Seahawks OTA Takeaways: Mixed Bag For Sam Darnold, Defense Brings Energy in Fourth Practice
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2207"]
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold warms up on the field prior to Monday’s OTA practice at the VMAC. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
RENTON, Wash. - Though organized team activities remain voluntary per NFL rules, Jarran Reed and the Seattle Seahawks aren’t taking their nine spring practices to kick off the final phase of their offseason program lightly.
Some veterans around the league would opt to stay at home rather than practice with a helmet and shorts in early June, but for Reed, Leonard Williams, and other returning vets, these sessions still offer great value even with nine or 10 years under their belts, particularly when it comes to building chemistry with new teammates. Coming off a 10-win season that ended without a playoff berth, the importance of being in attendance for OTAs could be seen on the field during Monday’s practice with the vast majority of Seattle’s 90 players suited up and participating.
“I like being here,” Reed told reporters afterward. “It’s actually fun. When you’re away and you’re watching film, you miss it a lot. You miss that camaraderie and togetherness, building that connection with your teammates. That’s a time that we use for right now.”
Following a high energy practice on a beautiful summer day in the Pacific Northwest, here are five takeaways from the VMAC:
Devon Witherspoon continues to bring the heat as an energizer bunny on the field and on the sideline.
If anyone starts to fall into an offseason lull during Seattle’s OTA practices, even if he can’t deliver his staple hit sticks until the pads actually come on, the presence of Witherspoon won’t allow that feeling to last long. Establishing himself as one of the team’s clear vocal leaders in his second season a year ago, he has taken that role a step further as the ring leader of a talented secondary, bringing unrivaled enthusiasm to the practice field to the point that officials aren’t exempt from hearing what he has to say.Case in point? Towards the end of practice, Milroe’s underthrown pass to the back corner of the end zone bounced off Broden and into Jean-Charles’ hands for what appeared to be a pick. But the official in the end zone ruled the pass as an incompletion, leading to an uproar on the sideline, including from the former top-five pick. After watching the replay on the massive HD screen on the sideline, he began playfully barking at the official that he missed the call, later making sure the same official knew that he also missed a push off by Arroyo against Jean-Charles on his touchdown catch from Milroe just one play later while other teammates rushed down to the end zone to dispute the call themselves.While Williams and Reed remain the trusted leaders of the defensive line and Love has his own seat at the table as one of the most respected vets on the roster, Witherspoon has emerged as the heartbeat of Macdonald’s unit. Acknowledging that he has no shortage of areas to improve his game after Monday’s practice and still has much left to prove, for the Seahawks to take the next step towards becoming a top-five defense in 2025 and returning to the postseason, they will go as far as the hard-hitting, trash-talking cornerback can lead them.
Offensive line competitions begin in earnest, including at a wide-open right guard spot.
Much like the defense, without pads and the ability to get physical, it will be a few months before the Seahawks can truly begin to assess positional battles along the offensive line. But that doesn’t mean these June practices don’t offer value, as new line coach John Benton gets to see athleticism on display for Seattle’s zone-heavy offense and will start to get a feel for which players he thinks will be the best fit in the starting lineup.Not surprisingly, Charles Cross took all of the first team reps at left tackle, while Abraham Lucas took the bulk of right tackle reps with Josh Jones subbing in for a handful of plays, an excellent sign after knee injuries cost him 22 combined regular season games over the past two seasons. There doesn’t appear to be any drama at those positions, while incoming first-round pick Grey Zabel already has a beat on the starting role at left guard and center Olu Oluwatimi - at least for now - has a clear advantage as the incumbent to start against Jalen Sundell.But when it comes to the right guard spot, the Seahawks already have a spirited competition underway with several returning players and a rookie vying for the role. On Monday, Christian Haynes and Anthony Bradford each took some snaps with the first-team offense between Oluwatimi and Lucas, while Sataoa Laumea rotated in at left guard and could be in the mix on the right side down the line after starting six games there last season as a rookie. Sixth-round pick Bryce Cabeldue could also get a shot eventually, though he wasn’t involved much in Monday’s session, making this arguably the most intriguing positional battle to be decided before the season starts in September.
Byron Murphy II, Tyrice Knight Poised to Take Big Sophomore Jumps as Key Defensive Contributors.
