Seahawks 53-Man roster prediction

With only two games left in the preseason, teams are looking to settle the final few undecided spots left on their roster before making the cuts to get down to the 53-man roster that will be used to start the season.

At the same time, people like me use this as an excuse to exercise our typing fingers while spouting off meaningless predictions of who we think will make the roster. I will most likely get a significant portion of these predictions wrong, so feel free to hold it against me two weeks from now.

Quarterback

Russell Wilson, Trevone Boykin

This might be the easiest position to pick on the entire team, outside of kicker and punter. Russell Wilson is Russell Wilson, and Boykin has looked great with the lion's share of snaps he's received.

I want to like Jake Heaps. His mechanics and footwork in the pocket are each so perfect and beautiful, but then his throws are just never quite on target. I don't know what is off with him, but Boykin has obviously won the trust and favor with the coaching staff.

Running back

Thomas Rawls, Christine Michael, Alex Collins, C.J. Prosise, Zac Brooks

It might seem like the easy way out to pick only the returners and draft picks while leaving out any new UDFA, but I don't see anyway that Rawls, Michael, Prosise, or Collins don't make this team. I really like what George Farmer has done, but I think that Brooks has just a little bit of talent upside over him. Troymaine Pope looked good against the VIkings, but I don't think it was enough.

Fullback

Will Tukuafu

I seriously considered not including a fullback on the 53-man roster. It seemed like the position was being phased out as the offense became more based out of the shotgun. However, the resigning of Tukuafu is telling. The coaches still want a fullback, and the young newcomers aren't cutting it.

Wide receiver

Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Jermaine Kearse, Paul Richardson, Kevin Smith, Tanner McEvoy

Baldwin, Lockett and Kearse are easy, and I think that Richardson has one last season to prove to the coaches that he can stay healthy and contribute to the team. After those four, the waters get murky. The team will almost assuredly keep at least 5 receivers, and I think Kevin Smith has to be the top option there. The coaches trusted him near the end of last season, and he can take on almost any role, both as a receiver and on special teams.

Usually, I refuse to get caught up in preseason hype when a player performs well at the end of a game. However, McEvoy has really impressed me (and he did in college too-- he was one player that I really wanted the Seahawks to actually draft). I thought that he'd be best suited for safety, and he still may be, but he has shown some flashes of skill at receiver that you rarely see from someone just switching positions.

I like what Kenny Lawler and E.Z. Nwachukwu have shown so far, but neither has stood out enough to unseat Smith as the fifth receiver.

The Seahawks could very likely forgo keeping a sixth receiver here for the preference of keeping another offensive lineman.

Tight end

Jimmy Graham, Luke Willson, Nick Vannett

By all accounts, it looks like Graham will be ready to go for game one. Though Brandon Williams has looked good as a blocker, I don't see him beating out either Willson or Vannett, and I definitely don't see the team keeping a fourth tight end. After some of the depth woes of the last few seasons, the Seahawks look to have three quality tight ends in 2016.

Offensive tackle

Garry Gilliam, Bradley Sowell, Terry Poole

Though Gilliam was suddenly demoted before the game against the Vikings last week, I don't think that is a permanent thing. He and Sowell will likely still be the top two offensive tackles at the beginning of the season, and think that J'Marcus Webb is cut.

Terry Poole has looked amazing to me all this preseason so far, and I personally am rooting for him to eventually unseat Sowell as a starter sooner, rather than later. With his ability to play guard as well, it allows the team save a little bit of roster space along the offensive line.

Offensive guard

Mark Glowinski, Germaine Ifedi, Rees Odhiambo

Like Poole, Ifedi and Odhiambo are both experience at playing offensive tackle, so the versatility of these three lineman will allow the team to only keep 8 total offensive linemen.

Glowinksi has looked solid so far (if not the best starting lineman already), and the coaches seem pretty content with Ifedi locking down right guard.

Jahri Evans has looked pretty horrible thus far, and I think the Kristjan Sokoli experiment is coming to a close. Neither of those two make the team.

Center

Justin Britt, Patrick Lewis

Britt has surprisingly taken the bull by the horns and might even be having a bit of an awakening at his new position in his third year in Seattle. I was tempted to take Joey Hunt over Patrick Lewis, but I think the team will value Lewis too much for his services in any possible emergency situations.

Defensive end

Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, Frank Clark, Cassius Marsh, DeAngelo Tyson

Avril, Bennett, and Clark are obvious locks. Marsh has had a bit of a revival this summer, and his ability to play Sam linebacker, as well as defensive end, will earn him a roster spot.

One of the first few real surprises of my entire prediction so far, I think that DeAngelo Tyson has played exceptionally so far, and his versatility  to play as both a massive end and as a defensive tackle will get him into the rotation.

Defensive tackle

Ahtyba Rubin, Jarran Reed, Tony McDaniel, Quinton Jefferson

Rubin is a returning starter, and rookie Jarran Reed has been occasionally spectacular (though not completely consistent) so far as he works with the first team defense. Tony McDaniel was only recently re-signed, but I think he has enough still in his tank that he will find a way onto this team.

Jefferson is a bit of a raw prospect, but his block-shedding and pass-rushing capabilities are intriguing, and he's spent some time shadowing Michael Bennett at defensive end, as well as being along the interior. I think that the injury-riddled Jordan Hill will get cut in favor of a younger, higher-ceiling player in Jefferson.

Linebacker

Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Mike Morgan, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Brock Coyle, Kache Palacio

The linebackers are mostly settled, with Wagner and Wright being locks to make the team, and Morgan, Pierre-Louis, and Coyle are highly unlikely to be cut.

The only notable change I have here is that Kache Palacio, the undrafted rookie, will make the roster over Eric Pinkins. Pinkins has looked pretty terrible to my eye this offseason, even though he has bulked up enough to finally look like a real linebacker.

On the other hand, I found myself going to the Seahawks.com roster multiple times over the last two weeks trying to place who #46 was. He has routinely made solid play after solid play, and I think he sneaks in as a surprise this season.

Cornerback

Richard Sherman, DeShawn Shead, Jeremy Lane, Tharold Simon, Brandon Browner, Tye Smith

Sherman, Shead, and Lane are the most likely starters on day one, and I think that Simon and Smith are the top two backups. Personally, I really like Marcus Burley, but I get the feeling that the coaches do not feel the same way about him.

Instead, Brandon Browner is back, and the team seems to have some hidden role for him. I initially left him off my projection-- we have seen barely any action at all from him in two games-- but Pete Carroll recently hinted that the reason we haven't seen Browner is because the team is comfortable with his role.

Both Browner and Shead can also fill in at safety in a pinch, adding to their value.

Safety

Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Kelcie McCray, Steven Terrell

Thomas and Chancellor are the obvious starters, and McCray is looking like he's good enough that he would probably be a starter for almost any other team in the league. I personally don't see how Steven Terrell is still sticking around, but the coaches, for whatever reason, seem to trust him and want him on the team.

Tyvis Powell has made rounds here on Field Gulls, but I am not sure I quite buy into the hype on him just yet. I hope that he shows enough in the next two games that he can unseat Terrell, but I am not holding my breath.

Kicker

Steven Hauschka

Everyone's favorite dentist will once again be an automatic 3-point machine.

Punter

Jon Ryan

The Canadian ginger will also be the third string QB.

Long Snapper

Nolan Frese

Uh. I guess.

He's the only one on the roster.

I'm sure most of you disagree with at least a quarter of my picks, especially with my going light on the offensive and defensive lines in order to add more skill position players.  Feel free to argue in the comments below.