Seattle Seahawks: 2018 Defensive Backs preview – The Legion of Young

Today we continue our 2018 Seattle Seahawks position previews with the defensive backs. The Legion of Boom may be gone, but there is new blood on the roster ready to take their place.

Emerald City Swagger continues our series of Seattle Seahawks position previews. The Seattle Seahawks defensive backs were legendary in the mid-2010s. A new group seems ready to take the baton.

To catch up on the other position previews, click the link.

Offense – Offensive Line, Running Backs, Receivers, and Tight Ends, Quarterbacks

Defense – Defensive Line, Linebackers, Defensive Backs (9/8)

Special Teams (9/9)

The LOB

The Seattle Seahawks secondary has been legendary. There was this thing called the LOB (Legion of Boom). Original members included Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam “Bam” Chancellor, Brandon Browner, and Byron Maxwell. A great defensive group that will be remembered forever in not just Seahawks history but in NFL history. They will be talked about in the same conversation as the Steel Curtain (Pittsburgh Steelers 1970’s) and the 46 Defense (Chicago Bears 1985)

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Seattle’s defense allowed the fewest number of points in the NFL for four straight years (2011-2015). Only the Browns in the 1950’s did better, with five straight seasons. In 2013 and 2014 they also led the league in total defensive yards as well. It was a dominant group.

That era is over but not lost. This offseason Seattle lost the NFL’s best cover cornerback in Sherman, and hard-hitting Chancellor (who retired). The Seahawks, to their credit, have done a good job of reloading in recent years. We can now officially start calling the Seahawks defense the Legion of Young.

Mostly New Crew

Dontae Johnson was scheduled to be the starter at right corner but was put on injured reserve Saturday morning. He will be replaced by either Justin Coleman, who started five games last year for the Seahawks, or journeyman Neiko Thorpe. Shaquill Griffin has the left cornerback spot nailed down.

Also at corner, the Seattle Seahawks have rookie Tre Flowers, this year’s fifth-round draft choice out of Oklahoma State. He’s a converted safety who has made the transition to corner. Flowers made the move seem easy, it isn’t easy in the slightest.

The free safety spot was a difficult spot this offseason. It was unknown if their best defensive back Earl Thomas would be back, due to his prolonged holdout. Tedric Thompson, the second-year pro from the University of Colorado, was the most likely starter in place of Thomas if he didn’t come back.

Thompson showed that he can be a leader on the field and even though Thomas is coming back, he has earned himself playing time. Bradley McDougald starts out as the number one strong safety. Shalom Luani and Delano Hill round out the depth at safety.

People say that the LOB is dead. Maybe it is in the sense that it has been heavily disbanded. However, dead is a word that shouldn’t be uttered until this defense has its say. They are young and hungry which is exactly the type of players that Pete Carroll loves.

This group is eager to learn. Nobody thinks they can be as good as the original Legion. Maybe they won’t be LOB quality this year. In time, with their talent, they could be.