A way-too-early 53-man roster projection for the 2023 Seahawks

Rookie minicamp begins this week for the Seattle Seahawks, and before you know it we’re headed for training camp in July. Seattle has ten draft picks, will likely have 20+ undrafted free agents on the 90-man roster in a matter of days, and a whole lot of decisions to make over the next several months.

I don’t think I’ve ever done a 53-man roster projection for Field Gulls before, but there’s a first time for everything. Keep in mind that 53-man rosters for Week 1 will almost never be the roster you see even by the end of Week 4, so there may be a player or two who are only on the squad temporarily and then gone once, say, someone is activated off of the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

Rookies are italicized, UDFAs are included in parentheses.

Current Seahawks roster is here.

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Offense

Quarterback (2): Geno Smith, Drew Lock

Running back (4): Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, DeeJay Dallas

Fullback/Linebacker (1): Nick Bellore

Wide Receiver (5): DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dareke Young, Cade Johnson

Tight End (3): Noah Fant, Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson

Offensive Line (10): Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Stone Forsythe, Damien Lewis, Evan Brown, Olusegun Oluwatimi, Phil Haynes, Anthony Bradford, Jake Curhan, Greg Eiland

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Defense

Defensive Line (6): Dre’Mont Jones, Mike Morris, Jarran Reed, Cameron Young, Robert Cooper (UDFA), Myles Adams

Outside linebackers (5): Darrell Taylor, Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Tyreke Smith

Off-ball linebackers (4): Bobby Wagner, Devin Bush, Jon Rhattigan, Vi Jones

Safeties (5): Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Julian Love, Joey Blount, Jerrick Reed II

Cornerbacks (5): Tariq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Mike Jackson Jr, Tre Brown, Coby Bryant

Special Teams

Kicker (1): Jason Myers

Punter (1): Michael Dickson

Long Snapper (1): Chris Stoll (UDFA)

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PUP list: Jordyn Brooks, Bryan Mone

Pete Carroll’s optimism that Brooks could be ready by training camp should be taken with a grain of salt. I believe we’ve been here before with Pete’s glowing timeline of injured players and their respective recoveries.

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I suppose the most notable absences off this list are Dee Eskridge and Alton Robinson. Eskridge’s career has been set back by injuries, but even when healthy he’s been staggeringly ineffective. Per Stathead, these are the other receivers since 2002 (when the league expanded to 32 teams) who’ve been drafted in Round 1-2 and caught no more than 20 passes over their first two seasons.

There is pretty much no precedent for a quality career for a high draft pick with scarce contributions through two seasons. Jerome Simpson may be an exception because of that cool flip into the end zone he did that one time.

I think the rise of Dareke Young and obviously drafting Jaxon Smith-Njigba has put him in a position where Dee is battling with Cade Johnson, Cody Thompson, Jake Bobo, etc. and I don’t believe he’ll remain on the roster.

As for Robinson, even though he missed all of 2022 with injury he is probably not a schematic fit at this point. Despite being one of the 5,000 different edge rushers to get the “Is he another Cliff Avril?” moniker, his ceiling is lower than Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, and Uchenna Nwosu. Add in the decision to bring in Derick Hall in Round 2 and I think Alton is unlikely to make the final roster. Tyreke Smith didn’t play his rookie season but if he’s ready to go in 2023, I believe he usurps Alton in the rotation. If not him, then Joshua Onujiogu would be next in line.

Again, it’s May and this is just a fun exercise to do. By the time July rolls around the next projection will look very different with more information on UDFAs and rookies, not to mention the inevitable new signings and player departures in the weeks to come.