Seattle Seahawks: Predicting stats for every 2020 rookie
By Samuel Teets
The Seattle Seahawks drafted eight rookies this year. The team’s three top selections could all cement themselves as starters by the end of the season.
Several of the eight rookies the Seattle Seahawks acquired in the 2020 NFL Draft should see starting time before this coming season ends. However, none of the rookies should start in Week 1 and all of them will battle with veterans or members from the 2019 draft class for playing time.
Based on the current roster, Seattle’s three defensive draft picks and the one offensive lineman the franchise added possess the highest chances of starting this coming season. However, recent Seahawks draft classes proved that rookies making an impact is anything but guaranteed.
So what impact will these Seahawks rookies have out of the gate in 2020? Let’s make some predictions.
Round 1: Jordyn Brooks, LB (No. 27)
Seattle could shake up their defense in 2020 by moving K.J. Wright from weakside linebacker to strongside linebacker. The move would take snaps away from the veteran linebacker, who recently underwent shoulder surgery. Hypothetically, either Jordyn Brooks or second-year linebacker Cody Barton would move into Wright’s spot, alongside Bobby Wagner, at the heart of Seattle’s defense.
Mychal Kendricks played strongside linebacker last year, but he tore his ACL and couldn’t finish the season. Barton took over for Kendricks during the playoffs. Kendricks entered free agency this offseason, and the Seahawks haven’t made any move to re-sign the veteran. The team feels content with its current linebackers.
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Playing weakside linebacker is a significant responsibility in Seattle’s defense. According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, the Seahawks kept the strongside linebacker on the field about 70 percent of the time last season. In comparison, Pro Football Reference claims Wright played 93 percent of the defense’s snaps at weakside linebacker while Wagner played 99 percent of the snaps at middle linebacker.
The Seahawks plan on eventually playing a lineup that features Barton, Brooks, and Wagner. With Wright’s current contract expiring after this coming season, Seattle could hasten the veteran’s departure by either cutting him, which would be a colossal mistake, or by slowly giving more of his snaps to younger players like Brooks.
While Brooks will eventually play a large role in Seattle’s defense, Wright proved he’s far from washed up in 2019. With Barton already holding the edge experience-wise, I think Brooks starts the season on the bench before swapping back and forth with Barton in the starting lineup.
Projected 2020 stats: Nine starts, 65 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack