Last season, Chris Clemons was our LEO and had a playing weight between 255-260 pounds. Bruce Irvin was 245, and showed signs of not being big enough. Raheem Brock played at 274.
Seattle is making the SAM position and LEO position somewhat interchangeable this season, almost like 3-4 OLB. But even in that arrangement, Bruce Irvin is committed to play linebacker and isn't even expected to be a pure pass-rusher. So you would think that Seattle would still be targeting pass rushers that were 250+ pounds.
Instead, they've moved Malcolm Smith into competition for the SAM job, which basically makes him sort of like a part-time LEO. And according to Seahawks.com, the team is also
trying out LB Mike Morgan to LEO. Mike Morgan and Malcolm Smith are both listed at just 226 pounds, which would make them among the very lightest
linebackers in the NFL, and mind-blowingly lightweight for a potential 3-point stance pass rusher. Even 2012 Bruce Irvin had 20 pounds on these guys!
Given Pete's track record, the crazier the idea, the less we should doubt his wisdom. I don't know if Pete is making a mistake or in the midst of a stroke of genius. What I do know is this- the LEO and SAM positions are nothing like what they used to be.
I am highly intrigued to see how Pete uses a 226 pound rush end. I think it's very interesting that out of all the linebackers Pete could choose for this kind of role, he picked the two most undersized ones. He wouldn't do something like that randomly. He's got something interesting up his sleeve here.
(edit: Just saw that Morgan is up to 241 pounds. So it's not quite as crazy as I thought.)