL and may be on the outs in San Diego. He's a free safety though, and may be loath to sign on a team with a franchise free safety already in place. Because the two positions in Carroll's defense are fairly interchangeable though, it's not impossible that he'd be interested.

Quintin Mikell is another very good veteran safety and is probably not going to return to the Eagles. He'd be the kind of guy you can pencil in to start in Week 1. Danieal Manning is high on my list of potential targets as well. He's good in the deep middle, has good instincts and ball skills, and doesn't let anything get over his head - something Carroll preaches from that position.

Past those guys, Dashon Goldson, and Michael Huff are options as well. Really, any of the FA safeties that I listed could be viable options and I wouldn't be disappointed if the Hawks went out and signed one. That's not to say that I don't have high hopes for both Chancellor and LeGree, because I do, but they're both young and unproven, and thus susceptible to mistakes and getting fooled by veteran QBs' trickery and savvy.

The UDFA group is a pretty strong one as well. DeAndre McDaniel, Will Hill, and Duenta Williams were all, mostly, expected to get drafted so they will likely be high on teams' lists. Jeron Johnson, Joe Lefeged, and Brian Lainhart are all guys that I think could fit in Seattle as well. I take John Schneider at his word when he said the Hawks had 20-22 'draftable players' on their board after the last pick was announced, and have no doubt UDFAs will form a key component of the training camp roster and the practice squad. One or two may even make the final cuts, we'll see.

Conclusion:

John Schneider and Pete Carroll have said time and again that they're trying to get younger so I'm not convinced they'll bring LawDawg back for another year. Same goes for Babineaux. The Hawks may find a free agent or UDFA with potential and use their roster or practice squad spot on that guy instead. They may feel that Chancellor and LeGree can carry the load. If they want to get continue the trend of getting younger and part ways with Babineaux and Milloy, they could sign a guy like Dashon Goldson or Danieal Manning and avoid throwing their youngsters into the fire.

In rookie free agency, I'd take a look at DeAndre McDaniel, Duenta Williams, and Brian Lainhart.

What do you guys/gals think?

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Comments

Stay young. Develop your own players. Give the guys experience on the field.

That means keeping Milloy as a mentor (he would need to embrace that role), and start Chancellor at SS.

Sign Jonathan Joseph (this relates because having 2 top CBs (not sure who the other one would be – Trufant or Thurmond, maybe Browner) provides more flexibility for the 2 safeties in the base defense.

Sign 2 of the top UDFA safeties (McDaniels, Williams) and see who sticks. Say goodbye to Babs (with the best of wishes).

One of these guys, if not several of them (Chancellor, McDaniels, Williams, Browner, Thurmond, LaGree, Maxwell, Pinkard, etc. etc.) are certain to become fine players. We just don’t know for certain which one(s). We know Babs potential (he’s reached it) and Milloy’s (it’s in the past). We think Thomas will be all-pro, and we believe Thurmond will be good, if not better than good. Trufant may have played his best ball, or maybe he gets over his various injuries and returns to top form.

Point is, targeting young, talented, top athletes at the position with the right attitude and provided a genuine opportunity to compete is bound to create a scary secondary (for the opposing offenses).

by Hawksince77 on Jul 18, 2011 2:19 PM PDT reply actions

And sprinkle the roster with just enough hungry veterans

(like Brock or Milloy) so that the young guys have somebody to look up to and learn from.

by Greetings from the Lord Humongous! on Jul 18, 2011 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions

One of the principles that lies underneath this point of view is the notion that too many NFL players behave as though entitled...

…and are treated that way by their coaches, fans and owners. They know they own the starting position, year in and year out, and it takes something fairly drastic to move them out of it, even long past the point where someone should replace them (based on their potential to help the team win).

PC seems to operate differently. He seems to insist every player earn their role, no matter when they were drafted or what their legacy is. If this is true, and players see that, they are more likely to genuinely compete, both incumbants and the youngsters. And if that happens, the team will likely get better as the years go on.

