Tag: Lano Hill

Why Baylor safety Chris Miller could make the Seahawks roster

The Seahawks love aggressive, hard-hitting safeties, and while Chris Miller’s combine was not impressive, he could sneak onto the roster.

The Seattle Seahawks brought in a whopping 17 undrafted free agents from the 2020 class to compete for spots on the active roster.

Most years, teams are lucky to get one UDFA to make the squad, as they are primarily brought in to give the team extra bodies during training camp.

However, the Seahawks have had plenty of luck in the past, going all the way back to Dave Krieg and including Jermaine Kearse, Doug Baldwin and more recently, defensive tackle Poona Ford.

This years class is sure to have some intriguing players in it, and one who could stand out above the rest is former Baylor safety Chris Miller.

Miller received a $10,000 signing bonus from the Seahawks, a sign they were not the only team interested in the Baylor safety after the draft concluded.

Miller fits a lot of what coach Pete Carroll and his staff look for in their safeties. Namely, he brings a thumping, hard-hitting, aggressive (sometimes to a fault) mentality to the secondary that is reminiscent of Marquise Blair and even Kam Chancellor.

Miller was a second team All Big-12 selection his senior year, after getting honorable mentions in 2018. He had a career-high 76 combined tackles with two forced fumbles and two passes defended in 2019, although his aggression caused him to miss 1.5 games thanks to targeting calls that earned him two suspensions.

The Seahawks will love his aggression, but his poor testing at the combine (4.61 in the 40-yard dash, 29.8 inch arms, 12 reps on the bench press) likely contributed to his fall out of the draft, and could limit his ability to make the team over Lano Hill, the teams presumed backup safety.

Miller is the kind of guy the Seahawks would normally take a flyer on if he performs well in camp, but with the potential for a limited camp this year it’s harder to see his path to a spot on the active roster.

A spot on the expanded practice squad, however, makes a lot of sense if the Seahawks believe he can hone in his aggression on the field at the next level.

[lawrence-related id=61938]

How will the Seahawks utilize Tre Flowers in 2020?

The Seattle Seahawks have a full defensive backfield, and two-year starter Tre Flowers is on the outside looking in heading into 2020.

When the Seattle Seahawks swung a trade with the Washington Redskins, acquiring star cornerback Quinton Dunbar for a fifth round pick, it seemed to solidify the team’s starting secondary.

Dunbar is expected to line up at right cornerback, with Pro Bowler Shaquill Griffin on the left side and veterans Quandre Diggs and Bradley McDougald reprising their roles at free and strong safety, respectively.

So where does that leave Tre Flowers, a converted safety who started the past two seasons at right cornerback?

Flowers joined the Seahawks as a safety prospect out of Oklahoma State in 2018, getting selected in the fifth round. Seattle immediately converted him into a cornerback, and he won a starting job and started 15 games with 67 combined tackles, three forced fumbles and six passes defended, an altogether solid rookie season.

Flowers’ numbers improved in 2019, with eight passes defended, 82 combined tackles, one forced fumble along with the first three interceptions of his career. However, he proved to be a liability in coverage, earning a 53.9 grade from Pro Football Focus while often being targeted by opposing quarterbacks, and committing a lot of crucial penalties downfield.

Now, it’s unclear what exactly the 2020 season has in store for him. The Seahawks will of course let him compete for his starting job again, but barring an injury it seems likely that Griffin and Dunbar will be the starters.

Flowers doesn’t really fit the nickel corner role, which is expected to go to Ugo Amadi, and while he could begin transitioning back into a safety the team already has Marquise Blair and Lano Hill waiting behind Diggs and McDougald – making that an unlikely spot for him as well.

So now what? Flowers’ best chance to carve out a role on this team is to find his niche as a special teamer, something he has not done a ton of in his career. He appeared on 18% of the team’s special teams snaps in 2018, and 21% last year.

However, his athleticism and size could make him a promising special teams contributor, as well as his ability to punch the football out.

Flowers is almost certainly not going to get cut, as he would save the team very little money and his versatility and experience are too valuable to get rid of, but he might have to find a new way to help this team on the field in 2020 if he doesn’t want to spend the season on the sidelines.

