Seattle Seahawks: Predicting stats for 2019 rookies
By Samuel Teets
Gary Jennings (No. 120)
Drafting Gary Jennings from West Virginia was my favorite pick by Seattle this year. He brings a very different dynamic than Metcalf and is more like Doug Baldwin than Lockett in terms of his playing style. As opposed to Metcalf, who didn’t post big numbers, Jennings had two very productive years in college.
In 2017, he recorded 97 receptions for 1,096 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. That’s an average of 11.3 yards per reception, which seems to line up with the role Baldwin played in Seattle. Baldwin averaged 13.3 yards per reception in his career.
In 2018, Jennings posted totally different numbers, averaging 17 yards per reception and finishing with just 54 receptions for 917 yards but with 13 touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see what role the Seahawks ask him to play as a rookie, but Jennings appears equipped to run a large route tree than his fellow rookie wide receivers. Because of this, I think he will actually see more snaps and opportunities than Metcalf as a rookie.
I went overboard in an article posted shortly after the draft when I predicted Jennings would be close to the 1,000-yard mark. Now that I’ve had a chance to see what the Seahawks roster will look like in the fall, I’ve adjusted my estimates to be more realistic.
Projected 2019 stats: 45 receptions, 585 yards, four touchdowns
Phil Haynes (No. 124)
I should apologize to former Wake Forest guard Phil Haynes. An article about estimated stats isn’t exactly fair to offensive linemen. Haynes is slotted in at a guard position behind the injury-prone Mike Iupati though. The Seahawks have been known to move around linemen and use different combinations when necessary too.
Again, like in the situation with Barton, Haynes doesn’t have complete control over his own destiny in this situation and will be relying on other factors to get him playing time.
Projected 2019 stats: 12 games played, zero games started
Ugochukwu Amadi (No. 132)
Ugo Amadi was another solid pick by the Seahawks. Amadi played a lot of cornerback at Oregon but he also spent extensive time at the free safety position. His history as a cornerback means he could be in line for some snaps in the slot. However, Carroll plans to have Amadi start his career as a safety.
While Amadi is a Swiss army knife in the defensive backfield, there were concerns about his size coming into the draft. Amadi is just 5-9 and weighs 199 pounds, according to his draft profile. This clearly puts him at a disadvantage against wide receivers like Metcalf, who have the size and verticality that can take Amadi out of plays entirely.
Despite these concerns, Amadi should see a decent number of snaps as a rookie. With Justin Coleman no longer filling the slot cornerback role, Amadi could get a shot at the job. He might also play some free safety if Carroll decides to play Blair as a backup to Bradley McDougald and Thompson loses his starting job.
Projected 2019 stats: 30 combined tackles, five passes defensed, one interception