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# Camp Takeaways: George Holani Runs Wild, Seahawks’ Defense Racks Up Picks on Day 6
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/camp-takeaways-george-holani-runs-wild-seattle-seahawks-defense-racks-up-picks/
- Published: 2025-07-30T00:04:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:37:01.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, George Holani, Damien Martinez, Elijah Arroyo, Ty Okada, Quinton Bohanna, Brandon Pili, Nehemiah Pritchett, A.J. Finley, Tyler Hall, Training Camp

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/img_5286-jpg-format-original.jpg)

RENTON, Wash. - Back in pads for a second straight practice, the Seattle Seahawks ramped up the physicality on Tuesday, particularly on the offensive side of the football where running backs George Holani and Damien Martinez combined to find the end zone three times on rushing touchdowns.

What went down at the VMAC? Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s sixth training camp practice:

### 1\. George Holani begins to stake his claim to a potential third down role in Klint Kubiak’s offense.

In Monday’s first padded practice, rookie Damien Martinez put on a show, drawing the praise of coach Mike Macdonald, and the seventh-round pick scored a short touchdown run up the gut as an encore. But in the aftermath of Kenny McIntosh’s recent ACL tear that opened up the competition for the third backfield spot behind Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, Holani responded with his best camp practice in two years with the Seahawks on Tuesday.

The former undrafted free agent out of Boise State got off to a fast start in the second padded session, receiving positive gestures from coach Kennedy Polamalu after he tied multiple in linebackers in knots during 1-on-1 pass catching drills with stellar route running and cuts out of his stem, looking like a receiver in the drill rather than a running back. On one play in particular, he caught linebacker Patrick O’Connell leaning towards the middle with a hesitation step and then broke back outside wide open before plucking the pass and turning upfield down the sideline.

Transitioning into the team 11-on-11 scrimmage period, playing with the second-team offense, Holani received a toss and got to the sideline behind a caravan of blockers for a red zone rushing score. Later, he took a handoff to his left on a split zone concept with fullback Brady Russell wham blocking across the formation. With the line winning across the board up front and creating vertical displacement, the back only had to make linebacker Josh Ross miss at the second level and successfully did so, leaving him with nothing but green in front of him as he raced past pursuing defensive backs to a 65-yard touchdown scamper.

It remains to be seen where Holani fits into Seattle’s backfield plans, but his smooth pass catching and pass protecting ability have been a bright spot since he first arrived last summer and he has continued to impress in those areas of his game. Not surprisingly, he saw some snaps with the first-team offense in a two-minute drill situation on Tuesday, a clear indicator that he’s in the mix to be the third down replacement for McIntosh.

### 2\. Learning against - and from - the best, Grey Zabel starts taking positive steps forward in his first camp.

Like the vast majority of rookies, Zabel has endured his share of growing pains and welcome to the NFL moments in his first week of training camp. Whether getting knocked over by Jarran Reed or beaten badly by a bull rush/swim move combo by Leonard Williams, the first-round pick has had to deal with plenty of adversity on the practice field going against several of the best defensive linemen in the entire NFC.

But to Zabel’s credit, the rookie guard has used those bad reps as moments to learn from, receiving advice from unexpected places. In Monday’s practice, after Williams whipped him with a silky smooth swim move during 1-on-1s, the former FCS All-American bodied up the defender on a spin move on the next rep, and moments later, the two could be seen exchanging tips off to the side after the blocker reached out to his defensive teammate. Such conversations haven’t been uncommon on practice field, a clear sign of the culture being established by coach Mike Macdonald and his staff.

Fast forwarding to Tuesday, Zabel seems to be taking those notes and properly applying them to his game. While Williams did get the better of him on a run play during the team period with a powerful rip move to blow up Charbonnet in the backfield, the rookie had a mostly strong day, including showing off his athleticism wrapping back to his right as a puller to lead the way for Charbonnet on a 10-yard run on a counter concept.

Later in the practice, Macdonald put several 1-on-1 matchups on display in front of the entire team, handpicking several of those matchups. Zabel drew third-year defensive tackle Mike Morris, who has had a stellar camp thus far and saw some snaps with the first-team defense on Tuesday. As another sign of his steady improvements, he iced the 6-6 defender when Morris tried to overpower the rookie with a bull rush, stifling him at the top of his rush and keeping the quarterback clean.

### 3\. Don’t forget about Dareke Young in the battle for a roster spot in Seattle’s crowded receiving corps.

Only one week into camp, the competition has ramped up for the Seahawks at receiver, where only one or two roster spots may be up for grabs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp already have the top two spots cemented, while Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Jake Bobo likely are locks and fifth-round pick Tory Horton flashed his pass catching talent and speed on Tuesday, looking more than the part of a capable NFL receiver who can add vertical juice to the passing game right away.