[lawrence-related id=60926]

What to expect from Seahawks 2017 draft class in 2020

The Seattle Seahawks are hoping the remaining members of the 2017 Draft class will play a big role on the team in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks have always valued quantity in the NFL draft. 2017 was no different, with John Schneider making a series of trades to net the squad 11 total draft picks.

Now, three years later, the Seahawks are left with just six of the 11 picks on the 2020 roster – and only two of them are guaranteed starting spots next season.

Malik McDowell was a huge bust, never even appearing in a game with the team after suffering a serious injury during the offseason.

Third rounder Amara Darboh never panned out, and the team recently released fourth round safety Tedric Thompson after a disappointing 2019 season – joining sixth rounders Mike Tyson and Justin Senior who are no longer on the squad.

However, Seattle made a couple great picks in the seventh round, and third rounder Shaquill Griffin developed into a Pro Bowler last season – so the draft was not a total loss.

Here’s a look at each of the players still on the roster, and how they are expected to be utilized in 2020.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Seahawks grant Tedric Thompson permission to seek a trade

With a multitude of options already present at the safety spots, the Seahawks are allowing Tedric Thompson to explore trade opportunities.

The Seattle Seahawks have granted free safety Tedric Thompson permission to seek a trade, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

Thompson, 25, lost his starting job during the 2019 season after struggling to handle the responsibilities in deep coverage as the high safety in Pete Carroll’s cover-3 scheme. He was replaced by Quandre Diggs and immediately placed on the injured reserve, ending his season.

Considering Seattle’s depth at safety heading into 2020, which includes Diggs, Bradley McDougald, Marquise Blair and Lano Hill, it is no surprise Thompson is being given an opportunity to look for employment elsewhere.

If Seattle can swing Thompson for a late-round pick, they will also save $2.3 million in cap space, money that could be used to help shore up other key positions of need, primarily on the defensive side of the ball.

Thompson did record two interceptions and 19 combined tackles in six games last year, and while his flaws are definitely noticeable it’s not hard to imagine a team giving up a sixth or seventh round pick to take a shot on Thompson, as either a depth option at safety or a core special teams contributor.

[lawrence-related id=57876]

Seattle’s secondary is set with Quandre Diggs and Bradley McDougald

The Seattle Seahawks are set to go the rest of the way with Bradley McDougald and Quandre Diggs as the starting safety tandem.

The Seattle Seahawks were fortunate to add two big time players to the active roster ahead of their Monday night matchup with the San Francisco 49ers – receiver Josh Gordon, who had two crucial late-game catches – and safety Quandre Diggs.

Diggs took over as Seattle’s starting free safety and was all over the field, recording a pair of tackles and a big time interception, which he returned 44 yards to set up an eventual touchdown.

Coach Pete Carroll was thrilled with Diggs’ debut, and he had high praise for the pairing of Diggs and fellow veteran Bradley McDougald, who started alongside him at strong safety.

“I thought that was the best game that our safeties have played,” Carroll said on Tuesday. “I’m hoping that we can continue to grow and get better and feed off it.”

That’s not great news for rookie Marquise Blair and third-year Lano Hill, who are both now on the outside looking in for a regular role on this Seattle defense.

Blair will work in when the Seahawks run dime packages, according to Carroll, but he did not see a single defensive snap on Monday night.

While Blair looked solid in his first few games in the secondary, it’s not surprising to see coach Carroll turn to his veteran guys to finish out the year. After the debacle that was Tedric Thompson, and the inconsistency from Hill, it’s nice to have two guys who have a track record of success manning the defensive backfield.

Diggs has the ranginess and hard-hitting required to excel as a cover-3 free safety in Carroll’s scheme, and his experience limits him from making mistakes – something they couldn’t afford to deal with from Blair.

Carroll cautioned that it’s still early to evaluate exactly how Diggs will mesh after just one game, but they are working on finding his perfect fit on this defense.

“It’s an early assessment because Q’s just played one game,” Carroll continued. “He can do a lot of things, so we’ll be anxious to figure out how he can complement what we’re doing and utilize him now that he’s crossed the threshold of playing time for us.”

The Seahawks will watch Sunday’s slate of games from their own homes before getting ready for their Week 12 matchup against the Eagles in Philadelphia, scheduled for Nov. 24.

[lawrence-related id=50997]