Seahawks Roster: Age, cap, & draft information for the offense

I created a spreadsheet for the Seahawks' offense as it stands today, and included age information, cap information, and original NFL Draft information on the current 44 players.

The Seahawks added nine rookies to the offense -- five Draft picks and four undrafted rookie free agents.

5 DRAFT PICKS (in Yellow)

WR Paul Richardson, Colorado
WR Kevin Norwood, Alabama
T Justin Britt, Missouri
T Garrett Scott, Marshall
FB Kiero Small, Arkansas

4 UDFA (in Orange)

QB Keith Price, Washington
TE Chase Dixon, Central Arkansas
T Garry Gilliam, Penn State
G Bronson Irwin, Oklahoma

I noticed they were mostly from big schools -- the exceptions would be Marshall, which is in Conference USA, and Central Arkansas, which is in the Southland Conference. That said, both are considered Division-1.

I thought the Seahawks would carry 43 offensive players, but they let go of the extra Long Snapper and now are only carrying 3 specialists, 44 Offense, and 43 Defense before the Rookie Camp begins.  When the tryout weekend is done- Seattle will likely churn a few players on and off the roster.  Competition!

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The Seahawks added at least one player to each position bucket, with two players to the large receivers group and four players to the offensive line. Before the Draft, I had thought that the rookie plan on offense would go something like this:

(1) No added quarterback
(2) One added running back in rookie free agency
(3) One added tight end, possibly late in the Draft, or in rookie free agency
(4) Draft one receiver, sign one receiver after the Draft
(5) Draft two offensive linemen, sign two offensive linemen after the Draft

What actually happened?

The Seahawks added a 5th QB, Washington's Keith Price. They actually drafted a fullback instead of signing a running back after the Draft. They did not draft a tight end, but signed Chase Dixon (whom they brought into VMAC and he also went and worked out with Pat McPherson on hand offsite) after the Draft.  They did not sign any receivers after the Draft, but instead -- drafted two. They drafted two offensive linemen, and signed two more after the Draft.

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If you study the roster on offense, there is only 1 player over 30 years old(!): Tarvaris Jackson. The average age of the 44-man offense is under 25 years old (which will bump up as they cut down to the 53 man roster, plus everyone will be older when the season starts). The offense should still be one of the youngest in the NFL.

The oldest offensive lineman is 28 years old: Max Unger. No other lineman is older than 26.
The oldest receiver is Ricardo Lockette, at 27 years old. Sidney Rice is also 27 years old.
The oldest tight end is Zach Miller, at 28 years old.
The oldest running back is Marshawn Lynch, at 28 years old. No other running back is older than 24, but fullback Kiero Small is 25.

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If you look at the salary cap and "club control" situations (unrestricted free agents (UFA) in 2015 are in blue), the Seahawks have a few decisions, but nothing too distressing.

QB

The Seahawks have only drafted one quarterback in the PCJS era. You probably can't remember who he is. Both T-Jack and Terrelle Pryor are UFA in 2015, so the Seahawks will have find some sort of long-term solution for a backup in 2015. This could be T-Jack again. Pryor may decide he likes it in Seattle. Keith Price or BJ Daniels may shine. Or, the Seahawks may finally draft a backup QB in 2015. Russell Wilson's cap number in 2015 will likely increase ten times on the scheduled $953k (and yes, Seattle has the cap room for that).

RB & TE

Regardless of whether Kiero Small, Spencer Ware, or Derrick Coleman make the squad, the Seahawks control their entire running back room in 2014 and 2015. They may choose not to take the $9M cap hit for Marshawn Lynch in 2015, but they can make that decision after the 2015 Draft.

This is a big deal because they can let the Draft fall to them, particularly at the running back and tight end positions. The positions the Seahawks take early in next year's draft will likely speak to how they feel about Christine Michael and Luke Willson, as both Lynch and Zach Miller could be potential cap casualties. If they do not like how the draft falls to them, Lynch and/or could remain with the team. It will be interesting to see.

Still, Seattle has a hard time passing on running backs, and you never know if they will add another one, possibly early. The offense is predicated on having a dominant runner -- if they do not think Lynch or Michael can provide that in 2015 -- they won't hesitate to take another bell-cow back in 2015.

Likewise, while Seattle controls Zach Miller in 2015, I think fans and the Seahawks' FO want another "name" TE to add to the mix, as Anthony Mccoy is an unrestricted free agent after this season.

For now, with a $1.350M fully guaranteed salary this year, I think McCoy will stick on the roster - I don't think Seattle would fully guarantee McCoy's salary if they had any questions on his achilles -- and he will earn a roster spot unless Travis Beckum or Chase Dixon really jump off the tape in training camp and preseason.

WR

I think Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin, Paul Richardson, Jermaine Kearse and Kevin Norwood are locks to make the roster. The way Schneider gushed about Norwood in post-draft interviews was exponentially more effusive than any comments he made about Chris Harper in the hours and days after the Draft in 2013.

As for roster spots after that, the Seahawks don't always carry six receivers, sometimes they only carry five. If they plan on keeping Terrelle Pryor and Tom Cable gets his customary 10 roster spots for the offensive line, then there is no room for the 6th WR.

If they do keep a 6th WR, I think it is a battle between Sidney Rice, Ricardo Lockette and Chris Matthews. I think Bryan Walters, Arceto Clark, Phil Bates and Taylor Price will have a hard time making the roster. I think Walters and Price do not have practice squad eligibility. I believe Matthews, Clark and Bates are still practice squad eligible. 

Both Rice and Lockette are UFA in 2015. Doug Baldwin is also a UFA, but I suspect he will be extended this summer.

OL

I think there are eight locks - Russell Okung, James Carpenter, Max Unger, J.R. Sweezy, Justin Britt, Michael Bowie, Alvin Bailey, and Lem Jeanpierre. I think Garrett Scott has a very good chance to make the roster, although they graded Garry Gilliam as a 6th rounder as well (Schneider mentioned both Scott and Gilliam were given 6th round grades). Gilliam could steal Scott's spot or possibly be the 10th offensive lineman.  If they want a guard to the be 10th OL, then it is a battle between Stephen Schilling, Greg Van Roten, Caylin Hauptmann, Jared Smith and Bronson Irwin.  Both Schilling and Van Roten have started games in the NFL. 

The two big names that hit UFA in 2015 are James Carpenter and Lemuel Jeanpierre. The Seahawks will have to address the interior offensive line in the 2015 Draft, probably with two picks.