> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Pre-OTAs Projection: Which Defensive Players Will Make Seahawks’ 53-Man Roster in 2026? - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/pre-otas-projection-seattle-seahawks-53-man-roster-defense-2026/ - Published: 2026-05-22T17:07:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:55:50.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Nehemiah Pritchett, Julian Neal, Noah Igbinoghene, Jared Ivey, Connor O'Toole, Dante Fowler Jr., Chazz Surratt, Rodney Thomas, Bud Clark, Ty Okada, Rylie Mills, Brandon Pili \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="5213"\] ![ Seattle Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27213841-format-original.jpg) Seattle Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images \[/caption\] Edging the Houston Texans for the NFL’s defensive scoring title, the Seattle Seahawks used a stingy, aggressive attack to stymie opponents throughout the 2025 season and put a bow on a magical year dominating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. Now set to begin their title defense with OTAs kicking off next week, in news that won’t be so welcomed by the rest of the league, the Seahawks will have the vast majority of their starters from last year’s squad back in 2026\. Though they lost cornerback Riq Woolen, safety Coby Bryant, and outside linebacker Boye Mafe this offseason, nine of the 11 players who logged at least 600 snaps in the regular season last year will return, and the team shrewdly attempted to replace those departed players in free agency and the draft. With that said, coach Mike Macdonald and his staff have work to do at several positions finding the best personnel to offset the aforementioned departures, particularly in the secondary with noteworthy vacancies at cornerback and safety to address. And with four draft picks invested in the defensive backfield, the competition will be an intense one in Seattle vying for only a handful of spots on one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. Rumbling into OTAs at the VMAC, which defensive players will survive cuts to make Seattle’s opening week roster? Here’s my first stab at projecting who earns a spot in late August: ### EDGE/Outside Linebacker (6) **Starters**: Uchenna Nwosu, Demarcus Lawrence **Backups**: Derick Hall, Dante Fowler Jr., Connor O’Toole, Jared Ivey Questions persisted throughout the offseason regarding Lawrence’s desire to play another season, but those retirement rumors seemed to be finally put to rest with his involvement recruiting Fowler to sign with the Seahawks after the NFL Draft. The 13-year veteran should be back in the starting lineup with either Nwosu or Hall across from him, and both of those players will have plenty of motivation in the final year of their respective contracts as free agency looms right around the corner. Away from those four players being locks for the 53, Seattle will have some decisions to make in regard to how many depth pieces to keep on the roster. If last season serves as an indicator, however, the organization remains bullish on O’Toole and Ivey, two undrafted signees who spent their entire rookie seasons on the active roster. With O’Toole being a stellar special teams player and Ivey offering the ability to play multiple positions along the defensive line at a high level, expect both to stick unless an incoming rookie such as Aidan Hubbard or Marvin Jones Jr. winds up beating them out. ### Defensive Line (5) **Starters**: Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II **Backups**: Jarran Reed, Rylie Mills, Brandon Pili Led by the three-man wrecking crew of Williams, Murphy, and Reed, the Seahawks will once again have one of the most formidable defensive fronts in all of the NFL. Behind them, Mills will have the benefit of a real NFL offseason after spending all of last summer rehabbing from a torn ACL that cost him most of his rookie season, and after registering a sack in the Super Bowl, expectations will be high for the second-year defensive end out of Notre Dame and it would be a disappointment if he doesn’t take on a significant rotational role in the trenches. Pili remains Seattle’s best option as a traditional 330-plus pound nose tackle and performed well last year, earning himself a $2 million contract for 2026, though rookie Deven Eastern may have a chance to make things interesting with his penchant for disruption and positional versatility. In this projection, following two years of limited production, fourth-year defender Mike Morris winds up being the odd man out entering the final year of his rookie contract. ### Linebacker (4) **Starters**: Ernest Jones IV, Drake Thomas **Backups**: Tyrice Knight, Chazz Surratt A far cry from two years ago when the Seahawks had Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson on one-year contracts and faced substantial long-term questions at the position, Macdonald has built a nucleus of linebackers that stacks up against the best in the league. Jones earned All-Pro recognition for the first time in 2025 and Thomas emerged as a viable starter alongside him, while Knight played well as an injury replacement last year. All three of those players will be back without any questions about their status on the roster. If there’s a question mark, Surratt - who shined on special teams after being claimed off waivers last September - will have ample competition for the final spot on the depth chart from the likes of Patrick O’Connell and Chris Paul Jr. Any one of those three players could feasibly make the 53, but in this projection, Seattle sticks with Surratt for his special teams talent. ### Cornerback (5) **Starters**: Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe **Backups**: Nehemiah Pritchett, Julian Neal, Noah Igbinoghene Even after losing Riq Woolen in free agency, the Seahawks should feel pretty good about their starting cornerback situation with Witherspoon and Jobe back as key leaders in the secondary. But the competition behind them to win the third spot could be the fiercest battle to play out on the practice fields over the next three months. While Pritchett’s performance has been up and down with limited defensive snaps in his first two seasons, he showed quality progress last year and has the size/speed specs to be an effective NFL boundary cornerback. He likely will be the favorite to open the season as the third corner, though the physical Neal could have something to say about that if the third round pick quickly gets up to speed in Macdonald’s scheme. Signing a one-year contract in free agency won’t guarantee Igbinoghene a roster spot, but his versatility playing inside and out will give him an advantage over incoming rookies Andre Fuller and Michael Dansby, who primarily played on the boundary in college. Both seventh round picks would be prime candidates to re-sign to the practice squad. ### Safety (5) **Starters**: Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori **Backups**: Ty Okada, Bud Clark, Rodney Thomas II Similar to cornerback, Seattle lost a quality starter in Coby Bryant to Chicago in free agency, creating a significant hole to fill. But fortunately, the team already had tremendous depth at the position, evidenced by Okada’s outstanding play in 11 starts stepping in for Love and Bryant when they battled injuries last year. The fourth-year defender earned a jump in snaps alongside Love and Emmanwori with his performance a year ago, and yet, that didn’t stop the Seahawks from investing a second round pick in Clark, whose ball hawking skills and instincts rival the strengths of Bryant’s game and make him an intriguing fit to see substantial snaps early. Considering Macdonald loves to use dime personnel groupings as much as any coach in the league, all four of those players should see plenty of defensive action regardless of whether Okada or Clark steps into Bryant’s shoes, while Thomas’ prior starting experience in Indianapolis and multiplicity playing both safety roles gives him the edge to beat out D’Anthony Bell, Maxen Hook, and AJ Finley for one of the final spots on the 53-man roster. ### Specialists (3) **Starters**: Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Chris Stoll While other teams around the league have played musical chairs with place kickers and/or punters over the past half decade, the Seahawks have maintained arguably the best special teams triad in the league with Myers, Dickson, and the recently re-signed Stoll. This group should once again be a major bright spot for the defending champions.