Takeaways From Seahawks First Rookie Minicamp Practice
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Seattle Seahawks tackle Mason Richman (78) and guard Bryce Cabeldue (77) listen to instruction from offensive line coach John Benton during rookie minicamp at the VMAC. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald Spectrum [/caption]
Ushering in the official start of a new season and providing the first opportunity to look at their 2025 draft class, the Seattle Seahawks opened their annual rookie minicamp on Friday with an energized session at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
What stood out during the first on-field practice for the Seahawks this spring? Here are six takeaways from the opening minicamp session:
Expectedly, two draft picks sit out in return from injuries suffered in final college season.
With training camp still nearly three months away, the Seahawks won’t be forcing the issue with players coming off of significant injuries. Fifth-round pick Tory Horton, who suffered an LCL/hamstring injury midway through his senior season at Colorado State, only caught balls of a JUGS machine in warmups before being a bystander for the rest of practice and the receiver isn’t sure when he will start easing back into drill work and eventual scrimmage action."I just leave that up to the coaches,” Horton stated, saying cutting in and out of breaks will be his next hurdle to clear. “From my standpoint, no rush right now, but I'm still working towards it. I'm feeling good where I'm at right now, great progress. As I said, I'm just taking as many reps as I need and gaining speed mentally. So, I'm still progressing and getting ready."With Horton catching some passes from a stationary position, he’s well ahead of fellow fifth-round pick Rylie Mills, who suffered a torn ACL during Notre Dame’s playoff win over Indiana in January. Though the defensive end didn’t offer any specifics, the training staff has a blueprint ready to go for his recovery moving forward that they relayed to him upon arrival for minicamp, and he remains hopeful that he will be able to get back to football activities sooner than originally expected.“We've got a plan in place I was actually going over today. I feel really confident on the team and the plan that's in place. I feel like the staff here has been really great with helping me feel clear on what I've got to do."
Jackson Woodard, Jared Ivey look like draft pick-caliber undrafted additions.
Few teams have found more success unearthing undrafted gems than the Seahawks under general manager John Schneider over the past 15 years, and while one rookie minicamp practice without pads won’t dictate which priority signings will be next in line to follow the footsteps of Doug Baldwin, Poona Ford, and Jalen Sundell among others, Woodard and Ivey certainly didn’t hurt themselves on Friday.This time of year, it can be difficult to tell players apart without actual football being played, especially for defensive linemen who can’t shed blocks or make tackles. But every once in a while, a defender can stand out above the rest in drill work, and the 6-6, 274-pound Ivey fit the bill in Friday’s session, demonstrating his raw power smashing blocking sleds and a smooth arm over move off of the jarring initial contact. Compared to the rest of the group, he seemed to be on a different playing field, throwing his hands with the blunt force expected of a 5-tech/3-tech hybrid in Macdonald’s scheme.Ivey didn’t get a chance to make any plays during scrimmage work - he did tap running back Damien Martinez in the backfield on one play - but Woodard made the biggest play of the afternoon. The rookie linebacker out of UNLV found himself in the right place at the right time, catching a deflected pass from Milroe that bounced off Martinez’s hands and returning it for a touchdown, leading to every defender on the sideline sprinting to him to celebrate in the end zone.
Nick Emmanwori stands out like a needle in a haystack amongst other rookie defenders.
For some, the jump to an NFL practice may have felt like a significant hurdle with the emphasis on details and the speed of practice being on a whole other level compared to college. But for others such as Emmanwori, who started from his first day on campus at South Carolina and thrived against SEC competition, the change of pace wasn’t as glaring, providing a great chance to leave a strong first impression with a new coaching staff."They threw a little bit at me,” Emmanwori said afterward. “I was playing a little bit of every position, but football is football. I was out there just playing fast, competing.”Looking every bit of the 6-3, 220 pounds he measured in at during the NFL combine back in February, Emmanwori saw action as a deep safety, a pseduo-linebacker in the box, and out of the slot on Friday, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched him star for the Gamecocks. Boasting 4.32 speed with elite size for the safety position, he played multiple positions at a high level in Columbia, and that versatility jumped out as a major plus in Seattle’s evaluation as they fell in love with him as a prospect.Coach Mike Macdonald could be seen with Emmanwori on the practice field adjusting his alignment during scrimmage work, and like Milroe, the young safety showed his leadership chops after that discussion, turning into the coach on the field instructing other rookies in the secondary. After taking a significant step forward in that regard and becoming more vocal during his junior year at South Carolina, he hopes for those developing skills to translate quickly in the pros.“Even though I'm a rookie, I can make an impact as a rookie, even when the vets come back. So, just trying to get used to that leadership, talking to guys, letting guys know what we're doing, camaraderie. We're only out here for a couple of days, so why not make friends and get a bond with people."
