Seattle Seahawks: 5 Young defensive linemen under pressure in 2019
By Samuel Teets
The Seattle Seahawks have a lot of young defensive linemen on the roster. Those players need to become contributors in 2019.
The six-game suspension of defensive tackle Jarran Reed suddenly has the Seattle Seahawks defensive line looking inexperienced unproven. It seems like Ezekiel Ansah will be ready to play in Seattle’s Week 1 matchup against the woeful Cincinnati Bengals. The Seahawks also signed veteran pass rusher, Cassius Marsh this offseason.
Despite the team’s free agent signings, the Seahawks will be relying on their young defensive linemen to step up and play a role this season. Injuries and depth issues will push young players into the lineup.
I did not include Jacob Martin on this list. Martin is a promising young edge rusher, but he’s technically been playing linebacker in the NFL. The five players included in this article are specifically defensive ends and defensive tackles. Hopefully, we will see more of Martin in his second season in the league, but he doesn’t fit the purpose of this article.
The five defensive linemen appear in alphabetical order by their last names.
L.J. Collier
First round picks already face pressure, but Collier will face extra scrutiny. With Seattle’s best defensive lineman suspended and Ansah not bringing in any guaranteed production, Collier will be expected to contribute. He’s projected to start alongside Ansah or Marsh, depending on the health of both veteran pass rushers.
It doesn’t help that Seattle’s first round pick in last year’s draft, Rashaad Penny, was underwhelming as a rookie. Like Penny, Collier also wasn’t a lock to be taken in the first round, but Seattle drafted him anyway. If anything, that only puts more pressure on Collier to validate the front office’s decisions.
The start to Collier’s career may be delayed a little. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the first-round defensive end suffered a high ankle sprain during practice in late July. Collier will miss all of the preseason in the hopes that he will be able to start the regular season.