Field Gulls
We are in full theory crafting season. With the preseason right around the corner, many are trying to predict team rosters and where teams rank heading into the preseason. ESPN has released their roster rankings for all 32 teams and projected the teams starting line ups. Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz, and Seth Walder worked together on these rankings. Clay worked on the starting line ups and each teams strengths and weaknesses. Schatz identified players who were not starters who could be a key player during the season. Walder meanwhile identified the X-Factor for each team. Lets see where the Seattle Seahawks landed!
The Seahawks landed third in the rankings, right behind the Philadelphia Eagles at second and the Los Angeles Rams at first. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens rounded out the top five. The projected starters are as follows:
Not a whole lot of shockers. With the Seahawks keeping 21 of the 22 starters from last season, it makes sense. Of the 24 positions listed above, the only changes would be Zach Charbonnet being the starting running back in place of Kenneth Walker, Nick Emmanwori filling the third cornerback position that was held by Riq Woolen (Editor’s note: We know Nick is not officially a corner, but it’s a way to say he’s a starter), and Ty Okada starting opposite Julian Love which was Coby Bryant’s role last year.
Clay identified the biggest strength of the team as the interior defensive line, noting that they “allowed a league-low 17.2 points per game last season and finished third in the league in run stop win rate (32.5%),” which is very impressive. With Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy and Jarran Reed all returning, they can continue to build upon what they did last season. Rylie Mills, who had a sack in the Super Bowl pushing Jared Wilson into Drake Maye’s lap, will also be a factor this season in the interior rotation.
The biggest weakness was identified to be the running back position. With Walker going to the Chiefs and Charbonnet coming off injury and not expected to come back till October, this is not shocking. Clay does state that Price could emerge as a breakout star, but is a relative “unknown and has minimal experience as a pass catcher,” which seems to be a consistent concern when it comes to Price. George Holani, Kenny McIntosh and Emanuel Wilson will all be competing for work too, and it will be an intriguing battle to keep an eye on in the preseason.
Walder believes that the X-Factor is Rashid Shaheed, which many Seahawk fans can agree with. Being one of the best returners in the league last season, having two regular season returns for touchdowns and one in the post season, he can change the game on special teams. Walder does bring up that his production as a receiver last season left people wanting more, only averaging “1.8 yards per route run with the Saints in the first half...
