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We’re still making our way through the potential impact of the players on the 2021 roster. We’ve made our way through most of the backups, and are entering the realm of meaningful rotational pieces. Many of these guys started multiple games last year and held their own for a brief stint.

Most Impactful Seattle Seahawks, 2021-2022

35. Ugo Amadi, defensive back

If it weren’t for Marquise Blair, Amadi would be much higher on this list. An undersized fourth-round corner who graded out as a backup/special teams player, Amadi started five games last year and allowed only 5.7 yards per target. That’s pretty good. I really like him; I think he’s the most interesting gunner on this team when he’s on, and he fights for every ball.

The problem is, unproven and highly-drafted defensive depth on this team. They’re going to figure out Blair and Darrell Taylor at different positions, and that leaves Amadi in essentially the same position this season, even though he showed well. Perhaps he’d sneak onto the field as outside corner more often with some of the questions, but there’s also newly-drafted Tre Brown to consider.

34. Travis Homer, running back

See earlier post on his competitors, DeeJay Dallas and Alex Collins. Homer gets a higher nod because he has pass blocked extremely well in the past, and he’s better in the passing game in general.

Still, I do hope he’s not needed in either position very often, and his occasional ability to do one of those things well can make a small but meaningful difference on a drive or two.

33. Will Dissly, TE

I still haven’t forgiven Greg Olsen for last year. Will Dissly started twice as many games in 20 as he did in 19. Yet he had only one more reception, for less yards, less efficiency, fewer TDs, fewer first downs, and 1.5 receptions per game.

More than perhaps anybody on this list, I want Dissly to be higher. His uninjured first halves of 2018 and 19 were among the most exciting drafted performances of the last five years. But we have no way of knowing what dropped an iron lid on his development last season, because it sure wasn’t the excellent play of Gregory Olsen. Whether Dissly was injured or effectively moved on from, I’m not nearly as optimistic Seattle will have a TE1 and TE1b as I would have liked to see. Would absolutely love to be proven wrong here.

32. Benson Mayowa, defensive end

Mayowa was a pleasant acquisition last year. At times before Carlos Dunlap, he was the only one doing much of anything on the line. I think he’ll play, but Dunlap and Kerry Hyder are going to run the show.

Following that, it would be better for the Seahawks to continue to test the future in the pass-rush rotation, and this projection is that Mayowa will be less used this year. Darrell Taylor needs to show, Alton Robinson is intriguing, and it’s better for the team if L.J. Collier is a bigger impact here.

31. Damien Lewis, offensive line

If street wisdom prevails and Lewis moves from right guard to left guard, that doesn’t really move the needle on Lewis’ impact; perhaps a little. Lewis played so solidly as a rookie, the reason he’s my lowest rated starting lineman on this particular list is because I expect him to continue to be solid. He doesn’t have nearly the plus / minus swing that we’ll argue later for Ethan Pocic and Brandon Shell. Lewis is good. I think he’ll be good again; maybe better. That is fun.

30. Alton Robinson, DE

I call him the Jacob Martin of 2020. Late draft pick coming out of nowhere to be highly efficient pass-rusher? Gimme gimme. Robinson only played 336 defensive snaps last year, good for 17th on the team.

However, with 210 more snaps Benson Mayowa only had 6.0 sacks to Robinson’s 4.0, and Rasheem Green had half the sacks with more snaps than Robinson. His tackle production was also unusually high.

I think Robinson will be squarely in the mix to play as part of a large and fearsome pass-rush rotation.

29. Bryan Mone, defensive tackle

He will play a lot of snaps next to Poona Ford and hopefully play them well.

28. Tre Flowers

Flowers retains a lot of value even if training camp progresses the way many believe – with D.J. Reed and Ahkello Witherspoon as top corners. If Flowers is third corner this year, he has cemented that real NFL experience in the mind of Pete Carroll when the need arises. Some may say this is a bad thing, but Flowers is one of those players who has impressed Carroll enough for us to hear about it. A Witherspoon falter or an injury put Flowers right back into a mid-season six-game starting stretch like last year.

At the time of this writing, Xavien Howard speculation is a-flowin, and while that is unlikely, a trade would essentially remove Tre Flowers from this list.

27. Darrell Taylor

Want to put Taylor higher, but first-round-pick-who-got-hurt-rookie-season has become the oldest story in this city. Yes, he’s not the first round pick, but we all know they said they almost took him first, and that they considered Taylor one of the “top pass rushers in this league.”

So after a year of inactivity, the plan is to play him at….weak side linebacker, K.J. Wright’s previous position.

It’s an experiment for a player whose essentially a rookie, and if he pops, it will be a very valuable piece for this defense, but they are once again not depending on him.

26. D’Wayne Eskridge, WR

This is big, and it’s statistically justifiable recency bias. Last season was the disappointment that it was, and the collapse of Russell Wilson’s MVP run highlighted the deficiencies of Brian Schottenheimer in bright red. Is red even a highlighter color? That seems weird.

The Seahawks have never needed a rookie receiver to contribute the way that they need Eskridge in Wilson’s tenure. Even when they drafted D.K. Metcalf, it didn’t feel like the team desperately needed him to be a big factor immediately. With Eskridge, it’s a little different for a few reasons.

First, one thing quite clear for a couple years is that either Pete Carroll or Russell Wilson openly wants a better third wide receiver on this team. Josh Gordon…Antonio Brown…the semi-failed Jimmy Graham experiment…there’s been a lot of attempts to find big deal number three.

Second, it’s obviously important to a quick and diverse scheme brought by new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Los Angeles Rams used three receivers and two tight ends extensively. Seattle actually has that this year.

Third, and most unfortunately, is Eskridge is probably better suited to be who Tyler Lockett used to be and currently isn’t. Let Lockett be the savvy deep threat he is so good at, since he has admitted to losing a half step. Eskridge has that half step and then some, and this team does not have the burner if it’s not him as it’s apparently no longer Lockett.

Fourth, because jersey #1 looks awesome.

Next up, 25-21!