Seahawks camp day 14: 3 undrafted rookies are pushing to make team; Bobby Wagner chills
With top rookie Devon Witherspoon still out injured, Pete Carroll is spending a looooooong time coaching another, long-shot rookie into a prime spot.
After the many plays Jonathan Sutherland got Sunday as the Seahawks’ primary nickel defensive back with the starting defense Sunday, Carroll resumed his one-on-one tutoring.
Spending so much time with Sutherland, and the fact that the rookie from Penn State started Seattle’s first preseason game and remains alternating into the starting defense in training camp strongly suggests Sutherland is one of three undrafted free agents who might make the initial regular-season roster.
The team’s 90-man preseason roster must be cut to 53 by Aug. 29.
Saturday night, Sutherland will get another chance to impress when the Seahawks host the Dallas Cowboys in the second preseason game.
“He’s really aggressive. Very instinctive,” Carroll said this weekend.
“Jon has been a really fun guy in this camp, and in the offseason, too. He’s very aggressive and a very instinctive kid in a lot of different situations, whether he’s covering receivers, working on the tight end, or fitting on the run.
“He’s a fun player. I’m anxious to see how he does.”
So far, so very good.
The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Sutherland has practiced and played bigger than that.
An example of Sutherland’s savvy showed up in the first half of his first NFL start, Seattle’s first preseason game Thursday against Minnesota.
Sutherland started at his college position, safety, as Quandre Diggs and Julian Love were among the 15 Seahawks starters who did not play. When the Vikings were in passing situations, Sutherland moved up in the defense to the primary fifth, nickel defensive back. Jerrick Reed, the team’s rookie sixth-round draft choice, entered at safety.
Early in the first half, Reed ran to the line of scrimmage at the snap to blitz Minnesota quarterback Nick Mullens. But he chose the wrong path. He ran into the blitz lane of a teammate, plus two Vikings blockers. That allowed Mullens the time to complete a pass for a first down from where Reed had blitzed.
On another third down, Sutherland blitzed from his inside, slot nickel position. He picked the correct lane — directly to Mullens. The rookie’s route was sound; his timing was just a tick late. Sutherland slammed into the quarterback just as he threw to complete another pass.
Carroll also appreciated Sutherland’s play on Seattle’s kicking teams. That’s how Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and so many other undrafted rookies ultimately made Carroll’s teams and played in their first Seahawks years.
“He had some really nice hits on special teams, and defense,” Carroll said of Sutherland, credited with three tackles against Minnesota. “He played good football for us. He’s played a couple of different spots. He’s playing some nickel and some safety. He’s been very versatile so far.
“I really like him because he’s been a very instinctive football player that has a knack for going for it.”
Sutherland is taking full advantage of Witherspoon’s rocky start to his NFL career.
In the spring, the Seahawks limited the fifth pick in this year’s draft some because of a hamstring issue he brought with him from the University of Illinois. Then Witherspoon held out the first two days of training camp, to exact from the Seahawks a fully guaranteed rookie contract, slotted by the league’s collective bargaining agreement to be $31.8 million over four years.
Upon his return, Carroll moved Witherspoon inside to nickel back for his tackling and coverage skills, in addition to him backing up Michael Jackson at left cornerback. Then last Monday, Aug. 7, Witherspoon injured his hamstring. Through Sunday he’d missed five consecutive practices plus the preseason opener.
Carroll said Witherspoon will get another evaluation Tuesday. The team doesn’t know when he will return to practicing.
Meanwhile, it’s Sutherland and Coby Bryant at nickel. Bryant is also in the first weeks of playing safety, as he did again Sunday. Bryant also got scrimmage plays at left cornerback, another spot Witherspoon is missing from.
Jackson was the starting cornerback opposite Riq Woolen on the right side Sunday.
Woolen returned to practice Saturday for the first time since his arthroscopic knee surgery in May.
Jake Bobo’s bid
On offense, Jake Bobo is the second undrafted rookie pushing hard to make the team.
The wide receiver from UCLA has been getting a lot of time among the rotation of pass catchers targeted by quarterback Geno Smith on the starting offense. Bobo had seven catches in Seattle’s annual mock-game scrimmage two weekends ago. He had two impressive catches in the Vikings game.
One was when he deftly found his way across the zone defense for a 29-yard catch and run. The second was his 19-yard touchdown catch from Drew Lock. That brought Seattle all the way back from its 10-0 deficit to its first lead, 17-13, on the final scrimmage play of the third quarter.
“He’s been a fan favorite in the locker room, for sure,” Lock said.
“‘More Bobo’ is the thing we like to say in the locker room. ‘Get Bobo the ball.’
“He does everything right, man. He works really, really hard. I know when you throw a rookie out there, you get zero MEs (mental errors) in practices. I’m not saying he’s going to do zero the whole time, but he does the right thing. He’s in the right spots, knows his job, his assignment. That’s all you can ask for.”
Bobo has the size that intrigues and impresses. He’s 6-4 and 207 pounds.
But he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.99 seconds at UCLA’s pro day this spring. No wide receiver at this year’s NFL scouting combine ran a slower time.
That relative lack of speed makes Bobo a tough fit on any of Seattle’s special-teams units — again, the surest route for an undrafted rookie to make the Seahawks. A 4.99 guy getting out-run blocking for or covering kickoffs and punts is not ideal.
A second rookie free-agent wide receiver is getting a long look from coaches: Matt Landers from Arkansas. He ran the 40 in 4.37 seconds at the combine. He ran past veteran cornerback Artie Burns on a post route for a touchdown catch on a long pass from Lock Sunday.
Yet there was Bobo again Sunday, with the first-team offense, catching passes from Smith.
Bobo also snagged a pretty, long outside throw from Lock in between Burns and a safety.
Long snapper, by default
This is no doubt at least one undrafted rookie will make this team. Unless, that is, the Seahawks sign a veteran one still to be cut by another team at the roster deadline in two weeks.
Chris Stoll, Sutherland’s teammate last fall at Penn State, has been Seattle’s only long snapper for Michael Dickson’s punts and Jason Myers’ placekicks since the first offseason practices of May.
“He’s been solid so far,” Carroll said. “There’s been no reason to say anything else about him so far. He’s been solid.”
Bobby Wagner chills
Bobby Wagner was like many of you. He took Sunday off.
The 33-year-old six-time All-Pro watched another undrafted rookie, Patrick O’Connell from Montana, rotate with Ben Burr-Kirven as the inside linebacker next to Devin Bush in base defense.
Jon Rhattigan, Wagner’s usual backup inside linebacker, missed practice for the second consecutive day. He has an injured elbow from the Vikings game.
O’Connell caught Carroll’s eye in the game against Minnesota. He had five tackles on defense, and appeared to be making the right fits and reads against running plays. That’s been Carroll’s and defensive coordinator Clint Hurrt’s focus of the offseason and preseason.
“I thought that Patrick made a bunch of plays,” Carroll said following Thursday’s game.
Woolen, Jackson make day’s best play
The best play of the day for the defense was in seven-on-seven scrimmaging.
DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett ran double stutter, stop and go routes down each sideline. Woolen stayed step for step with Metcalf into the end zone. Jackson stayed in Lockett’s chest on the other side, hand-fighting with the veteran. Smith’s pass to Lockett was way overthrown incomplete because of Jackson’s tight coverage.
Extra points
- Tre Brown alternated with Jackson as the left cornerback with the starting defense for the middle part of the practice. Brown was starting with Jackson, until Woolen returned.
- Evan Brown was the starting center again, as it appears the veteran will be for Seattle’s opener Sept. 10 against the Los Angeles Rams. Olu Oluwatimi was back practicing in position drills. He missed Saturday with a wrist injury. Oluwatimi watched usual backup tackle Liam Ryan from Washington State take backup-center reps with Lock.
- Noah Fant has been dropping more passes than the Seahawks want to see from their number-one tight end.
- Woolen has been catching passes from a staffer in between plays, to get his hands back in practice shape, too.
- Wide receiver Cody Thompson, who was alternating into the starting offense early in camp, missed another practice. He’s had a groin issue.
- Edge rusher Darrell Taylor (9 1/2 sacks last season) missed another practice. He’s had a shoulder injury for the past week. Taylor did lead chants of “Geno!” with fans clamoring for the quarterback’s autograph after practice.
This story was originally published August 13, 2023 at 2:06 PM.
