NorthDallas40oz
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Watched practice on Saturday via the live stream on Seahawks.com. The team spent the majority of practice in individual position groups before finishing with some full-speed (though not full-contact) 11-on-11. A few observations, by position group, which admittedly are mostly observations of a 'physical' nature rather than a 'football' nature given that it was mostly individual work/drills today...
QB
Not a lot to gauge here as the camera didn't usually follow the path of the ball so that you could measure the accuracy of the pass or if it was even completed. That said, nothing negative stood out and all 3 were firing the ball around well. During group drills, the QB's rotated throwing to the WR and TE groups. Quinn actually looked pretty natural operating out of the shotgun. Jackson's delivery could still be more compact, and Wilson needs to be careful not to over-step/stride into his throws when he 'muscles up' on a pass, which can cause issues with his balance and trajectory.
RB/FB
With Robinson again sitting out, Ware and Coleman were your FB's (in that order), with Coleman also getting 3rd team reps at RB behind Lynch and Michael. Michael stood out in 11-on-11, particularly on one run off the RG which he cut back against the grain and beat the DB to the left sideline for a would-be TD, eliciting a roar from the crowd. Ware still needs a lot more bulk before he's ready to be legitimate NFL fullback, and his 5-10 frame will probably always conspire against him in that regard...at least to some degree, but he's an intriguing prospect for sure.
WR
Didn't get a lot to see here, but one thing that stood out is that Phil Bates is really starting to look the part of a WR. He even got some 1-on-1 time from Pete Carroll, which is always a good sign. Bates has long and very well-defined arms with large hands, which allows him to look and play even bigger than his 6-1 frame. Tate caught a long TD pass near the end of 11-on-11's.
TE
The big news here is that McGrath was back in action again and didn't appear to be materially hobbled in any way. Willson really looks the part, very similar to Bengals 1st-rounder Tyler Eifert on the hoof. Fells also looks spectacular in uniform with his 6-7 frame and condor-like wingspan. Physically he's everything you want, now its just a matter of whether he can learn how to play the game. Helfet again lined up flexed out wide in 11-on-11's, like a WR, which is almost what he looks like physically. Marshall, too, is built more like an overgrown WR than a TE. This is not a particularly dynamic position group right now, esp. with Miller out and McCoy gone for the season.
OL
That all-season radial that Carpenter was toting around his mid-section this time last year has clearly - though not entirely - been reduced. He was firing out of his stance and moving very, very well. Health is the only thing standing in the way of him being a potentially All-Pro lineman, much like Okung entering last season. Bowie looks like a 1st round draft pick on the hoof with his frame, arm length, and even his movement skills. A 'redshirt' season is surely needed, but there's some major potential here. Alvin Bailey was getting 3rd team reps at RT behind Breno and Bowie. McQuistan has the lower body of a big TE. Person has talent but certainly doesn't possess the prototype LT frame and length that you look for. Jeanpierre is clearly the smallest of all the O-linemen and almost looks out of place compared to many of the others (almost like a walk-on at a college practice).
DL
Didn't get to see a lot here, but one thing to surely note is that Williams finished practice as a spectator with his pads off and didn't participate during the 11-on-11's. Not sure what may have happened, but he appeared to be moving around fine. Howard again got reps at DE in 11-on-11 and didn't look out of place. McDaniel has a great frame but is lean and lacks bulk/girth inside. When he stands next to Mebane they look like a human number 10. Hill is a quicker and less robust version of Mebane. Boatright looks the part on the hoof, and Powell worked exclusively with the Leo DE's.
LB
Bruce Irvin really looks the part of an NFL OLB. As undersized as he looked (was) as a DE last season, he is a 'man' at OLB, an almost mirror image - physically - to KJ Wright, and appears to be in superb shape even with the added pounds. Now its just a matter of fine-tuning his craft as an OLB and learning how to play moving backward, forward and side-to-side, instead of just forward. Lotuleilei is intriguing, but watching one of the OG's get to him on the 2nd level during a sweep play and completely engulfing and washing him out was a sobering reminder of his size limitations. Bradford, too, lacks length at MLB but has made himself very thick and sturdy. Liked what I saw from Malcolm Smith, who moves very well, plays bigger than his size, and seems to carry himself confidently on the field now.
DB
Not a lot to glean here simply because the 11-on-11's were mostly running plays or short passing plays. Here's your depth chart based on how they lined up today.
LC - Sherman, Winfield (nickel), Lane, Parker
RC - Browner, Thurmond, Maxwell, Blackmon
SS - Chancellor, Johnson, Guy
FS - Thomas, Maragos, Shead
Liked what I saw, physically, of Guy. He and Shead are mirror images (excluding Guy's long locks), and look quite imposing lining up together in the back end. Shead got some 1:1 instruction from Marquand Manuel, again a good sign.
