Stock Watch: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not After Seahawks’ 19-16 Preseason Loss to Titans
Winning remains the goal for an NFL team any time they take the field, even in the preseason where games don’t count in the standings, for coach Mike Macdonald, there were plenty of positives coming out of the Seattle Seahawks 19-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
“I really do feel like our team got better this week from the work that we got in practice, and I thought we did a lot of great things, especially earlier in this game, which is what we're looking for,” Macdonald said post-game. “I think we took a step. I think we're improving. I think the important thing for our team is that we have to shed an expectation about where we need to be right now. I think the focus needs to be about how fast can we improve on a daily basis, and our guys have had that attitude. So through that lens, I think it was a successful week.”
Looking back at Saturday’s defeat in the Music City, which players improved their stock the most? And which ones didn’t seize their latest opportunity as cut down day and the regular season rapidly approach?
STOCK UP
Drew Lock
Even though his spot on the roster has never been in question, Lock wasn’t as sharp as the Seahawks hoped he would be in their preseason opener, and he turned the page from that pedestrian performance quickly in Nashville. Along with displaying his toughness taking a big hit on a scramble to pick up a new set of downs on a third down rush, he completed all four of his pass attempts on the opening series going against Tennessee’s starters, culminating with a 36-yard touchdown to a wide open Elijah Arroyo to put the road team out in front 7-0 early. On a heater from the get go, he wound up completing each of his first 11 throws, finishing with 12 completions on 14 attempts with a touchdown and no turnovers as he led all three of the team’s scoring drives in the opening quarter. There’s a reason the organization has such high confidence in the veteran backup and he looked as sharp as he ever has on Sunday night.
Jacardia Wright
Making his preseason debut after missing a couple weeks with a foot/ankle injury, Wright didn’t turn in a perfect outing after receiving the start, whiffing on a blitz pickup in pass protection and making a questionable decision to bounce outside after the catch on a third down reception when powering straight forward may have bought a new set of downs. But even with those areas for improvement, he turned on the jets with surprising speed at 220 pounds to blaze through the teeth of the Titans defense for a 69-yard touchdown run, taking advantage of outstanding blocking from the line and receivers in front of him. He also caught all three passes thrown his direction by Lock, displaying the reliability as a receiver that new coordinator Brian Fleury expects from his running backs as he improved his stock at the ideal time with Emanuel Wilson still nursing a hamstring injury.
Elijah Arroyo
Throughout training camp, Arroyo has given Mike Macdonald’s defense fits with his speed, size, and soft hands creating matchup issues for the secondary, seemingly hauling in at least one or two explosive passes in scrimmage periods every practice. That success translated into Sunday’s exhibition contest with the second-year tight end out of Miami starring on the opening series, starting with a 14-yard reception that pushed the Seahawks into opposing territory. On the ensuing play, aided by Tennessee’s secondary badly busting coverage and somehow forgetting that he existed, he casually strolled into the end zone after snagging a pass from Lock down the seam with nobody in the same zip code for a 36-yard score. He didn’t record any other catches for the rest of the day, but still finished with 50 yards on just two receptions, taking another big step forward as he looks to carry a bigger role in Fleury’s offense.
Christian Haynes
After two disappointing seasons to begin his NFL career, some had written Haynes off, especially with the arrival of fifth round pick Beau Stephens and the return of Bryce Cabeldue. But the former third round pick out of UConn has quietly had a steady August, maintaining a hold on the swing guard role behind starters Grey Zabel and Anthony Bradford, and he played his best game as a pro on Sunday night against excellent competition. On the first couple of series, he won several head-to-head battles with All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, generating push against the stalwart in the run game and holding up well in protection. His lateral quicks were on display on Wright’s touchdown as well, as he dished out a massive kickout block against defensive end Jermaine Johnson after pulling right to left across the formation, helping spring the back on a perfectly executed counter run.
Connor O’Toole
Leading the charge for Seattle’s pass rush after the defensive line went AWOL against Dallas one week prior, O’Toole enjoyed a breakout performance harassing the multitude of quarterbacks under center for Tennessee. Midway through the second quarter, he deployed a rapid swipe move on Tennessee’s left tackle as he slanted inside, rocketing past the blocker to bring down Mitch Trubisky for his first sack of the preseason, leading to a three-and-out. Opening up the second half with a bang, he teamed up with Jamie Sheriff to collapse on third-string quarterback Will Levis for a partial sack on third down, leading to another quick punt. Shining against the run as well, he split the B-gap with his hair on fire to stuff Levis on a designed 3rd and 3 quarterback run, bringing him down for a five-yard loss on the final snap of the quarter as Tennessee again settled for just three points. He wrapped up a sensational effort with six pressures, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and a tackle for loss, easily playing his finest game to this point.
Chris Paul Jr.
