Tag: Olu Oluwatimi

7 Seahawks players who could have bigger roles in 2024

That youth movement should accelerate under the next head coach, whoever that may be. 

The Seattle Seahawks have one of the most-promising rosters around the NFL. Nearly half of the team’s players this season were either in their first or second year in the league and that youth movement should accelerate under the next head coach, whoever that may be. Thanks to two strong draft classes in a row, the kids look particularly alright – and should only continue to get better going forward.

Let’s take a look at seven different players who may see bigger roles in 2024.

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4 of the most-pleasant surprises for the Seahawks in 2023

Here are four players who have been the most-pleasant surprises for Seattle so far this year.

In case you haven’t heard, the Seahawks are good again. Off to their first strong start since they won five straight to begin the 2020 season, Seattle has arrived at the early bye week with a 3-1 record. Aside from the second half collapse against Los Angeles in Week 1, these Seahawks have performed above even our relatively-rosy projections heading into the year, predicting they’d finish at 11-6. Right now it looks like we sold them short.

The biggest single reason why things are going so well is the return of middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. He has whipped the front-seven into shape and completely reversed last year’s dynamic of atrocious run defense, leading a unit that is currently allowing the third-fewest yards per carry in the NFL and less than 90 rushing yards per game. Wagner’s brilliance hasn’t been breaking news for about 11 years, though. Let’s focus on some contributors who we didn’t expect to ball out but have started the 2023 season hot.

Here are four players who have been the most-pleasant surprises for the team so far this year.

12 outstanding PFF grades for the Seahawks from Week 4 win

The biggest takeaway from Monday night’s win for the Seahawks may be the incredible breadth of their talent.

The biggest takeaway from Monday night’s win for the Seahawks may be the incredible breadth of their talent. During their 24-3 romp of the Giants, Seattle had a wide variety of young players flashing their skillsets. Devon Witherspoon will rightfully garner most of the attention after his exceptional breakout performance. However, fellow rookies Zach Charbonnet, Cameron Young and Olu Oluwatimi also balled out and deserve recognition.

Second-year studs like Ken Walker and Riq Woolen were instrumental as well. For an encore, they also got solid work from important veterans like Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Bobby Wagner, Uchenna Nwosu and Jordyn Brooks, who’s having the best season of his career so far. While he was only on the field for a few snaps before he was injured again, Jamal Adams also showed how impactful he can be.

Here are 12 players whose Pro Football Focus grades in specific parts of the game stood out this week.

Brian Baldinger breaks down 2 Seahawks rookie iOL from preseason finale

Here’s Brian Baldinger breaking down rookie center Olu Oluwatimi and rookie right guard Anthony Bradford from Saturday’s preseason finale against the Packers.

The Seahawks have a legitimance chance to be a genuine contender in the NFC this season – if a few key x-factors go in their favor. Defensively, they have to radically improve their pass rush and run defense, or else not much else they do will matter. On the other side of the ball, they need the new-look interior of their offensive line to step up.

Good news: they got promising performances from two rookie iOL this past weekend. Here’s Brian Baldinger breaking down rookie center Olu Oluwatimi and rookie right guard Anthony Bradford from Saturday’s preseason finale against the Packers.

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Continue keeping an eye on the center position battle moving forward

Last season, the Seattle Seahawks were engaged in a legitimate quarterback battle for the first time since the 2012 preseason. Now, the biggest position battle storyline to follow this year is up front at center.

The Seahawks’ offensive line improved dramatically in 2022, but the interior of the line was still a weakness. Seattle focused on improving this position by signing Evan Brown from the Detroit Lions, then drafting rookie Olu Oluwatimi from Michigan.

Although Brown has more experience (obviously) than Oluwatimi, do not count the former Wolverine out in this very much alive battle.

Against the Vikings, Oluwatimi impressed quite a bit.

In the Seattle Seahawks’ system under Pete Carroll, there are no penciled in starters. Every position can be up for grabs under his “always compete” mantra. It is a system where even a fifth round rookie can legitimately challenge an established, solid veteran.

Continue keeping an eye on the center position moving forward, this is a battle we’ll be seeing throughout the remainder of the season.

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Seahawks injury updates: Ken Walker, Olu Oluwatimi, Dee Eskridge, more

Head coach Pete Carroll gave some injury updates after practice.

The Seattle Seahawks held another training camp practice yesterday, two days removed from their first preseason game of the year, a 24-13 victory over the non-division rival Minnesota Vikings.

Head coach Pete Carroll gave some injury updates after practice. Here’s what we learned plus a few takeaways from the beat reporters.

Pro Football Focus gives Seahawks offensive line their annual brutal ranking

This year is no different.

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Some things are inevitable. The list includes death, taxes, Thanos and Pro Football Focus hating the Seahawks offensive line. To be fair, Seattle’s front five has never been a strength for this team during the Pete Carroll era, even when it was the most-expensive unit in the league. No matter the personnel involved, over the years, PFF has consistently ranked the Seahawks offensive line as one of the NFL’s worst. This year is no different.

Their newest offensive line rankings have dropped. As expected, the Eagles continue to dominate the competition, remaining at the No. 1 spot. Down at the bottom of the list you’ll find the Cardinals (31) and the Titans (32) – the only two teams ranked lower than these Seahawks (30).

At least they admitted that if both Abe Lucas and Charles Cross take a step forward then their ranking will be too low:

“Seattle’s line largely rests on the development of its young tackles, Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. While both played well early, each fell off substantially as their rookie seasons wore on… If those tackles play well, this ranking is too low. But if they don’t improve, this is a group that could struggle badly given its interior personnel.”

