Ugo Amadi
For the first time since the 2015, the Seahawks did not take a single defensive back in the NFL draft.
The team appears set to roll with Quinton Dunbar, Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers as the options on the outside, with Ugo Amadi the primary option for the nickel corner position.
Of course, when asked about Amadi’s hold on the nickel position, coach Pete Carroll made it clear after the draft that Amadi will still have his work cut out for him in training camp.
“You’re going to see us create the challenge there for him,” Carroll said. “There’s some things that we’re working on, I don’t want to tell you all of it right now, I’d like to keep it under wraps. But there’s some different things that we’re going to try. He did a nice job his first time out, he really didn’t have much competition there once he got in there which was the way it worked out. But he is going to have some this time around and hopefully he’ll just continue to get better.”
Coach Pete Carroll preaches his culture of competition, and it wouldn’t make sense to just hand Amadi the job right away after he only just got it toward the end of the 2019 season – even if he did a good job in the role.
The Seahawks not taking a defensive back at any point during the draft is still a good sign for Amadi, however, as any additions they do make to the position are unlikely to unseat him for the primary nickelback role.
Carroll did admit the team likes to mix and match and try different combinations, a sign they may continue to roll with their base 4-3 defense a large percentage of the time. That could allow Jordyn Brooks or Cody Barton to handle those duties more often – much like Mychal Kendricks did at times last year.
“We want to try some different combinations,” Carroll continued. “If you remember, from one extreme, we had linebackers playing in the nickel spot. Mychal Kendricks was out there last year. And that worked out pretty well for us for the most part. From that extreme, all the way to some other guys that we’re going to give some shots to. Let us show you when we get there. But I’m looking forward to it.”
John Schneider also tossed Linden Stephens, who the Seahawks recently claimed off waivers from the Dolphins, out there as a name who could compete with Amadi for the nickel role.
Still – Amadi has to feel his chances of earning the team’s primary nickelback job are pretty good, even if Seattle doesn’t use the package as often as they should.