Seahawks post-draft depth chart: A third-round starter, plus logjams at DL and CB (2024)

With the NFL Draft complete and the newcomers arriving Thursday for this weekend’s rookie minicamp, the Seattle Seahawks can continue their offseason program with most of their roster in place. Here’s a look at the current depth chart, including a few notable players joining the team as rookie free agents.

Asterisks denote rookies*

Seahawks 2024 draft class

Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
Christian Haynes, G, UConn
Tyrice Knight, LB, UTEP
AJ Barner, TE, Michigan
Nehemiah Pritchett, CB, Auburn
Sataoa Laumea, G, Utah
D.J. James, CB, Auburn
Mike Jerrell, OT, Findlay

How y’all feeling? https://t.co/OV7nKwcsuc pic.twitter.com/giMes8cM9q

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) April 28, 2024

Quarterbacks

Starter: Geno Smith
Backup: Sam Howell

Seattle scouted the quarterbacks in this class, but once six were drafted within the first 12 picks, the Seahawks didn’t consider themselves to be in great position to select one. They had a pre-draft meeting with Spencer Rattler but passed on him three times on Day 3 before the Saints selected him with pick No. 150 in the fifth round. Seattle considers Howell to be its young developmental backup. He turns 24 in September, already has NFL starting experience and costs only about $2 million for the next two seasons.

On Saturday, general manager John Schneider was taken aback by a question about his quarterback plan after the 2025 season. Understanding that the 33-year-old Smith is essentially on a year-to-year deal and Howell is a backup who hasn’t had a padded practice with the new coaching staff, Schneider didn’t commit to a long-term plan.

“We’ll see where it goes,” Schneider said. “We’re always looking at that position. I can’t tell you what our long-term plan is because I honestly don’t know, but Sam is a huge part of it because we made a major trade to get Sam before we got here.”

Seattle signed San Jose State’s Chevan Cordeiro and will reportedly have fellow undrafted rookie quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland at camp this week for a tryout.

Running backs

Starter: Ken Walker III
Backups: Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh

The Seahawks have a strong one-two punch with Walker and Charbonnet, as long as they can stay healthy, the offensive line shows consistency and the play caller commits to running the ball. Both Walker and Charbonnet can play on all three downs, so when they’re healthy, there’s not an urgent need for a third running back outside of special teams. However, Seattle is going to carry more than three running backs during the season, which is why the class of rookie free agents includes Boise State’s George Holani and North Dakota State’s TaMerik Williams.

Wide receivers

Starters: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Backups: Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, Dee Eskridge, Laviska Shenault Jr., Easop Winston Jr., Cody White

Bobo should enter training camp as WR4, but the other receivers are going to come for his spot. Young flashed as a rookie in 2022, Eskridge is starting fresh with a new coaching staff and Shenault (kickoff) and Winston (punt) have value as returners. I’d expect Seattle to carry five receivers on the active roster during the regular season with Metcalf, Lockett and Smith-Njigba accounting for most of the meaningful snaps as long as everyone is healthy.

Tight ends

Starter: Noah Fant
Backups: Pharaoh Brown, AJ Barner*, Brady Russell, Tyler Mabry

Fant is listed as the lone starter because Smith-Njigba’s emergence will likely mean lining up in 11 personnel most of the time. But if Seattle is going to be committed to the run game, then Brown, a good run blocker, will be heavily involved in the offense as well. Brown is 30 years old and on a one-year deal, so Barner was drafted to be his replacement after this season.

Seattle carried Russell as a fourth tight end last year, but there’s nothing to indicate that will be the case this season. If Russell makes the active roster again, Mabry would probably head back to the practice squad. An interesting rookie free agent name to monitor here is former Washington tight end Jack Westover, a Bellevue, Wa., native and a two-year starter in Ryan Grubb’s scheme.

Offensive line

Starters: LT Charles Cross, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Olu Oluwatimi, RG Christian Haynes*, RT Abraham Lucas
Backups: OT George Fant, OT Stone Forsythe, G Anthony Bradford, C/G Nick Harris, G Tremayne Anchrum Jr., G McClendon Curtis, OT Raiqwon O’Neal, G Sataoa Laumea*, OT Mike Jerrell, OT Max Pircher

Lucas (knee) appears to be trending toward being in the Week 1 lineup, but that’s still not a sure thing. If he’s not ready, Fant will likely start at right tackle. At guard, Tomlinson, Bradford and Haynes are competing for two starting spots. I have Tomlinson and Haynes penciled in on the left and right, respectively, but that could change by the start of the season. Laumea is a guard with tackle flexibility, whereas Jerrell should probably stay at tackle. The rookies making the roster could send Curtis, O’Neal and Anchrum to the practice squad.