Saddled by a troublesome ankle for most of camp, Paul has been in and out of practice, which prevented him from being in the mix for snaps against Patrick O’Connell and Chazz Surratt. But he appears to be finally past that injury, as he made a couple of crucial plays early for the Seahawks on Sunday, starting with a fourth down stop of Tyjae Spears in Tennessee territory late in the first quarter. He shot out of a cannon from his linebacker spot and got downhill in a hurry, wrapping up Spears and dragging him down before the back could manage to sneak the ball past the line to gain for a turnover on downs. Following a missed field goal, he set the Titans backward to kick off their next possession, pairing with J.R. Singleton in the backfield to stuff Michael Carter for a three-yard loss, setting up a quick three-and-out to send the ball back to Lock and the offense. He may still be on the wrong side of the roster bubble, but a quality performance at full health improves the athletic defender’s chances of at least returning to the practice squad.
Rookie Corners
Regardless of who played under center, the Titans had minimal luck pushing the ball downfield or throwing outside of the numbers, which had to do with stellar cornerback play on the boundary as much as a more feisty Seahawks pass rush. Tested against the deep ball by starter Cam Ward on third down in Tennessee’s opening series, seventh round pick Andre Fuller did a fine job of turning his head to play the ball at the last minute without grabbing onto receiver Eric Ayomanor, thwarting a promising drive with a pass breakup and forcing the Titans to settle for three points. Fellow seventh round Michael Dansby later generated a pass breakup of his own, sneaking his right hand in front of receiver Tyren Montgomery to produce the incompletion. The two defenders allowed three receptions on five combined targets for just 19 yards and a sub-60 passer rating, which should be an encouraging outing for Macdonald and defensive backs coach Karl Scott.
STOCK DOWN
Jalen Milroe
Over the course of training camp, Milroe has made marked improvements in everything from reading progressions to throwing with anticipation to sharpened mechanics, enjoying some of his best practices along the way. But while he made a few splashy plays on Sunday, including a 16-yard run and a 24-yard bullet to Montorie Foster Jr., that growth hasn’t translated much to actual game action so far. He threw two ugly interceptions, first failing to see rookie linebacker Anthony Hill as he tried to connect with Foster on a curl route and telegraphing the ball right to the defender. In the waning moments, he got picked again, this time throwing an errant pass behind Emmanuel Henderson while rolling out to his right. He then took what ultimately was a game-ending sack on fourth down on Seattle’s final series, struggling with decisiveness and accuracy in a not-so-ideal dress rehearsal that showed how far he still has to go to compete with Lock.
Cody White
For a veteran like White who has performed well in the regular season when granted opportunities, one exhibition contest shouldn’t make or break his candidacy for making the 53-man roster, especially after Jake Bobo suffered a year-ending knee injury in Friday’s joint practice. But not much went right for the Michigan State product, starting with a bad muffed punt in the second quarter that he didn’t track properly as the ball sailed over his shoulder, leading to a Titans recovery that set up a field goal. On offense, he couldn’t haul in a well-thrown deep ball from Milroe that hit him on the hands early in the third quarter, and he finished the night with just one catch for eight yards on two targets to go with his special teams miscue. He can still make the team with a bounce back performance in the preseason finale, but he certainly didn’t help his cause with a rough night in Nashville.
Logan Brown
Coming off a difficult opener where he got flagged three times and gave up multiple quarterback pressures, Brown hoped for a rebound performance against the Titans, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. The second-year tackle out of Kansas once again drew a penalty flag and allowed an immediate pressure on Milroe that resulted in a drive-killing sack, playing a role in the Seahawks failing to score any points after halftime. Despite having plus athleticism for the position, he has struggled with his targets in the run game as well, falling well behind the likes of Bobby Hart and Amari Kight in the competition for the second reserve tackle spot.
Rookie Nose Tackles
Trying to make Seattle’s roster as an interior defensive lineman already looked to be an uphill climb before the preseason started given the talent and depth in the position group, but seventh round pick Deven Eastern and nose tackle Uso Seumalo have struggled to help their cause over the past two weeks. On Sunday night, Seumalo often got pushed around at the line of scrimmage and wasn’t able to hold serve against double teams, especially in the second half as the Titans started to find traction with their ground game and churn out long drives that eventually wore down the Seahawks’ front seven. But at least he saw the field for quite a few plays and made a pair of tackles along the way, as Eastern only played seven defensive snaps and didn’t record any statistics, signs that he isn’t on the radar at this point to make the 53.
Jason Myers
Since he has been one of the NFL’s best kickers over the past two seasons, it isn’t panic time just yet for Myers and the Seahawks, who has plenty of time to fine tune things before the regular season to make sure he delivers for his team. But there’s no sugarcoating it - he has been abysmal in the first two exhibition games. After missing his lone field goal attempt in the preseason opener, he sliced an extra point wide right following Wright’s long touchdown run, taking a valuable point off the board. Later in the first half, sandwiched around a 48-yard field goal that did split the uprights, he again saw the ball come off his foot and spin wide right from 44 yards. While other missed opportunities stand out in defeat, those four points would have netted Seattle a win on the road, and the normally reliable Myers has to do some soul searching to figure out what’s going wrong before the real games begin in a few weeks.
