RENTON — There were plenty of memes circling social media Thursday showing Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider beaming with delight. The implication was the two were celebrating trading Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson this past offseason, as the signal caller has flailed through his first five games in Denver.
And though it’s likely true that Carroll and Schneider have been content with their decision — particularly since they own the 2-3 Broncos’ 2023 first-round draft pick — there are other reasons for the pair to be all smiles lately. After all, it looks as though they have hit pay dirt with their rookie class — most notably with tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas and cornerback Tariq Woolen.
Before current Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith started playing like an MVP candidate, this season was supposed to be about the development of Seattle’s younger players. Comparisons to 2011 abounded, a down year record-wise in the Carroll era, but one in which integral pieces to the Super Bowl years found their NFL footing.
This year, we’re again seeing first-year starters who are potential stars — beginning with the big guys up front.
It has become common knowledge around town that when the left tackle Cross and the right tackle Lucas took the field vs. the Broncos in Week 1, they became just the third NFL rookie duo to start at tackle for the same team in the past 50 years. That might explain some of the running-game struggles Seattle endured through the first two contests, but since then, Cross and Lucas have played as big as they stand.
We all know how often Wilson got hit when he was in Seattle — he took more sacks than any other quarterback in the league throughout his 10 years here. But Smith? He has been sacked just six times all season, which ranks 24th in the league.
Former Seahawk Richard Sherman, who rarely passes on an opportunity to diss his old QB, noted on Amazon Prime Thursday night that Smith has thrived despite playing behind two rookie tackles. But lately, Smith and running back Rashaad Penny have shined because of those rookie tackles. Lucas has been noticeably effective — having allowed no sacks and just three QB hits on the season while rounding up praise as the best top rookie tackle in the league.
“As an Air Raid tackle, Lucas wasn’t supposed to be NFL-ready. Through four weeks, though, he’s the highest-graded tackle in the rookie class,” said analytics site Pro Football Focus of the third-rounder out of Washington State. “Lucas is already a competent starting right tackle in the league who will only get better.”
Penny was asked about Lucas and Cross and gave a more succinct response:
“They are beasts. It’s like music to my ears when I have Abe and Cross,” said Penny, adding that he’s never heard Lucas talk to him in the locker room, but that he’s the most vocal Seahawk on game days. “The good thing about them is that they want to play even better than how (they played) these last previous weeks.”
No doubt Penny has benefitted from the run blocking lately. He had 151 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in last Sunday’s win over the Lions. In fact, he clocked the second-fastest Week 4 speed among all NFL players in a run vs. Detroit that week.
No. 1? That would be Woolen, the rookie out of USTA.
Woolen drew many comparisons to the aforementioned Sherman in the preseason. Like Sherman, he was a fifth-round pick who stood out in training camp. Unlike Sherman, he already has two interceptions through his first four games. His pick-six in the second half vs. Detroit is when he hit 21.58 mph, the highest speed in the NFL last week. And he doesn’t sound done.
“There’s way more speed in me, I just feel like you don’t really have to use it all of the time when you are on the field,” said Woolen, a converted wide receiver whose 4.26-second 40-yard dash was the second fastest at the combine last spring.
Did you see yourself doing all this after you were taken in the fifth round?“
“It was a lot of different expectations that I had coming into the league, it completely flipped,” Woolen said. “The starting thing, I thought I had a chance to play, but I didn’t know I was going to start. Things just happened to fall that way.”
It’s falling that way for a lot of Seahawks rookies — including running back Kenneth Walker III, cornerback Coby Bryant and defensive lineman Boye Mafe. A tweet posted earlier in the week showed that the Seahawks 1035 rookie snaps were the most in the NFL, 41 more than the Texans.
At 2-2, the Seahawks are hardly drumming up Super Bowl hopes among their fans right now. There are still myriad holes — especially on defense — and a “rebuild” still may be the most appropriate way to describe the season.
But they needed the rookies to step up, and they have so far. No one would blame Carroll and Schneider for finding joy in what they traded — but perhaps there’s more to be found in what they have created.