Seahawks Gearing up for High Expectations in 2016

The Seahawks have signed their rookie class, made cuts to the roster, and have started to train and re-train many players on their roster ahead of the 2016 season.

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            The Seahawks came in at fourth in the league on ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings this week. With most of their core players, with the notable exception of running back Marshawn Lynch, returning from the 2015 team that went 10-6 and nearly completed an epic comeback over the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Divisional Game, the Seahawks appear reloaded as a contender for the Lombardi trophy.

            During the NFL Draft at the end of last month, the Seahawks grabbed an athletic but somewhat raw offensive lineman in Germain Ifedi, two run-stuffing defensive linemen in Quinton Jefferson and Jarran Reed—all filling obvious team needs… and three running backs. As effective as Thomas Rawls was last season, averaging over five yards a carry as an undrafted rookie free agent, Pete Carroll and John Schneider wanted to bring in reinforcements. They added running back Alex Collins, a Lynch-clone with a legendary career at Arkansas. They drafted C.J. Prosise, a former wide receiver out of Notre Dame who Carroll and company will make the offense more dynamic, and they drafted underutilized Clemson running back Zac Brooks for good measure.

            Whether the much-maligned offensive line can gel under the tutelage of Tom Cable for an entire season remains to be seen, and whether Rawls will truly be the answer to the void in the backfield will be a question. What we do know is that quarterback Russell Wilson led the league in passer rating without an excellent offensive line and without Lynch most of the season.

            As for the defense, questions were raised about the signing of cornerback Brandon Browner to return to the Legion of Boom, considering he was the worst corner in the league last year, according to Pro Football Focus. News came out of Seahawks camp today, however, that Browner would see time as a safety and nickel corner. Making Browner into a hybrid player will allow him to use his considerable size to play up against the run without risking him on the outside where he was called for approximately one million penalties trying to not get burnt repeatedly.

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            The Seahawks signed five tryout players last week, including former Washington Husky defensive tackle Taniela Tupou, who saw action at fullback during camp. They also released cornerback Mohammed Seisay. Pride of Seattle John Clayton told the Brock and Salk Show recently that the Seahawks could be reaching into the past again to bring back O’Brian Schofield to help fill the pass rushing void left by Bruce Irvin. The Seahawks have already brought back Chris Clemons to return to their defensive line.

Next: Will 2016 be Doug Baldwin's Last Year in Seattle?

We’ll keep you up to date on the wheelings and dealings of the Seahawks throughout the rest of the offseason on ECS.