ST's
Were off in another area and not visible.
QB
Not a lot to gauge here as the camera didn't usually follow the path of the ball so that you could measure the accuracy of the pass or if it was even completed. That said, nothing negative stood out and all 3 were firing the ball around well. During group drills, the QB's rotated throwing to the WR and TE groups. Quinn actually looked pretty natural operating out of the shotgun. Jackson's delivery could still be more compact, and Wilson needs to be careful not to over-step/stride into his throws when he 'muscles up' on a pass, which can cause issues with his balance and trajectory.
RB/FB
With Robinson again sitting out, Ware and Coleman were your FB's (in that order), with Coleman also getting 3rd team reps at RB behind Lynch and Michael. Michael stood out in 11-on-11, particularly on one run off the RG which he cut back against the grain and beat the DB to the left sideline for a would-be TD, eliciting a roar from the crowd. Ware still needs a lot more bulk before he's ready to be legitimate NFL fullback, and his 5-10 frame will probably always conspire against him in that regard...at least to some degree, but he's an intriguing prospect for sure.
WR
Didn't get a lot to see here, but one thing that stood out is that Phil Bates is really starting to look the part of a WR. He even got some 1-on-1 time from Pete Carroll, which is always a good sign. Bates has long and very well-defined arms with large hands, which allows him to look and play even bigger than his 6-1 frame. Tate caught a long TD pass near the end of 11-on-11's.
TE
The big news here is that McGrath was back in action again and didn't appear to be materially hobbled in any way. Willson really looks the part, very similar to Bengals 1st-rounder Tyler Eifert on the hoof. Fells also looks spectacular in uniform with his 6-7 frame and condor-like wingspan. Physically he's everything you want, now its just a matter of whether he can learn how to play the game. Helfet again lined up flexed out wide in 11-on-11's, like a WR, which is almost what he looks like physically. Marshall, too, is built more like an overgrown WR than a TE. This is not a particularly dynamic position group right now, esp. with Miller out and McCoy gone for the season.
OL
That all-season radial that Carpenter was toting around his mid-section this time last year has clearly - though not entirely - been reduced. He was firing out of his stance and moving very, very well. Health is the only thing standing in the way of him being a potentially All-Pro lineman, much like Okung entering last season. Bowie looks like a 1st round draft pick on the hoof with his frame, arm length, and even his movement skills. A 'redshirt' season is surely needed, but there's some major potential here. Alvin Bailey was getting 3rd team reps at RT behind Breno and Bowie. McQuistan has the lower body of a big TE. Person has talent but certainly doesn't possess the prototype LT frame and length that you look for. Jeanpierre is clearly the smallest of all the O-linemen and almost looks out of place compared to many of the others (almost like a walk-on at a college practice).
DL
Didn't get to see a lot here, but one thing to surely note is that Williams finished practice as a spectator with his pads off and didn't participate during the 11-on-11's. Not sure what may have happened, but he appeared to be moving around fine. Howard again got reps at DE in 11-on-11 and didn't look out of place. McDaniel has a great frame but is lean and lacks bulk/girth inside. When he stands next to Mebane they look like a human number 10. Hill is a quicker and less robust version of Mebane. Boatright looks the part on the hoof, and Powell worked exclusively with the Leo DE's.
LB
Bruce Irvin really looks the part of an NFL OLB. As undersized as he looked (was) as a DE last season, he is a 'man' at OLB, an almost mirror image - physically - to KJ Wright, and appears to be in superb shape even with the added pounds. Now its just a matter of fine-tuning his craft as an OLB and learning how to play moving backward, forward and side-to-side, instead of just forward. Lotuleilei is intriguing, but watching one of the OG's get to him on the 2nd level during a sweep play and completely engulfing and washing him out was a sobering reminder of his size limitations. Bradford, too, lacks length at MLB but has made himself very thick and sturdy. Liked what I saw from Malcolm Smith, who moves very well, plays bigger than his size, and seems to carry himself confidently on the field now.
DB
Not a lot to glean here simply because the 11-on-11's were mostly running plays or short passing plays. Here's your depth chart based on how they lined up today.
LC - Sherman, Winfield (nickel), Lane, Parker
RC - Browner, Thurmond, Maxwell, Blackmon
SS - Chancellor, Johnson, Guy
FS - Thomas, Maragos, Shead
Liked what I saw, physically, of Guy. He and Shead are mirror images (excluding Guy's long locks), and look quite imposing lining up together in the back end. Shead got some 1:1 instruction from Marquand Manuel, again a good sign.
ST's
Were off in another area and not visible.
