Seattle Seahawks: 5 Players facing the most pressure in 2018

3. Bradley McDougald

Similarly to Griffin, McDougald is tasked with replacing the production of members from the Legion of Boom. It’s safe to say that he is no where near their level though and that will be his challenge in 2018. McDougald is set to start at strong safety, Kam Chancellor‘s position, which already puts him at a disadvantage. He is about two inches and 10 pounds smaller than Chancellor and lacks the great versatility and big-hitter ability of his predecessor.

While he won’t, at least for his sake, be asked to do the same things as Chancellor, that will only make the difference between them even more prominent to fans who are used to seeing the greatest safety duo in the NFL. That brings up another point: if Earl Thomas does not report to the team, then McDougald will be the team’s top safety. Replacing legends is a stressful and dangerous job, we’ll see if McDougald is up for it.

2. Rashaad Penny

This choice is less about Penny needing to contribute and more about pressure from the Seattle fan base. Penny might not be the starting running back in 2018 and that will be okay as long as he continues to develop. The rebuilding process doesn’t happen overnight and head coach Pete Carroll won’t rush his young runner.

The issue is, Penny was a controversial first-round selection. As such, people will want to see him perform well and soon. If he fails to live up to the play of other high drafted running backs and the expectations placed on all first round selections, he’ll have to face the heat of the fans. The label “bust” is thrown around all too easily and can cause a lot of unnecessary stress for young players.