RENTON, Wash. – The Seahawks held their second OTA practice open to the media Thursday afternoon at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. They will break for the holiday weekend and reconvene on Tuesday. The next session open to the media is June 1.
Here are eight takeaways from Thursday’s practice.
1. The following players did not attend practice: safety Jamal Adams (quad), inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks (knee), fullback Nick Bellore, outside linebacker Alton Robinson, defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr., receiver Dee Eskridge, receiver DK Metcalf , punter Michael Dickson and cornerback Tariq Woolen, who had arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday.
The new names on that list are Eskridge and Metcalf. They both participated in practice on Monday but are not believed to have missed Thursday’s practice due to injury. (Metcalf appeared in the studio on Fox Sports’ “Undisputed,” which was filmed in Los Angeles, on Wednesday morning.) Outside linebacker Darrell Taylor practiced Thursday after missing Monday’s session.
Inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and nickel corner Coby Bryant were in the indoor walk-through but did not participate when practice moved outside. Others held out of practice include cornerbacks Isaiah Dunn, Lance Boykin and James Campbell, receivers Cade Johnson and CJ Johnson, nose tackle LaTrell Bumphus, right tackle Abe Lucas and defensive tackle Bryan Mone.
Coach Pete Carroll was not available to the media after Thursday’s practice, so there was no official word on any of the absent or limited participants.
2. The most interesting positional battles we can observe in these practices are in the secondary. First-round pick Devon Witherspoon continues to be held out of seven-on-seven action, but he is available for all defensive installations, position drills and walk-throughs. And he got more work after practice with assistant defensive backs coach DeShawn Shead.
With Witherspoon limited and Woolen nursing a knee injury, the other cornerbacks got valuable reps in practice. Third-year veteran Tre Brown is alternating between left and right corner, as is Artie Burns, who re-signed with the team on Tuesday.
3. Brown looks closer to the player he will be as a starter midway through the 2021 season playing left cornerback opposite DJ Reed. Despite being undersized for an outside corner at 5-foot-10, Brown is always active with the ball in the air and had a pair of nice pass breakups on Thursday. The first came on a third-down deep ball against receiver Easop Winston Jr., and the second occurred in the end zone against tight end Noah Fant. Geno Smith threw two passes.
Hey look this is Tre Brown pic.twitter.com/plg9mU9evV
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) May 25, 2023
Michael Jackson had to battle Burns, Brown and Sidney Jones to keep his left cornerback job last season, so battling for playing time is nothing new to him. He also makes plays on the practice field. Jackson and Brown have responded well so far with a top-five pick entering their position group, defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt said.
“They’re naturally competitive guys anyway, so we don’t have to do something to light a fire under them,” Hurtt said. “But I think human nature, when someone of that stature walks into the room, it naturally stirs the pot. I think it’s great.”
Speaking specifically about Jackson’s mental makeup when it comes to competition, Hurtt said, “A lot of people, they kind of relax and go on cruise control. Mike Jackson has never been like that in the time he’s been here. He always had a steady work ethic about him and was always humble. To see the steps he took last year, where it was a pleasant surprise to everyone, his work ethic always speaks for itself. He’s a big, strong kid in the corner and his game just keeps getting better. I like to see the confidence from him that we see now. “
4. On offense, receivers Cody Thompson and Dareke Young continued to be active in practice, making plays on the ball. Thompson re-signed with the team in April after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury.
“Cody did a great job,” offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said Thursday. “Last year, he really stepped up with all his hard work. (He’s) a guy who approaches it trying to do the right thing all the time, and it shows on the field. He picked up where he left off on when he went down with an injury. (I’m) proud to see him fight and have that fortitude to not let past injuries affect how he approaches this offseason. He’s going to be fun to watch.”
5. Young, a seventh-round pick in 2022, ran just 31 routes and caught just two passes for 24 yards last season, but he was active most of the season on special teams and is poised to get offense reps when called upon. He lines up at fullback, catches pop passes in the backfield and runs traditional field routes. Versatility adds to his value on offense.
Not having Eskridge and Metcalf in practice resulted in more passes coming Young’s way. There have been some mixed results, due to good defense or knocking down quarterbacks, but you can see that he has taken every opportunity to prove what he can do, which is good for his chances to contribute to a point at this time. Thursday’s practice ended with Young catching a touchdown pass from Drew Lock.
“Dareke is improving and getting better and better at receiver and route running and some different things,” Waldron said. “Coming out of college, (it’s) a different style of offense that he’s played in his later years. He’s just going to continue to grow and get better. He’s smart, tough and reliable, so he’s going to continue to find a way to go to the field.”
6. After veteran center Evan Brown got all the first-team reps I saw on Monday, rookie fourth-round pick Olu Oluwatimi got a look there on Thursday. But Waldron said there’s nothing to read into the depth chart. They are experimenting across the offensive line at this point in the offseason.
“We’re still a little ways from finishing any reps,” Waldron said. “Training camp, we have a better idea of how we want to divide them. Right now, (Brown, Oluwatimi and Joey Hunt) are mixing and matching like all offensive linemen. (We) mix and match some things so they can get a good feel and a good understanding of sin. As we get closer to training camp, we start to minimize how we want to approach the actual reps when we’re constantly going up against each other.
7. No contact is allowed at this stage of the offseason, so defensive backs must be careful when chasing the ball in the air. With that in mind, rookie free-agent defensive back Jonathan Sutherland made a nice leaping interception of a Lock pass on seven-on-seven. Sutherland is listed as a strong safety but has also practiced nickel corners.
“It was a great game,” Hurtt said. “Very good game.”
8. Like Witherspoon, first-round receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been participating in walk-throughs and positional work but nothing that involves tackling the opposition during outdoor practice. Smith-Njigba is also like Witherspoon in that he makes sure to get extra work after practice. Thursday, Smith-Njigba joined several receivers running routes with Smith and Lock.
If you squint you can see Drew Lock throwing to Dareke Young and then Geno Smith throwing to JSN pic.twitter.com/flVsZmJ59C
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) May 25, 2023
“He’s done very well in the job he’s done so far,” Waldron said of Smith-Njigba. “You see a lot of natural talent that really shows, especially in some of the individual drills, the individual work. It’s fun to continue to work with him and watch him improve throughout OTAs and in training camp.
(Tre Brown photo: Joe Nicholson / USA Today)
