The Seahawks' post-draft 90-man roster

The Seahawks added nine draftees and nine undrafted free agents this past weekend to fill out their roster to the offseason limit of 90. Seattle's total of nine undrafted free agent signees pales in comparison to the numbers a couple of other teams added, but as you'll see, there are definitely limitations to what Seattle can do because of their excellent depth. I haven't studied the other 31 rosters closely enough to make a determination, but if there's a deeper roster in the NFL, I'd be surprised.

With that thought in mind, let's take a look at how the Seahawks' 90-man roster looks at the moment. Kenny put together a great look at the upcoming positional battles as well, so make sure you head over and read that if you haven't yet, but here are a few story-lines to watch:

QUARTERBACK (5):

QB Russell Wilson 5'10, 215
QB Tarvaris Jackson 6'2, 215
QB B.J. Daniels 5'11, 217
QB Terrelle Pryor 6'4, 233
QB Keith Price 6'1, 204

The quarterback position, even with a set starter in Russell Wilson, got a whole lot more interesting prior to the draft with the addition of Terrelle Pryor to a group that already included incumbent Tarvaris Jackson and the still-intriguing playmaker B.J. Daniels.

Pryor is a world class athlete who was, perfectly, Al Davis' final draft pick, and he reportedly ran in the 4.3's on soft turf at his Pro Day in 2011. That's at 6'4, 233. The natural inclination -- look, even if it's unlikely, it's fun -- is to wonder if Seattle has some non-traditional-quarterback role in mind for him. Pryor ran the read-option for the Raiders last year, including the longest run by an NFL QB in history, and while using him in a gadget-player role is a (very) long-shot, low-percentage type of move, it's intriguing nonetheless. It's intriguing particularly because of Seattle's desire to put more speed on the field, evidenced by the Paul Richardson pick, and because of the fact he's not likely to win the backup quarterback spot.

At the moment, Pryor's going into camp as a 'pure' signal caller, but I don't think it's a stretch that like Arizona's flyer on Logan Thomas, Seattle would like to put Pryor's rare speed and athleticism to some use if he isn't winning the battle at the #2 spot.

In addition to Pryor, I'm pretty interested to see what Daniels brings to the table during camp and the preseason, because we haven't really had much of a chance to see him play.

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK (6):

RB Marshawn Lynch 5'11, 215
RB Christine Michael 5'10, 221
RB Spencer Ware 5'10, 225
RB Robert Turbin 5'10, 222
FB Kiero Small 5'8, 244
FB Derrick Coleman 6'0, 240

Here's how I see the running back competition shaping up, potentially:

Battle #1: Christine Michael vs. Robert Turbin for the number-two role behind Marshawn Lynch. Battle #2: Spencer Ware vs. Derrick Coleman for the fifth spot in the room. Why do I say this? Because as of right this moment, I think that Kiero Small has an excellent chance of making the roster as the team's dedicated fullback. Not only is Small a devastating lead blocker -- as John Schneider put it, "he just digs people out" of running lanes -- he's a pretty interesting ball-carrier and pass catcher.

Short yardage duty against Florida:

"Spider Y-Banana" style leak-out route on play action:

ASIDE: As Jimmy (jmhg16) pointed out to me over email -- "the coolest part about our new GIF'ing method (seen above) is that you can right click on these HTML5 videos and pause them. Whenever you want. Or rewind them. Or slow-motion-fo-em. Or fast forward them. If you are using Chrome, you can even right-click and enable controls, which allows you to interact with the HTML5 like it's a g*sh d*ng video player.")

So, there's obviously a ton of time from now until camp for things to shake out, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Small win a roster spot as a rookie. This means that one of Spencer Ware or Derek Coleman could be on the outside looking in. This will be interesting to watch.

WIDE RECEIVER (12):

WR/KR Percy Harvin 5'11, 200
WR Doug Baldwin 5'10, 189
WR Sidney Rice 6'4, 212
WR Jermaine Kearse 6'1, 205
WR Kevin Norwood 6'2, 200
WR Paul Richardson 6'1, 183
WR Chris Matthews 6'5, 218
WR Arceto Clark 5'10, 180
WR Taylor Price 6'1, 195
WR Bryan Walters 6'0, 190
WR Ricardo Lockette 6'2, 211
WR Phil Bates 6'1, 230

The 'locks' of the group are Harvin, Baldwin, and Kearse, in my opinion, but I wouldn't put my pink-slip down on Kearse. It seems *likely* right now that with that group and Kearse, Norwood and Richardson will make it five -- though that's certainly not a given. If that's the case, it would be a seven-man battle for one spot (the sixth receiver spot, if it exists) between Rice, Matthews, Clark, Price, Walters, Lockette, and Bates.

Again, obviously it's early and things will have to shake out with the rookie class and the numbers at each position, but it's going to be a very competitive battle there. There is always the chance that Rice will head to the PUP list to start the year, which would make it a six-man battle for a roster spot.

TIGHT ENDS (6):

TE Zach Miller 6'5, 255
TE Anthony McCoy 6'5, 275
TE Luke Willson 6'5, 260
TE Cooper Helfet 6'4, 240
TE Travis Beckum 6'3, 234
TE Chase Dixon 6'4, 238

Another extremely competitive group here. The most likely scenario will be that Seattle keeps three tight ends, Miller, McCoy, and Willson. There's always the outside shot that they prefer one of Helfet, Beckum, or Dixon over McCoy, who is coming off of an injury and is on a one-year deal. It's really tough to say -- for me, I like McCoy because he's more of a prototypical "Y" tight end that can line up in-line and block -- but if they see Miller/Willson suitable for that role, perhaps they'll lean towards more of a "move" candidate like the highly athletic Beckum or Dixon. Helfet is obviousy a dark-horse at the spot -- from what I understand, the team is (and has been) high on his potential, and he's stuck around for going on three years because of that.

