Grasping ‘Brand New’ Position, Jamie Sheriff Looking to Star Again For Seahawks in Preseason

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Seattle Seahawks linebacker Jamie Sheriff participates in a pass rushing drill during the team’s 12th training camp practice at the VMAC. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]

RENTON, Wash. - One of the most unlikely preseason stars to don a Seattle Seahawks uniform in recent years, Jamie Sheriff’s unexpected rise from street free agent to quarterback’s worst nightmare truly came out of nowhere last August.

When the Seahawks opened camp in late July a year ago, Sheriff wasn’t suiting up in a helmet and jersey at the VMAC. Or at any other practice field across the NFL landscape, for that matter. Instead, the former South Alabama standout found a job as a beer delivery truck driver, biding his time waiting patiently for the call for a chance to show what he could do.

Fortunately, that call finally came on August 6, just days following Sheriff’s decision to quit the aforementioned delivery job. After participating in the Seahawks rookie minicamp in May on a tryout basis, the team wanted to take a closer look at the rookie edge rusher, signing him to the 90-man roster in a move that looked like a typical mid-August camp body addition.

But Sheriff had other plans. Even without the luxury of an offseason program and after missing the first week of camp, the Mississippi native hit the ground running, quickly impressing coach Mike Macdonald and the coaching staff with his juice rushing off the edge and relentless motor. Once the preseason arrived, he tortured opposing quarterbacks, finishing second among all NFL edge rushers with 12 pressures and three sacks in three exhibition games, leaving many fans begging for him to be on the Week 1 roster.

Though Sheriff didn’t make Seattle’s initial 53-man coming out of the preseason, he did return to the practice squad after a brief stint in Carolina, suiting up for one game against San Francisco. Brought back on a future/reserve deal in January, Macdonald and the coaching staff pitched an interesting idea to the young defender going into the offseason program, wanting to transition him to off-ball linebacker, a “brand new” position he never had played previously at any level.

“I had been told previously that they wanted to try me out there,” Sheriff said prior to Seattle’s August 5 training camp practice, saying the move was one pitched to him by several defensive coaches. “And for me, it was exciting because I felt like it was another opportunity for me to go out there and get on the field.”

In a somewhat odd way, Sheriff entered his first full NFL offseason in a familiar place behind the eight-ball. Though he would have the benefit of OTAs and minicamp this time around, he would also be learning a completely foreign position from scratch, uncertain of how quickly he would adjust and adapt to playing away from the line of scrimmage for the first time in his football career.

But the Seahawks believed Sheriff could successfully make the transition, seeing his pass rushing ability and athleticism as positive traits that would translate to playing off ball in Macdonald’s scheme. Ensuring he got as many reps as possible out of the gate in an attempt to accelerate his learning curve, they brought him in for rookie minicamp to get extra field time at his new position, as he remained eligible to do so after only suiting up for two regular season games last season.

Over the course of OTAs and minicamp, Sheriff split his time between his natural edge position and his new role working off the ball as a WILL linebacker. Growing pains were evident throughout the spring, as the game sped up a great deal when he was tasked with deciphering run plays and knowing the assignments of the defensive linemen in front of him. There were certainly plays where he looked lost on the practice field, which was to be expected given the newness of the role.

Since then, however, Sheriff has made noticeable positive progress developing into a true hybrid linebacker who can still wreak havoc rushing off the edge in a pinch when called upon. Sporting full pads in Monday’s practice, he quickly rocketed out of his stance and flew downhill to the line of scrimmage to record two nice run stops that netted no gain for the offense, finishing plays that he wouldn’t have sniffed only a few months earlier as he continues to grow more comfortable with each passing day. He also added a pressure on a blitz, a clear strength for him given his defensive line background.

“I’m still gaining that confidence that comes with practice each and every day,” Sheriff remarked. “Just going out there and just getting better at something that I saw yesterday that I need to work on. The difference is it's not contact right away, so I have to be able to see the ball and know my d-lines responsibility and let them guys work up front and work off them and just feed off them.”

Much like this time a year ago, Sheriff will take the field for the Seahawks’ preseason opener against the Raiders on Thursday night with much to prove under the lights. At this point, it’s far from a guarantee that he will make the 53-man roster, as he has spent the bulk of training camp playing with the third-team defense and still has a ways to go to earn the trust of the coaching staff enough to be considered an option for a backup off-ball linebacker spot.

But if there’s a clear advantage for Sheriff, Seattle hasn’t completely taken him away from his natural position, where one or even two roster spots may be up for grabs with Uchenna Nwosu recovering from knee surgery. As the coaching staff sold him on way back in April, not many NFL players have the talent and ability to rush off the edge while also being able to slide to off-ball linebacker and handle the coverage duties and run fits that come with the territory, but he has a legitimate chance to demonstrate that he belongs in that exclusive group over the next few weeks, which would be a major feather in his cap vying to make the team.

Sheriff also cut his teeth on special teams a year ago, showing he could excel on kickoff and punt coverage units to add to his value. Performing well in the third phase of the game in exhibition games will go a long way towards him securing a reserve linebacker spot as well.

Considering where he started just five months ago and how his NFL career got started to begin with, Sheriff has felt the game slow down a great deal since training camp started on July 23. With dramatically improved understanding of what defenders in front of him are doing and a better “feel for gaps” in the run game from the off-ball spot, he’s hopeful that growth on the practice field will translate to game action against another opponent and that he can continue building on the foundation that he has established since the start of the offseason program.

As for what Sheriff hopes to showcase starting on Thursday night, he’s keeping it simple emphasizing the basics, focusing on beating his blocks, finding the quarterback regardless of where he rushes from, and playing fast and decisive dropping into his coverage assignments. It’s all about inspiring confidence and trust from Macdonald and the rest of Seattle’s defensive coaches in a true game setting.

“Dominating blocks and just getting off flying to the ball and being the best pass rusher on the field and off the ball and on the ball,” Sheriff said. “So just going out there and be able to cover the guys I need to cover and just go out there and play fast.”

While that may seem like a lot to accomplish, it’s worth remembering this is the same player who came to camp late last year after delivering beer and then lit it up throughout the exhibition season. If he’s able to check off all of those boxes and still occasionally moonlight as a dynamic rusher off the edge hunting down quarterbacks against the Raiders and the rest of the preseason competition, Sheriff confidently expects to not only be a preseason darling once again, but he has clear sights on turning that success into a spot on the 53 this time around.