It’s not a great interior, but by their own grades left guard Damien Lewis had a very respectable 2022 season, posting a perfectly-decent 66.7 run blocking grade and a solid 72.6 pass blocking grade (71.8 overall).

Seattle got rid of the weakest link – which was right guard Gabe Jackson. He’s been replaced by Phil Haynes, who played about half the snaps at that spot last season. He had below-average grades (57.1 overall) but not terrrible.

Much will hinge on the center spot – where we are expecting rookie Olu Oluwatimi to take over as the starter at some point this year, even if it’s not Week 1. For now Evan Brown remains PFF’s projected starter and they must not think very highly of his game. He posted a strong run blocking grade last year (69.5) but was poor in pass protection (45.5).

As for Lucas and Cross, they may have fallen off some in the second half of the season but that’s to be expected of most rookies playing challenging positions for the first time at this level. We saw enough to be convinced of their potential and fully expect them to develop into quality starters. If Oluwatimi can do the same then this ranking may seem absurd by mid-season.

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DK Metcalf: ‘I think it’s too early’ to judge Seahawks 2023 offense

This is the correct attitude

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The Seahawks put together a quality offense last year. At the end of the 2022 season the team ranked in the top 10 in points per game as well as No. 14 in offensive DVOA. They’ve gotten even better since, too. Jaxon Smith-Njigba gives them the elusive No. 3 wide receiver they’ve been missing, Zach Charbonnet offers more overkill depth in the backfield and Olu Oluwatimi projects as their long-term offensive line centerpiece. Add it all up and you’ve got an offense with zero personnel weaknesses, at least on paper.

Games are won on grass, though and nothing is guaranteed in this league – especially at this point in the calendar. When superstar wide receiver DK Metcalf was asked yesterday how the offense looks he offered some healthy perspective, per Bob Condotta at the Seattle Times.

“I think it’s too early. Once we really get in the training camp and get pads on, that’s when you can really start to show who the players are, who is going to be in what position. But right now it’s seven on seven.”

This is the correct attitude and hoepfully an indicator that Metcalf is finally maturing into the face of the franchise we all hope he’ll be.

Metcalf showed some development in that department during his press conference, as well. DK admitted that he “overstepped some boundaries” in the locker room last season as he tried to fill the vocal leadership void vacated by Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. This year Metcalf says he’s taking a step back and deferring to Geno Smith in that role.

Odds are we will never find out exactly what DK said and that’s fine. What matters is it sounds like Metcalf is starting to learn what his limits are and keep more of an even keel. If that’s the case, it should translate to even more dominance on the field. Athletically he’s in a league of his own, so if he can at-last reach that Julio Jones level of super-focused chill it might just make him the best receiver in football.

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One of the most interesting position battles for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason will be up front and “center” (buh dum tis!)

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One of the most interesting position battles for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason will be up front and “center” (buh dum tis!). It is no secret the Seahawks have to get better in the interior of their offensive line, and it starts with the center.

Former NFL center Austin Blythe held the position last year and it was not exactly up to par, especially when facing the likes of the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle brought in Evan Brown from Detroit, and drafted Olu Oluwatimi from Michigan this spring. They also have in-house Joey Hunt as well.

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron recently spoke about the position and how they’re a long ways from finalizing anything. When asked, head coach Pete Carroll seemed to echo the sentiment of Waldron in this regard. From John Boyle at Seahawks.com:

“Evan has come in here and commanded the leadership with the experience—he has more experience than Olu’s got—so we’ll see how it all works out. Joey is an experienced football player too, so we have a really good spot. We’re just going to let it happen and see what happens, see how it goes. We’re not going to set any timelines on it or anything like that, it’ll work itself off, but Olu has done a nice job jumping in. He’s a bright kid and it shows up and he gets it, he’s confident. You could see him playing.”

We truly are a ways out from anything even remotely close to being settled. The calendar just turned to June, and there are two newcomers – a rookie and a free agent – who are learning Waldron’s system. Not to mention getting in-sync with fellow linemen and quarterback Geno Smith

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Shane Waldron: Seahawks ‘mixing and matching’ OL reps for now

While Brown, Oluwatimi, and even Joey Hunt will certainly be in the mix for a starting role, the Seahawks are not close to determining their depth chart.

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For years the offensive line of the Seattle Seahawks has been a considerable weakness. In 2022, thanks to the help of stud rookie tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, the line took drastic steps forward. However, it was still a liability at times, especially in the interior.

Seattle focused some of their efforts this offseason to improving their interior offensive line. They signed former Lions guard/center Evan Brown away from Detroit, and they selected Michigan standout Olu Oluwatimi late in the 2023 NFL draft.

While Brown, Oluwatimi, and even Joey Hunt will certainly be in the mix for a starting role, the Seahawks are not close to determining their depth chart. When asked about this, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron discussed at length where they’re at. Via Mike Dugar at the Athletic:

“We’re a pretty long ways away from finalizing any of the reps… Training camp, we’ll have a better idea of how we want to divide those up. Right now, (Brown, Oluwatimi and Joey Hunt) are mixing and matching like all the offensive linemen are. (We’re) mixing and matching some things so they get a good feel and good grasp for the offense. As we get closer to training camp, we’ll start to pare down how we want to approach the actual reps when we’re going against each other all the time.”

Seattle will need to improve even further at this position if they hope to progress past the Wild Card round. The 49ers and Eagles somehow improved their already ferocious defensive fronts, while Aaron Donald will be back on the Rams this year.

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