Seattle Seahawks: 5 Young defensive linemen under pressure in 2019
By Samuel Teets
Rasheem Green
Green was Seattle’s second selection in the 208 NFL Draft. He played both defensive end and defensive tackle in college but fits the build of an end more in the NFL. Green’s final season at USC was exciting. He recorded ten sacks, which is why he was taken in the third round as opposed to much later.
Green’s late college success did not translate immediately to the NFL though. This time last year, I was expecting him to see some meaningful snaps and turn in stats similar to those that Frank Clark posted as a rookie. Green didn’t even get to those marks though. In ten appearances, he recorded one sack and nine combined tackles.
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If injuries begin to stack up, Green could see some game time. Given his lack of opportunities and production last year, it would be a big boon to his career if he could make an impression this season.
Poona Ford
In the few opportunities that he had last season, Ford looked like he could be a diamond in the rough. Ford was an undrafted free agent out of Texas last season. Luckily, the Seahawks picked him up.
The 23-year old defensive tackle appeared in 11 games for Seattle last season and made one start. He made 21 combined tackles during that time. While that number doesn’t jump off of the screen, that’s solid production for the amount of time he played. It’s more impressive when you consider that 17 of those tackles came in the final five games of the season. Had Ford been given more snaps at the start of the season, his numbers would have been much more impressive.
The second-year defensive tackle isn’t going to be chasing around quarterbacks. He had just four sacks during his time at Texas with a single-season high of 2.5 sacks coming back in 2015. At 310 lbs. though, Ford is a large space-eater who can grind running games to a halt. In Reed’s absence, Ford will be Seattle’s best defensive tackle.