OFFENSIVE LINE (15):

LT Russell Okung 6'5, 315
LG James Carpenter 6'5, 320
OC Max Unger 6'5, 305
RG J.R. Sweezy 6'5, 320
RT Michael Bowie 6'5, 330
OT Garrett Scott 6'5,305
OG Alvin Bailey 6'3, 320
OC Lemeuel Jeanpierre 6'3, 305
OT Justin Britt 6'6,325
OT Gary Gilliam 6'6,306
T/G Caylin Hauptmann 6'3,300
G/C Greg Van Roten 6'3, 303
G/T Stephen Schilling 6'5,312
C/G Jared Smith 6'3,315
G/T Bronson Irwin 6'4, 316

Okung, Carp, Unger, Sweezy, Bowie, and Bailey: those six feel like locks. Past that, there will be nine guys vying for three or four spots, and I really couldn't tell you who will emerge. Last year, it was Bowie and Bailey that emerged over higher-drafted players in Ryan Seymour and Jared Smith, so using that as a basis isn't necessarily going to be accurate.

I have the feeling that Smith will challenge Jeanpierre for the backup center role, that Gilliam and Irwin will challenge Britt and Scott for their potential spots, and we can't discount Van Roten or Schilling, two players that possess something highly valuable here: NFL game experience. That leaves Hauptmann, a guy that stuck to Seattle's active roster for most of last season, which is meaningful.

Your guess is as good as mine. Competitive cauldron -- this is exactly what Pete Carroll is trying to create.

DEFENSIVE LINE (17):

5T Tony McDaniel 6'7, 310
NT Brandon Mebane 6'1,311
3T Jordan Hill 6'1,310
3TJesse Williams 6'3,323
3T/5T Michael Bennett 6'4,275
3T/5T Greg Scruggs 6'3, 290
3T/5T Michael Brooks 6'3, 275
NT DeWayne Cherrington 6'3, 335
3T D'Anthony Smith 6'2, 300
3T/5T Kenneth Boatright 6'3, 275
3T/5T Jimmy Staten 6'4,304
DT Andru Pulu 6'1, 322

LEO Cliff Avril 6'3,260
LEO Cassius Marsh 6'4, 270
LEO O'Brien Schofield 6'3,242
LEO Benson Mayowa 6'3, 252
LEO Jackson Jeffcoat 6'3, 247

The defensive line is just as much of a predictable-morass as the offensive line. Pick six: Mebane, McDaniel, Bennett, Williams, Scruggs, Hill, Staten, Brooks, Smith, Boatright, Pulu, Cherrington. Add four LEO-types. There are your likeliest number groupings for the two spots.

Where it gets fun, is that Boatright or Bennett might be considered LEO types, and of course, six-and-four might not be what the team ends up going with at each spot. *Most likely*, though, it will be ten "defensive linemen." God knows what Bruce Irvin will be designated, though, which makes this whole exercise futile.

All I know is that the three-technique positional battle will be fun to watch between McDaniel, Hill, Williams, Staten, Scruggs, and Smith, and at nose-tackle, Williams, Cherrington and Pulu all factor in. The five-technique spot is up for grabs with the loss of Red Bryant, so ... actually, you know what, I have no idea how this will play out. Guys like Scruggs, Williams, Staten, and McDaniel do probably have an edge because of their potential positional versatility though.

LINEBACKERS (10):

WLB K.J.Wright 6'4, 246
MLB Bobby Wagner 6'0, 241
SLB Malcolm Smith 6'0, 230
SLB Bruce Irvin 6'3, 255
WLB Kevin Pierre-Louis 6'0, 232
SLB Korey Toomer 6'2, 244
LB Heath Farwell 6'0, 235
LB Mike Morgan 6'3, 226
LB Mike Taylor 6'2, 222
LB Brock Coyle 6'1, 235

This is a deep, fast linebacker group. The biggest question marks are: a) will Bruce Irvin remain a linebacker (probably)?, b) what is the deal with Korey Toomer? and c) will anyone usurp Heath Farwell for that role of backup MIKE and special teams captain/ace? I think the Seahawks will go with six from this group, so after Wright, Wagner, Smith, and Irvin, that's two spots for six guys. Of course, there's always wiggle room for maybe one more, depending on positional groups and whatnot. Regardless, it's going to be a very tough competition there.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (16):

CB Richard Sherman 6'3, 195
CB Byron Maxwell 6'1,2 07
FS Earl Thomas 5'10, 202
SS Kam Chancellor 6'3,232
NB/CB Jeremy Lane 6'0, 190
NB/CB Tharold Simon 6'2, 205
FS DeShawn Shead 6'1, 225
SS Jeron Johnson 5'10, 212
CB/S Eric Pinkins 6'3, 220
CB Phillip Adams 5'11, 195
CB/S Chandler Fenner 6'1, 189
NB/CB A.J. Jefferson 6'1, 190
NB/CB Akeem Auguste 5'10, 185
SS/CB Terrance Parks 6'2, 218
CB Jimmy Legree 5'11, 192
SS Dion Bailey 6'0, 201

The Seahawks will probably keep nine or ten defensive backs. ET, Kam, Sherm, Maxwell, Lane, and... four or five more. Shead, Johnson, and Simon are good bets, and Pinkins has a decent shot at the roster. Akeem Auguste made some noise last year on the practice squad, and of course, Adams, Fenner, Jefferson, and Bailey are interesting darkhorses for the group. Right now, I'd say Legree and Parks are the long-shots.

SPECIALISTS (3)

Jon Ryan
Clint Gresham
Steven Hauschka

Uh, yeah, the specialists group is pretty set right now.