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.
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