This is also based on the notion that nobody can predict how a player will actually perform (see the case of Curry, for example) just out of college, or from one season to the next. As another example, Stacey Andrews was suppose to be something, and is paid a lot, but ended the season as a healthy scratch, unable to start at either guard or RT.

by Hawksince77 on Jul 18, 2011 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Good thoughts

I’d rather have Babs stay and mentor than Milloy. Though you don’t know from the outside looking in who is a good mentor, but Babs has seen his fair share of playoff games, terrible teams, ups and downs, play wherever just to get on the field, etc…

If we sign Joseph I think Trufe starts as CB2 though I don’t know if they feel they need to renegotiate him for that (he is the 2nd-highest paid player on the team). Thurmond didn’t look ready yet last year, too many youngster mistakes, and could benefit from learning more behind Trufe while also seeing the field frequently in multi-DB packages (Lewis and Babs were given preference last year), slowly being brought along. He could also surprise us all and make a big jump this year, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Secondary and defensive line is always a dance on the precipice. Before free agency, I’ll say our secondary has plenty of potential and our defensive line little, but right now both would perform horribly in the season. I don’t think free agency is big enough to fix it. Eh. As long as youngsters play and improve.

by Thomas Beekers on Jul 18, 2011 6:42 PM PDT up reply actions

I really don't think Milloy will be back.

As much as I like him, he’s just too slow back there. I think the nail in the coffin was his performance against the Bears in the playoffs.

Offseason 2011: Kelly Jennings, Craig Terrill, and Matt Hasselbeck...good riddance.
Shut up about Andrew Luck already.

by Wayward Llama on Jul 18, 2011 2:23 PM PDT reply actions

I love the college safeties coming out this year

They all pushed each other down the boards, and particularly in the cases of Hill and McDaniel, out of the draft entirely.

I bet both of those guys play in the league. McDaniel was a good safety in a pretty good league for multiple years. Hill played some of the most exquisite safety I’ve ever seen in Florida’s title win over OU. Neither ran well at the combine, but both seem to me to have NFL athleticism and instincts.

"Those who fear disorder more than injustice inevitably produce more of both." -- Rev. William Coffin

by dcrockett17 on Jul 18, 2011 2:50 PM PDT reply actions

SS- Jeron Johnson....

I believe will have a nice career in the NFL and would love to see him added to the mix. The lockout has not been beneficial to Legree, whom I really like. So in my eyes, that means the Day 1 starter at SS will be Babs, Milloy, or the Free Agent that PC feels fits best at the right price on a 2 or 3 year max contract.

Respect goes a long way....

by Mangolover on Jul 19, 2011 12:59 AM PDT reply actions

Brandon Browner is my darkhorse candidate.

I think he’s been overlooked with all the offseason craziness we’ve been dealing with as NFL fans, but Browner was a killer pickup by the ’Hawks that flew way under the radar. He excelled as a press corner, but I could see him transitioning to strong safety with his size and ball skills. I know that a lot of CFL studs come over and bomb in the NFL, but I think Browner is the real deal.

Now if we can we just get a damn CBA signed…

by NinjaHawk on Jul 19, 2011 2:41 AM PDT reply actions

I wish I knew more about him

Everything I can find just shouts DB depth as the tweener type player we like for our multi-DB packages and depth.

Browner scouted well as a press corner from college and from what I know the Stampedes’s DB coach Corey Chamblin advocated a “man-press” system. That (and the fact that he’s not tiny) would make Browner a more likely target to make the switch successfully than most CFLers.

Wish I had footage to pore over. But it’s the CFL.

by Thomas Beekers on Jul 19, 2011 3:18 AM PDT up reply actions

Browner never should have slipped through the cracks to the CFL...

He’ll be a contributing factor right away…I’ve seen film on him and he has huge range and is a very smart player. He wouldn’t be scouted to play for us if he wasn’t special specifically with John and Pete choosing talent. I trust our scouting as of late and am really excited about the coaching staffs ability to think outside the box and find talent no matter how high the player is on the draft board, what injuries they have suffered in the past etc. Pete gives players chances that might not otherwise get a shot at the NFL level and underrated players with chips on their shoulders are a great thing to have when rebuilding.

"I was 11 or 12 and Quinton was like 30. He was the only dude on the Pop Warner team who had a full mustache and a beard. And he used to drive to Pop Warner games. You're not supposed to be doing that. It was crazy." -Marshawn Lynch

by IMIN4LIFE on Jul 20, 2011 9:00 AM PDT up reply actions