Elijah Arroyo and Ricky White III make dazzling catches in their first outing in a Seahawks uniform.
Though both players participated in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Milroe had never thrown a pass to Arroyo prior to Friday’s practice, as the two players were on different teams in the all-star showcase. But if one didn’t know that, it’d be easy to come out of the first minicamp practice thinking otherwise considering the natural connection they already seem to have.Milroe linked up with the athletic 254-pound Arroyo several times during individual passing drills, hitting him in stride down the seam on a couple of throws against air. Towards the tail end of the scrimmage portion of the practice, those reps transitioned into actual 11-on-11 action as the two Day 2 selections hooked up for a big play on a skinny post with the tight end extending his long arms to pluck the ball out of the air, reeling in the pass for a 25-yard reception that left the quarterback excited about having a target with such a big catch radius."Man, it was great,” Arroyo smiled. “I love Jalen [Milroe]. I love the way he plays and feel like we're going to have a good connection moving forward."Away from Arroyo’s chunk play, White, a seventh-round pick out of UNLV, demonstrated his hand-eye coordination on a corner route that Milroe put a bit too much air under. The receiver got his fingertips on the ball, however, managing to tip it to himself before corralling it along the sideline with both feet down inbounds for a fantastic reception that headlined the highlight plays of the afternoon.
John Benton establishes the fundamentals tone working with his triad of incoming draftees, including Grey Zabel.
Being the 18th overall selection, all eyes zoomed onto Zabel sporting No. 76, the number previously donned by Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson. Without pads on, it’s quite difficult to try to evaluate offensive linemen when they aren’t doing what they are paid to do bullying opponents at the line of scrimmage, but the first round selection moved smoothly during positional drills and scrimmage time while taking instruction from Benton, playing light on his feet with the athleticism expected from him after impressive combine and pro day workouts.As for the other two incoming draft picks selected by Seattle, sixth-round selection Bryce Cabeldue stood out as being a bigger, more imposing presence than anticipated, and like Zabel, his athleticism was apparent during drill week with footwork that looked more like a tight end than a guard. It’s easy to see how both of those players excelled at tackle at the college level. Richman spent the entire session at right tackle playing alongside Cabeldue, saying that each of them having tackle background made it easier to get in sync in their first practice together.Now in his 22nd season as an NFL offensive line coach, Benton stopped drills frequently to adjust the stances of several players, putting a clear focus on doing things the right way fundamentally to walk before the group can run. He could be seen taking Richman and Cabeldue off to the side on a couple occasions and the rookies appreciated their first exposure to his strict, diligent approach teaching technique, particularly sharpening up their footwork on wide zone, a staple of Klint Kubiak’s offense.“We were just talking about how to work the triple,” Richman explained. “Wide zone is going to be something we emphasize here, so coach [Benton] is just getting us right about that and footwork is the most important thing. Our mental going into the play with the guy next to you and communicating, overcommunicating, that’s what Benton is preaching.”
Throwing mechanics remain work in progress, but leadership stands out as major plus for Jalen Milroe.
Rookie minicamps can have a tendency to turn into a three-ring circus, as more than 50 players that have never played together have to try to learn and run various parts of the offense after one day of meetings watching film with position coaches. Understandably, given those unideal circumstances that aren’t seen at any other level, bad football comes with the territory.But unlike last year when multiple tryout quarterbacks struggled to get the football to receivers, Milroe showed off his cannon arm throughout the course of his first minicamp session, as he rifled the pigskin with a compact release. The former Alabama star certainly missed on a few throws, occasionally throwing behind receivers and having a few ducks quack in the air along the way that didn’t come out of his hand cleanly, and he acknowledged after practice that he continues to work hard on shoring up his lower body mechanics teaming up with quarterback coach Jordan Palmer.Still, Milroe flashed the arm talent that made him a Heisman finalist two years ago for the Crimson Tide, lofting the ball downfield with ease on several seam throws during passing drills as well as scrimmage time. What really stood out, however, was his command of the huddle, as his presence under center managed to turn what normally is a sloppy practice at best into a fairly well-oiled machine for May 2 with new teammates following his lead."You've got to be smart at the core position, you've got to prepare. You've got to emphasize how much you love football and how much you care. Because if you care, it's going to wear off on other guys,” Milroe said after practice, crediting his preparation from playing at Alabama. “You've got to play on time, you've got to understand your assignment, it's so important. Having that opportunity today and seeing that, I think that was something that was definitely evident when it comes to performing today."
