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Backfield
ESPN Breaks Down Seattle’s Post-Walker Backfield Plan. The Answer Is In Pittsburgh On April 23.
Brady Henderson laid it out in a comprehensive piece for ESPN this morning, and if you were holding out hope that John Schneider had some secret free agent running back stashed in a drawer somewhere, I regret to inform you that the drawer is empty.
The Seahawks’ backfield right now consists of Emanuel Wilson, George Holani, and vibes. Henderson confirms that Seattle did not seriously pursue Tyler Allgeier despite pre-free agency speculation, and watched Chris Rodriguez Jr. sign a two-year, $10 million deal with Jacksonville before adding Wilson on a deal worth up to $2.1 million. That’s the price of a lightly used Subaru Outback in Kirkland.
Schneider, to his credit, isn’t pretending this is the finished product. On his Seattle Sports radio show, he described Wilson as “a 230-pound guy with great feet” who “gives us a little bit something different.” Translation: Wilson is a power complement, not a Kenneth Walker replacement. He combined for 998 rushing yards and seven touchdowns over two seasons as Josh Jacobs’ backup in Green Bay. Good player. Not the guy who’s going to make you forget about K9’s 135-yard Super Bowl.
So the draft it is. And the consensus is building fast. Multiple analysts including Daniel Jeremiah, Connor Rogers, Nate Davis, and Eric Edholm have all mocked Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price to Seattle at No. 32. NBC Sports’ Rogers wrote that Price “can be a star at the next level” and brings pass protection chops that Walker never had. That matters in Brian Fleury’s offense.
But there’s a local angle gaining steam too. The Seahawks hosted Washington’s Jonah Coleman for a visit at the VMAC on March 16, their first running back prospect of the pre-draft process. Coleman rushed for 1,811 yards and 25 touchdowns at UW. At 5-9, 230, he’s basically a fire hydrant who can catch screens. SI on Seahawks called the visit “a statement.” Brock Huard has been beating this drum for weeks. Don’t sleep on the hometown kid.
1,811
Washington’s Jonah Coleman rushed for 1,811 yards and 25 touchdowns at UW, making him a compelling local option in Seattle’s draft plans.
The wild card: could they go running back at 32 instead of 64? Momentum is building. Five different mock drafters have Price falling to Seattle at the end of Round 1. This is a weak RB class after Jeremiyah Love, but that might actually help. If Price slides, Schneider could lock up his Walker replacement with a fifth-year option attached. That’s real roster control for a Super Bowl team trying to run it back.
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Schadenfreude
The Rams Tried To Change The Rules Because Of The Zachwards Pass. They Just Gave Up.
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Per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the Rams pulled back both proposals on Wednesday night. The first would have treated backward passes deflected by defenders as fumbles in specific situations, meaning only Darnold could have recovered for a successful conversion. The second proposed a 40-second time limit for replay review initiation, because the original review took over 100 seconds to begin while the teams lined up for the kickoff.
And then, because the Rams are apparently incapable of letting things go quietly, president Kevin Demoff hopped on social media Thursday morning. His post, per NBC Sports: “Withdrawn but not forgotten.” He went on to complain that in today’s NFL you can “pick up a ball after a play is whistled incomplete, turn around with it and walk back towards midfield and four minutes later have it count for two points.” Which is, technically speaking, what happened. It was also legal.
Florio’s take was blunt: if Demoff feels so strongly, force a vote. But the proposals likely couldn’t get to 24 votes, which is probably why they were withdrawn. The play was rare. The rule already existed. And as Florio put it, the coaching point is simple: “If there’s a loose ball, pick it up.” The Rams didn’t. The Seahawks did. And then they won a Super Bowl.
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If there’s a loose ball, pick it up. The Rams didn’t. The Seahawks did. And then they won a Super Bowl.
Sleep well, Kevin.
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Edge Watch
The Greenard Trade Has Gone Quiet. The Vikings Are In No Rush. Seattle’s Window May Be Closing.
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The Athletic’s Alec Lewis reported that the Eagles and Colts remain the loudest outside suitors, but the temperature has dropped. Vikings Territory noted that the buzz “felt hot and heavy in early March” but has since died down, with the real action potentially waiting until draft weekend, when GMs can weigh Greenard against who’s available on their boards in real time.
