Field Gulls
Pritchett did not make the most of his limited playing time, calling into question whether he’s a lock for the 2025 roster.
I remember when the Seattle Seahawks selected Auburn corner Nehemiah Pritchett. Many claimed he was a possible steal of the NFL Draft. Well, his first year lived up to that expectation. He was quite inconsistent in the preseason, as was his teammate DJ James, who was the only rookie who didn’t make the roster, but unlike James managed to stay on the Seahawks.
Will Nehemiah Pritchett get a roster spot in 2025?
He was the sixth option after Spoon, Riq Woolen, Tre Brown, Josh Jobe (who started the year on the practice squad) and Artie Burns (who spent most of the year on the practice squad). Pritchett played 151 snaps, receiving the lowest grade of ALL rookies in the class, as well as the second-lowest grade in coverage. Even though he played in frequently, he was 14th in missed tackles with 6, and second in missed tackle percentage.
His numbers weren’t worse because he played few snaps. In 20 targets, he gave up 13 receptions, 205 yards, 1 TD, no INTs and only 1 pass deflection.
He needs to be more patient coming off the snap. It seems like he didn’t attend the kick-step lessons from the golden days of Seattle’s defense. He doesn’t have the agility to recover.
Terrible press technique. He doesn’t make contact, doesn’t slow down the WR and can’t recover, giving up another gain.
The press problems also appear in off-coverage. He gives the receiver too much cushion and can’t react quickly to the cut, allowing an easy TD.
The WR threatens an out route and Pritchett goes too aggressively, falls into the double-move and gives up a big advance.
One way for rookies drafted in the late round is to work on special teams. Pritchett was considered a returner when he was drafted, but I don’t recall him being mentioned in the competition at any point, not even after the team cut its two returners, Laviska Shenault Jr. and Dee Williams. Furthermore, on this play he almost created a turnover, almost causing a fumble here that would have likely changed the final result of the game.
Pritchett’s situation is only not more at risk because the Seahawks didn’t bring in any more players in the FA or anyone in the Draft. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team preferred to continue with Shemar Jean-Charles, JT Woods, Isas Waxter, and Zy Alexander than with Pritchett.
Obviously, his appearances were limited, but basically on no snaps did he give reason to believe he would jump. He’s still a fast and tall CB, so he has the tools to play more than he did. If Pritchett can make it into the top 53, it will be a huge win for him.
