Snap Reactions: Seahawks snap counts from preseason finale against Cowboys

Friday evening the Seattle Seahawks fell to 0-3 in the 2022 preseason with a 27-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. As expected, the majority of starters for both teams did not play, as Dallas had 29 players who did not participate while the Seahawks had 26. With that in mind, the playing time for the players who did suit up should provide some insights into who is likely to make the roster and who could be on the outside looking in when the Hawks trim down to 53 in the coming days.

So, for how much action those players who did play saw, here are the snap counts for the Seattle offense from the game.

The biggest takeaway from the offensive snaps is likely the competition at wide receiver behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Freddie Swain and Penny Hart, of course, have the most experience, however, there were seven receivers who were on the field for between 19 and 32 snaps, and it’s likely the depth for the group comes from that group. Before jumping right into those seven players, it might also be noteworthy that the recently acquired J.J. Arcega-Whiteside did not play, and in the absence of any mention of an injury to Arcega-Whiteside, it’s possible he has locked up one of the depth spots at receiver given his special teams experience and run blocking abilities. In any case, here are the seven players who appear locked in a battle for the depth spots at receiver, along with the number of snaps played on both offense and special teams:

• Dareke Young (32 offensive snaps, 15 special teams snaps)
• Cade Johnson (24 offensive snaps, 3 special teams snaps)
• Penny Hart (22 offensive snaps, 8 special teams snaps)
• Bo Melton (22 offensive snaps, 6 special teams snaps)
• Freddie Swain (21 offensive snaps, 1 special teams snap)
• Dee Eskridge (19 offensive snaps, 2 special teams snaps)
• Kevin Kassis (19 offensive snaps, 1 special teams snap)

Moving on to the defensive side of the ball, the snap counts were as follows.

Most of the projected starters on defense did not suit up, but what jumps out from this side of the ball is the fact that ten different members of the defense played double digit special teams snaps. It seems obvious Pete Carroll was not happy with the performance of the special teams through the first two games, and there appears to be extended competition going on for the depth spots that will fill those roles.

As for the players who only saw the field on special teams, well, those are the three specialists and returning special teams captain Nick Bellore.

As has been the case all preseason, tracking special teams snaps can be like using a cheat code to discern those fringe players who are fighting for the depth roles at spots like wide receiver, linebacker and in the defensive secondary. So, continuing to look at which players saw double digit special teams snaps against Dallas, the list includes:

• LB Vi Jones (22 special teams snaps)
• LB Tanner Muse (20 special teams snaps)
• DE Joshua Onujiogu (18 special teams snaps)
• CB Mike Jackson (17 special teams snaps)
• DB Joey Blount (15 special teams snaps)
• WR Dareke Young (15 special teams snaps)
• WR Lakiem Williams (13 special teams snaps)
• CB Justin Coleman (13 special teams snaps)
• LB Joel Dublanko (12 special teams snaps)
• DB Jameson Houston (11 special teams snaps)
• DB Scott Nelson (11 special teams snaps)
• TE Cade Brewer (10 special teams snaps)

That’s a lot of names in the mix for a handful of spots, so it will certainly be interesting to watch how things play out in the coming days.