Assuming those five receivers have spots on the 53, that may leave one - maybe two - receiver spots left. In Kubiak’s offense, it’s more likely that it will be just one spot, as his system utilizes fewer three-plus receiver personnel groupings and relies more heavily on two-back and multi-tight end sets. Such a situation puts a player such as Young, who has one year left on his rookie deal and hasn’t caught a pass in the regular season since his rookie year, in a precarious spot at best with competitors such as rookie Ricky White III, Cody White, and Steven Sims Jr. among others also battling for reps on offense and special teams.

But if there’s something working in Young’s favor, though he hasn’t been able to showcase his athletic tools much as an offensive player in three prior seasons, the former Lenoir Rhyne star has legit 4.4 speed with elite lateral agility and change of direction skills. In Tuesday’s practice, that profile showed up in a big way, starting off Macdonald’s 1-on-1 festivities by pulling a David Tyree and catching a deep ball from Jalen Milroe off of cornerback Damarion Williams’ helmet in the end zone for a touchdown, leading to several teammates sprinting downfield to mob him.

Later in the practice in a team period, Young reeled in another highlight reel-worthy contested catch on a slightly underthrown pass from Milroe, battling against cornerback Kam Alexander and stealing the ball away from him before turning upfield and nearly turning the catch into a long touchdown before going out of bounds inside the five-yard line. Adding a couple of catches in the 7-on-7 team period, it may have been his best offensive practice on a pro, giving him some positive momentum against the rest of his game competition on the outside.

### 4\. Reserve defensive backs come through with clutch plays, highlighting ‘Hawks immense secondary depth.

It’s no secret at this stage that the Seahawks have an abundance of riches in the secondary, particularly at the safety position, as Nick Emmanwori recorded a pick six on Monday and veteran D’Anthony Bell has made a number of plays in camp already. That depth once again was on display on Tuesday, both at the safety and cornerback positions with excellent plays on the football in coverage and Seattle produced the most interceptions in a camp practice so far as a result.

During the second team period, quarterback Drew Lock dropped back following a play fake from under center and after moving from his first to second read from the pocket, he tried to squeeze a pass in to Cody White as he drifted towards the left sideline. But the throw came out a hair too late and came out a bit wobbly, allowing cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett to swiftly undercut the pass and intercept it, returning it 15 yards before the whistle.

Moments later in the 7-on-7 “skelly” session, Jalen Milroe locked on Young coming from the slot, believing the receiver was wide open sprinting down the hash and letting it rip from the pocket. However, the rookie signal caller somehow didn’t see safety AJ Finley, who crashed down from his two-deep shell and jumped in front of the route, plucking the pass out of the air for a leaping interception and returning it the other way before the play was blown dead.

While those two picks stood out as highlights from Tuesday’s session, a pass breakup may have taken the cake for the best defensive play all afternoon. In the final team period, with Seattle practicing a late game situation in hurry-up tempo, tight end Elijah Arroyo came open on a fade route and Milroe lofted a well-thrown pass right into his bread basket on what appeared to be a touchdown. However, safety Ty Okada didn’t give up on the play, recovering after initially being beat and managing to jar the ball away from the receiver for an incompletion. Two plays later, Milroe got picked by cornerback Tyler Hall off a tipped pass to end the practice.

### 5\. With Johnathan Hankins ailing, a veteran nose tackle re-emerges in the middle of Seattle’s defensive line.

Seemingly asked about the player’s status on a daily basis in camp, Macdonald has been mum when it comes to Hankins' returning from a back injury that currently has him on the PUP list. Without the veteran, the Seahawks look quite thin at the nose tackle spot, at least in terms of game experience. But in the two days of padded work, veteran Quinton Bohanna has been one of the most pleasant surprises, making his presence felt as more than just a 360-pound space eater.

After appearing in just a single game for Seattle last year, Bohanna has been the biggest benefactor of Hankins’ absence so far, seeing quite a few plays with the first and second-team defenses. In Tuesday’s practice, his first splash play came in the second team period when he rag-dolled center Christian Haynes immediately after the snap, tossing him aside like a sack of potatoes before meeting Martinez in the hole for no gain. He later added another stop in the middle, taking on a double and managing to overpower it to wrap up undrafted rookie Jacardia Wright for a loss.

Aside from Bohanna flashing multiple times, fellow veteran nose tackle Brandon Pili also won his on-demand 1-on-1 rep, beating Haynes to get to the quarterback. The former USC standout also had a couple of pressures that forced Drew Lock and Milroe to vacate the pocket on pass plays during the course of the practice, showing the Seahawks may be in a little better shape on the depth front on their interior defensive line than advertised.