With Seahawks training camp set to kick off later this month, Seahawks.com is taking a look at 12 of the team's most intriguing storylines, position battles and players heading into the 2020 season. Today we wrap things up with a look at what the Seahawks might do with their nickel defense and how much they'll use it.
The Seahawks return all four starters from last year's secondary—safeties Quandre Diggs and Bradley McDougald, and cornerbacks Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers—but that doesn't mean there aren't questions to answer in training camp when it comes to the secondary.
Most notably, the Seahawks will try to solidify the nickel defensive back spot, a position that in the modern NFL is essentially a fifth starting spot in the secondary. And on a related note, the other big question is how often the Seahawks will use said nickel back a year after deploying their base defense (four linemen, three linebackers) at an unusually high rate last year.
Prior to last season, Justin Coleman held the nickel role down for two seasons and was one of the league's best nickel backs, playing more than 60 percent of Seattle's defensive snaps over those two seasons. But Coleman left in free agency, and the Seahawks tried a few different players last year before rookie Ugo Amadi took the job over late last season, but they used those defensive backs less often, instead relying on a position of strength, getting linebackers Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and Mychal Kendricks on the field at the same time.
Amadi winning the job late in the year bodes well for him heading into 2020, as does Carroll saying at the NFL Scouting Combine, "I thought Ugo did a nice job at the spot at the end of the year…It's really Ugo's to lose right now. If we were gong back, that's where we would begin."
Carroll did add, however, that Amadi is "going to be under siege" in that competition, and while there are other cornerbacks who could push him for that role, one of the most intriguing possibilities is a three-safety nickel package that would include another 2019 draft pick, second-rounder Marquise Blair. Blair showed flashes last season of playmaking ability and has the hard-hitting, physical style the Seahawks love, but he wasn't able to solidify himself as a regular in the secondary. Carroll noted earlier this summer that using Blair in the nickel role is definitely something the Seahawks are considering.
"As a matter of fact, he is a guy that we're very interested in finding a role for him," Carroll said of Blair, who started three games last season. "We've already mapped that out. He's got real special talents that we want to find a spot for him, not just to go along and complement the safety play that he's going to play. So in the nickel package, he is going to get a lot of consideration to contribute in some additional ways, because he's unique and got some special stuff."
"how" - Google News
July 25, 2020 at 05:58AM
https://ift.tt/3eWO6Bt
Top 2020 Seahawks Training Camp Storylines: Who's The Nickel & How Frequently Is That Player On The Field? - Seahawks.com
"how" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2MfXd3I
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Top 2020 Seahawks Training Camp Storylines: Who's The Nickel & How Frequently Is That Player On The Field? - Seahawks.com"
Post a Comment