The key quote from Lewis, via Vikings Territory: the Vikings are “doing this on their terms” and “are not going to trade a talented player that they’ve really liked having unless it makes a lot of sense for them.” Minnesota signed Kyler Murray. They have Super Bowl aspirations. Trading your best edge rusher while trying to win doesn’t compute unless someone overpays.
For Seattle, this is starting to feel like a door that’s slowly closing. The Seahawks were confirmed among the teams making inquiries, per Corbin K. Smith, but with the Eagles continuing to work both the trade angle and a potential extension with Greenard’s agent, Philly has the inside track. And the Colts, despite Sauce Gardner’s public recruiting effort, may not want to part with a second-rounder after already surrendering two first-rounders for Gardner himself.
If this drags to the draft, Schneider’s edge plan likely becomes Nwosu, Derick Hall, and whoever is available at 32 or 64. Plan accordingly.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
The NFL is compiling a list of 150 replacement referees from small colleges in case CBA talks with the NFLRA collapse before the current deal expires in May. The last time this happened was 2012. The city that gave you the Fail Mary would like you to know that we are spiritually prepared for this, even if we’d rather not be. ESPN
The Seahawks have now hosted three pre-draft visitors at the VMAC: Washington RB Jonah Coleman (local visit), Toledo DB Andre Fuller, and San Diego State CB Chris Johnson. Two defensive backs and a running back. If you’re trying to read Schneider’s draft board from the guest log, the answers are corner and backfield. Which is what we already knew. But it’s nice to have receipts. Emerald City Spectrum
NBC Sports’ Chris Simms and Connor Rogers discussed the Seahawks’ DraftKings odds for their first-round pick and said they’re surprised running back is listed so low. Simms and Rogers both think RB at 32 makes more sense than the oddsmakers believe. When the gambling industry and the analysts disagree, someone’s getting paid. NBC Sports
49ers GM John Lynch told reporters at the combine that Nick Bosa will “certainly” be ready by training camp. Bosa is currently about five months post-ACL surgery, with the typical nine-to-twelve month timeline putting him right on schedule. The Seahawks beat San Francisco 41-6 in the divisional round without him. Just keeping that bookmarked for September. NBC Sports Bay Area
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Kevin Demoff spent Thursday morning tweeting about how the Seahawks’ two-point conversion was an injustice, approximately four months after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl and approximately 12 hours after the Rams withdrew the rule change proposals that were supposed to prevent it from happening again. This is the organizational equivalent of writing a strongly worded letter to your HOA and then tearing it up in the parking lot while yelling about how you meant every word. Florio noted the proposals “likely would have had a hard time getting to 24 votes.” The Rams knew this. They submitted them anyway. Then pulled them. Then complained about pulling them. The NFC West’s second-best franchise, everyone.
NINERS
The 49ers lost to the Seahawks 41-6 in the divisional round without Nick Bosa. Now GM John Lynch says Bosa will “certainly” be back for training camp, and new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is tasked with turning around a unit that allowed that kind of beatdown on national television. San Francisco also hired Kendrick Bourne’s favorite coach in the building, lost Brandon Aiyuk to a relationship so toxic that George Kittle described the vibes as unsalvageable, and somehow still finished 12-5. They’re the cockroach of the NFC West. Resilient, unwelcome, and always in your kitchen when you turn on the lights.
CARDINALS
Arizona holds the No. 3 overall pick and seven total selections in a draft where experts can’t agree if they should take an offensive tackle, an edge rusher, or trade up for a quarterback with 15 career starts. The current starting QB room is Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew, which has all the stability of a Jenga tower at a children’s birthday party. Mock drafts have them taking Miami OT Francis Mauigoa, Ohio State LB Arvell Reese, or Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey. SI floated the idea of trading their second-rounder to move back into the first round for Alabama QB Ty Simpson. When your franchise’s best-case draft scenario requires a trade to get a one-year starter, that’s not a rebuild. That’s an archaeological dig.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Seahawks have drafted three players from Notre Dame in the first round, the most from any single university in franchise history. The first was defensive tackle Steve Niehaus in 1976, and the most recent was tight end Jerramy Stevens in 2002. Who was the second, selected with the No. 2 overall pick in 1993?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Rick Mirer. The Seahawks selected the Notre Dame quarterback second overall in 1993. He set NFL rookie records for attempts, completions, and passing yards in his first season, but was traded to the Bears after four years. Seattle parlayed that trade into the picks that eventually helped them select Hall of Fame left tackle Walter Jones.
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The drawer is empty. The draft is not. — The Rooster