Defensive line

Starters: Jarran Reed, Leonard Williams, Dre’Mont Jones
Backups: Johnathan Hankins, Byron Murphy II*, Cameron Young, Mike Morris, Myles Adams, Matt Gotel

This is Seattle’s strongest position group on defense. The selection of Murphy quietly makes this an important year for Jones, who didn’t have a great year in the first season of his $51 million contract (playing out of position contributed to that). I expect Jones to be a Week 1 starter, but he doesn’t have any guaranteed money left on his contract after this year, and he carries a $23.1 million cap hit in 2025, with a possible $16.5 million in savings if he were traded or released. Murphy and Jones aren’t the exact same type of player, but drafting the former could put the latter in a position where he’s either an extension candidate or a cap cut next offseason.

In the meantime, Seattle might have to make an interesting decision at nose tackle. Hankins was signed as a veteran backup and is certainly equipped to play that role, but the numbers might make it tough to roster him along with Young and Morris now that Murphy is in the mix. Young’s development will be worth monitoring for that reason during training camp.

Outside linebackers

Starters: Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe
Backups: Derick Hall, Darrell Taylor, Levi Bell, Joshua Onujiogu

This year’s edge class was believed to be top-heavy, so it’s understandable that Seattle didn’t come out of the draft with an outside linebacker. A fun “what if” to consider, though, will be what would have happened had Seattle taken Dallas Turner or Jared Verse with its top pick. Turner was drafted 17th to the Vikings, and Verse was selected two picks later by the Rams.

But that might not matter if Hall takes the same Year 2 leap Maye took last season and Taylor is a more consistent contributor. If all four of the top edge rushers push closer to their ceilings in 2024, this group has the potential to be dominant in the way the Ravens’ outside linebackers were under Mike Macdonald last year. One rookie free agent name of interest here is Houston’s Nelson Ceaser III, who had 9.5 sacks last season.

Inside linebackers

Starters: Tyrel Dodson, Jerome Baker
Backups: Tyrice Knight*, Jon Rhattigan, Patrick O’Connell, Drake Thomas

Dodson and Baker are far more experienced than the rest of the players in this room, with more than 6,000 defensive snaps played between the two of them. There’s a reason they’re on one-year deals at this point in their respective careers, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy for the young players on the roster to take their starting spots. Schneider drafted Knight because Macdonald believes he can develop into a starting-caliber linebacker, whereas the rest of the players in the room must prove themselves to the new coaching staff.

Cornerbacks

Starters: Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Tre Brown
Backups: Mike Jackson, Nehemiah Pritchett*, D.J. James*, Artie Burns, Lance Boykin, Andrew Whitaker

Seattle can justify this draft’s investment in two cornerbacks because one of them (James) has the potential to play nickel, and the team’s only backup for Witherspoon at that spot is 29-year-old Burns. Burns played well as an inside cornerback last year, but he’s probably not in the team’s long-term plans.

Like Burns, Brown and Jackson are on expiring contracts. They’ve been in and out of the lineup the last two years and will have some competition with Pritchett coming in. And even if Pritchett doesn’t play much as a rookie, he’ll be next in line to start in 2025.

Safeties

Starters: Julian Love, Rayshawn Jenkins
Backups: Coby Bryant, K’Von Wallace, Jonathan Sutherland, Ty Okada, Jerrick Reed II

Schneider was asked after the draft if the absence of a safety in this year’s draft class was a reflection of how confident he is in this group as currently constructed.

“To a certain extent, yes,” Schneider said. “Our grading scale represents that, what our team looks like. It’s a good group right now.”

By swapping Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs for Jenkins and Wallace, Seattle is younger and much cheaper than it was last season. A first-time Pro Bowler in 2023, Love is suddenly the leader of that group, but he’s on an expiring deal, as is Wallace. Everyone in this room has something to play for this season, including Bryant, who missed most of last season with a toe injury. A 2022 fourth-round pick, Bryant has already played three different positions in Seattle, so perhaps finding a home and settling in will help him reach his potential.

(Photo of Christian Haynes: Bryan Woolston / Associated Press)

Michael-Shawn Dugar is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Seattle Seahawks. He previously covered the Seahawks for Seattlepi.com. He is also the co-host of the "Seahawks Man 2 Man" podcast. Follow Michael-Shawn on Twitter @MikeDugar