Without pads being on until early August, defensive players find themselves at a rule-driven disadvantage during OTAs, prohibited from making any contact and not able to mix it up as tacklers or aggressively play the football in coverage. Nonetheless, these practices remain crucial for young players still finding their footing in coach Mike Macdonald’s scheme, including Murphy and Knight as they enter their second seasons respectively.Falling into the Seahawks lap to be selected 16th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, Murphy didn’t have the best stat line as a rookie, finishing with just 0.5 sacks and two quarterback hits in 14 games. But as defensive coordinator Aden Durde stated after Monday’s session, much of that diminished pass rushing production resulted from his usage, as he didn’t see as many snaps on third down as the team hopes he will in 2025 and beyond and spent a decent chunk of his time on the field as a nose tackle, providing plenty of optimism that many more sacks, pressures, and quarterback hits will come as a result of playing different alignments and having a more expanded role.“The next level for him is just finding consistency,” Durde commented. “I felt that for him, he had a certain role - a first and second down role - with some third down reps. I think he can make a big jump to become an every down defensive tackle and affect the game on all downs and distances. You kind of saw glimpses of it last year, but it’s just building that consistency, that mental conditioning, that physical conditioning, understanding what type of situation you’re in for that position because there’s lots of different things that can happen.”Behind Murphy, with starter Ernest Jones IV not practicing on Monday, Tyrice Knight handled all of the first team reps at the MIKE linebacker spot for Seattle. The second-year defender out of UTEP stood out in coverage on a couple of plays, knocking a pass down for a breakup in 7-on-7 and getting his hands on another pass that somehow wound up being caught by Charbonnet in a red zone situational drill.From Durde’s perspective, commending the player for his calm and ability to avoid getting rattled, Knight improved “leaps and bounds” over the course of his first NFL season, and he’s eager to see how the youngster continues to grow from a mental standpoint to go with his athleticism and physicality.“Nothing’s too much for him when he goes out there. The growth of it is just understanding why we call plays, when we call the plays, what opportunities you have, what’s your true job/what assignment you’ve got, and how do you make the plays you can make, and how did you guard the plays in front of you. We’re working on that.”
Depth behind Darnold under center already looks to be upgraded compared to this time a year ago.
Time will tell whether Darnold equals or surpasses the play of former starter Geno Smith, but the Seahawks already appear to be in better shape depth-wise at the most important position in professional sports. Offering extensive starting experience, Lock looked the part of a seasoned veteran slinging the pigskin all over the field on Monday, unloading several eye-popping throws over the course of the practice.Not to be outdone by Darnold in the first red zone session while taking reps with the second-team offense, Lock hit receiver Cody White in stride on an out route, beating tight coverage for his first touchdown pass of the day. On the ensuing snap, he connected with White again, this time firing a dart down the seam with a lightning quick release and over the head of a safety for another score. He later added a ridiculous throw off platform throwing across his body while rolling out to his left in 7-on-7, connecting with Steven Sims Jr. on a corner route for a 25-yard gain, before finishing with touchdown passes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Dareke Young in the final team session.Taking all of the third-team snaps, rookie Jalen Milroe struggled with accuracy on Monday, especially on downfield throws where he had issues with not putting quite enough air underneath the ball, including one that bounced off receiver Tyrone Broden’s hands and resulted in an interception - or what should have been a pick - by cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles. With that said, he had several shining moments of his own flashing his athleticism and touch as a passer, including a beautifully thrown back shoulder touchdown pass to fellow rookie Elijah Arroyo in the final team session.
Sam Darnold’s first open OTA features plenty of good, plenty of bad as he builds chemistry with new receivers.
Practicing in front of local media for the first time since signing a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks in March, Darnold endured a roller coaster of a session, showcasing his plus-arm talent on numerous throws while also paying for trying to squeeze the ball into tight coverage on a few occasions. In the opening red zone session, he started off hot, linking up with fellow newcomer Cooper Kupp down the seam for an eight-yard touchdown on his first throw of the afternoon. Two plays later, he completed a shovel pass to Noah Fant for another score.But after Seattle transitioned into 7-on-7, Darnold threw a pair of picks in a three-play span, starting with safety Julian Love undercutting a slant route by Kupp and intercepting the pass in the end zone before returning it 20 yards. After a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he rolled out of the pocket on an extended play and attempted to thread the needle along the sideline in the end zone, only for cornerback Josh Jobe to step in front and reel in an interception with both feet down inbounds. For much of the period, he seemed to hold onto the ball too long, drawing somewhat playful verbal criticism from offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.Darnold rebounded from that rough sequence to finish on a strong note, however, throwing a pair of touchdowns during the final 11-on-11 red zone situational drill. He threw a dart to running back Zach Charbonnet on a slant and later connected with Smith-Njigba along the back of the end zone, zipping the ball high above a linebacker dropping back into coverage for the wideout to high-point it for six. He wrapped up with another touchdown pass to Kupp and most importantly, he didn’t have any turnovers in the final team segment.
Additional Notes: Jones could be seen running on the field prior to practice, but did not return to the field after warmups concluded for undisclosed reasons. In addition to Jones, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Tyreke Smith did not practice and were in street clothes on the sideline, while veteran defensive end Demarcus Lawrence was not in attendance.
