It is no secret that the NFL is an extremely physically demanding career choice, and is most certainly a profession for the young. The Seattle Seahawks appear to be set to take that idea to extremes at certain positions in 2019, however, with another season set to be marked by an continued influx of fresh, young faces.
Gone are the years dominated by the core of the Legion of Boom, players who spent the better part of the soon to be ended decade, aiding in the transition from a team that went 4-12 in back-to-back seasons to a team that went to back-to-back Super Bowls. I looked at the youth of the Hawks defensive backfield last week, and how special teams ace Neiko Thorpe is the longest tenured member of that group, but what other positions are young and new to the Seahawks?
For starters, the running back group is extremely young, even by NFL standards. With the departure of Mike Davis (26 years old) to the Chicago Bears, Tre Madden (25 years old) remaining unsigned as a free agent and J.D. McKissic (25 years old) being reassigned as a “return specialist”, there is not a single running back on the Hawks roster who is 25. That is set to change on Monday, when 2016 third round draft pick and longest tenured Seattle running back C.J. Prosise will celebrate his birthday, but for now every single back on the roster is 24 or younger. That includes
- Chris Carson (will turn 25 in September)
- Adam Choice (listed as 23 on Seahawks roster, with a birthday that is in late November or early December)
- Rashaad Penny (turned 23 in February)
- Bo Scarbrough (will turn 23 in September)
- Travis Homer (can’t even legally drink yet and will turn 21 the day before the Hawks’ first preseason game in August).
Basically, long gone is the time when the Seahawks had someone, anyone, in the running back room was a highly experienced veteran who had been in the league for years. Even after the retirement of Marshawn Lynch following the 2015 season, the Hawks had running backs over 25 on the roster, including names like Christine Michael, Marcel Reece, C.J. Spiller and Eddie Lacy.
Another position where they have traditionally been manned by established veterans, is along the defensive line. It was not that long ago that youngsters like Frank Clark were having trouble earning playing time behind the likes of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, however that has most definitely changed. As of right now the longest tenured defensive lineman on the Seahawks is defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who is still on his rookie contract. On the outside of the defensive line, the defensive end who has been with the team the longest is Branden Jackson, who hasn’t even been with the team for two full seasons since being signed to the team’s practice squad in late September of 2017.
In short, the 2019 version of Seattle’s roster is slated to be very young at some positions, and the camp battles for jobs come August should be highly intriguing. Now we simply have to wait through the slow summer doldrums of June and July until training camp arrives.
// from Field Gulls - All Posts http://bit.ly/2YCLSj8
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