Seahawks 90-Man Rundown: Seth Coleman Brings Savvy, Juice to EDGE Competition
With their offseason program all wrapped up, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC on July 23, meaning the start of the upcoming season will be here before fans have a chance to blink.
In preparation for year number two under coach Mike Macdonald, I’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, dishing out fun facts, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2025 campaign.
On the heels of a successful half decade in the rugged Big Ten, does Seth Coleman have enough tools to make things interesting battling for a rotational role in an experienced Seattle edge group?
Seth Coleman
Height/Weight: 6-3, 246 pounds
2024 Stats: 53 tackles, three sacks, seven tackles for loss
Classified as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and ESPN, Coleman committed to the Fighting Illini following a stellar prep career at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, where he starred both in football and basketball. Though he saw action in three games in his first year on campus at Illinois, he wound up taking a redshirt and maintained four years of eligibility after a COVID-impacted 2020 season as well. Taking on an expanded role as a redshirt freshman in 2021, he tallied 22 tackles and the first two sacks of his college career, turning that first taste of success into 4.5 sacks in 2022 and six sacks in 2023 as he blossomed into a viable Big Ten pass rusher.
Entering his final year of eligibility last season, Coleman wasn’t able to replicate his previous career high in the sack department, but he still produced a personal-best 53 tackles to go with three swatted passes and a forced fumble to help the Illini post a strong 10-3 record. He wrapped up his lengthy stay in Champagne with 183 combined tackles, 15.5 sacks, 28 tackles for loss, and 15 passes defensed, posting a rock-solid all around stat line for an outside linebacker. Despite turning in a solid pro day workout after a productive career against top Power 4 competition, he went undrafted and signed with the Seahawks as a priority free agent, participating in OTAs and minicamp.
Fun Fact: Earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors as a result, Coleman led all Power 5 rushers with six sacks in road games during the 2023 season, doing his best terrorizing opposing quarterbacks in hostile away environments.
Best Case Scenario: Seizing his opportunity without a clear front runner for a possible fifth roster spot at outside linebacker, Coleman generates 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss during exhibition games for the Seahawks while also carving out a role on kickoff coverage, earning a surprise spot on the 53-man roster to open the season.
Worst Case Scenario: Lacking the play strength to hold up off the edge against NFL tackles at under 250 pounds, Coleman gets worn down during camp and preseason contests, seeing a diminished number of snaps as August unfolds before being waived without a practice squad spot waiting for him.
What to Expect in 2025: Few schools have churned out more pro-ready prospects on the defensive side of the ball than the Fighting Illini in recent years, including current Seahawks starting cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Coming from a well-ran program with six years of college experience against Big Ten competition under his belt, Coleman shouldn’t be intimidated as he begins going against NFL talent once the pads come on in August, and he has enough athletic juice coupled with technical savvy to potentially stand out amongst his peers vying for reps as a rotational rusher at a position that looks top heavy depth chart-wise.
For Coleman to truly have a shot at sticking around past the preseason, however, he will have to buck previous trends where Macdonald has preferred his edge defenders to be north of 255 pounds, showing he can hold up at the point of attack as a run defender to go with his speed-to-power game in the rushing department. Special teams contributions will be key as well, and if there’s a plus, he does have extensive previous experience on kick coverage and field goal blocking units at Illinois, so he does have a background in that regard. Putting together a strong camp and preseason as a rusher would be the easiest ticket to a roster spot and checking off those other two boxes would undoubtedly give him a fighting chance, even if the practice squad seems most realistic.
