RENTON — It’s been no secret — in fact, it’s been happily touted by the team all season — how much the Seahawks have relied on their rookie class to get back to the playoffs.
A final accounting of the regular-season numbers further reinforce that fact.
The Seahawks had the second-most snaps played by rookies this season (4,868) and the second-most starts (70), which was behind only the massively rebuilding Houston Texans.
Those numbers were especially pronounced on the offensive side of the ball, which featured three players, who for most (running back Kenneth Walker III) or all (left tackle Charles Cross and right tackle Abraham Lucas) of the season were full-time starters.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, no team got a higher percentage of its snaps on offense this year from rookies than the Seahawks at 22.9%. Next was Tennessee at 19%.
Their reward?
Playing in the wild-card playoffs Saturday against the 49ers, who have statistically the best defense in the NFL in terms of the fewest yards and points allowed.
And the reward for the rookies on defense?
Going up against a team that won’t have Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, but will, for the first time this year against the Seahawks, have its three marquee skill position players in running back Christian McCaffrey, receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle.
Welcome to the NFL playoffs, indeed.
As the rookies prepare for their first postseason, let’s review what they have done so far.
Left tackle Charles Cross (first round, ninth overall): Cross, out of Alabama, played all but two snaps this season, 1,091 of a possible 1,093 (missing two in the win at Arizona) and ranked 55th of 81 tackles by Pro Football Focus. PFF was kinder to Cross than that rating might indicate in its assessment, writing: “Cross was remarkably solid for most of the season, but his overall PFF grade is dragged down by three games in which he posted a PFF pass-blocking grade below 40.0. Those three performances all came against elite pass-rush units, though. Cross heads into the playoffs on the back of a bounce-back game against the Rams. He is already a solid NFL left tackle with room to get much better next season and beyond.”
Linebacker Boye Mafe (second round, 40th overall): Mafe, out of Minnesota, played 424 snaps and made three starts this season, with 38 tackles and three sacks. He rated 58th out of 119 at his position by PFF.
Running back Kenneth Walker III (second round, 41st overall): Walker, from Michigan State, played 575 snaps and finished with the second-highest total by a rookie running back in team history with 1,050 yards, behind the 1,449 of Curt Warner in 1983, and is a contender for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors (which will be announced next month). He was the 10th-highest graded of any rookie by PFF, which wrote: “Walker was a force to be reckoned with in his rookie NFL season, leading all rookies with nine rushing touchdowns. He proved himself capable of big plays, finishing with more 10-plus-yard runs than any other rookie in the league. He caused serious problems for defenders in the open field, averaging 3.16 yards after contact per carry and forcing 48 missed tackles on the year.”
Right tackle Abraham Lucas (third round, 72nd overall): Lucas, from Washington State, started all but one game, missing the win over the Jets because of a knee injury and playing 978 snaps. He was named to PFF’s All-Rookie Team this week, assessed as allowing only 28 pressures all season and ranking 40th of 81 tackles. Lucas and Cross had above average pass-blocking grades from PFF.
Cornerback Coby Bryant (fourth round, 109th overall): Bryant, out of Cincinnati, emerged as the starting nickel after the first game of the season and played 756 snaps. He tied for third in the NFL in forced fumbles with four (with teammate Darrell Taylor). Via Pro Football Reference, Bryant allowed a passer rating of 116.5 when targeted and three touchdowns. He missed seven tackles in the first nine games but none in the last eight.
Cornerback Tariq Woolen (fifth round, 153rd overall): Woolen, who will be among the top vote-getters for Defensive Rookie of the Years honors (but unlikely to win it with the award likely going to the Jets’ cornerback Sauce Gardner), played 1,134 snaps, second-most of anyone on the team other than Quandre Diggs’ 1,156. The University of Texas-San Antonio product tied for the lead in the NFL in interceptions with three other players with six and was fourth in passes defensed with 16. His six picks set a team record for a rookie. Wrote PFF this week: “While he still needs to clean up some penalties (8) and tackling issues (18.7% missed rate), Woolen looks like a defensive cornerstone.’’
Linebacker Tyreke Smith (fifth round, 158th overall): The Ohio State product was placed on injured reserve before the season with a hip injury and sat out all year.
Receiver Bo Melton (seventh round, 229th overall): Melton, from Rutgers, spent all season on the practice squad until signing with the Packers on Dec. 27. Melton did not play in Green Bay’s last two regular-season games.
Receiver Dareke Young (seventh round, 233rd overall): Young, out of Lenoir-Rhyne, played in 13 games this year, mostly on special teams with a few sparing snaps on offense the last month. Of Young’s 109 snaps, 54 came in the last three games as the Seahawks battled depth issues at receiver. Young caught the first two passes of his career for 24 yards against the Rams on Sunday. He was used often in blocking roles, at times lining up in the backfield nine times. Of his snaps, 72 were on running plays.
The Seahawks had three undrafted rookie free agents who played in games and spent a day on the 53-man roster — LBs Joshua Onujiogu and Vi Jones and safety Joey Blount. Only Onujiogo played on defense with 11 snaps, with Blount and Jones playing on special teams. Blount suffered a knee injury against Kansas City and is on injured reserve, while Jones and Onujiogu have recently been signed to the 53-man roster.