The Seahawks put a whooping on the Chargers last night in their first preseason game of the year. While it won't help them in the NFC West standings, the victory did inspire a lot of confidence in head coach Mike Macdonald and his new defensive scheme. There were a few standouts individually but overall the unit functioned cohesively and looked far sharper than what we'd come to expect from Pete Carroll's defenses, at least early in the season.
Seattle also got a few flashes on the other side of the ball from their backups, even if overall they didn't do much. Here are three new additions to the team that raised their stock with a strong performance against the Chargers.
WR/KR Laviska Shenault
The wide receiver room looks more loaded than ever, as both Dareke Young and Shenault looked good in admittedly small sample sizes. Shenault managed 31 yards on his two catches, including some nice YAC on one. He was also potent on special teams, totaling 44 yards on his one kickoff return.
Here was Laviska Shenault Jr.’s 44-yard kickoff return, which gives you a good idea of how different that play will look under the new rules. Seattle also allowed a 43-yard return. pic.twitter.com/MuKpGn7CIx
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) August 11, 2024
LB Tyrice Knight
Picking Knight in the fourth round came as a surprise from the Seahawks, and some critics pointed to tackling issues at UTEP throughout the offseason as being a point of concern. Knight seemed just fine in his NFL debut, though. He made four stops altogether, which was the most for any of the defensive starters.
#Seahawks Tyrice Knight with a nice open tackle here. Love to see it from the rookie.
— HawkMania (@hawkmania4) August 10, 2024
[🎥: @new_era72 /X and CPS Sports] pic.twitter.com/vgjxKYEEgB
DL Byron Murphy II
If you were only loooking at the box score, you might not think much of Murphy's first game for Seattle. Murphy only posted one tackle, but that misses the context of how disruptive he was. He very nearly had a sack and wound up getting double and even triple-teamed by the Chargers up front. The one TFL he posted was impressive as hell, anyway.
Byron Murphy has been walking everyone so far even when double teamed pic.twitter.com/Ez5l95gqvA
— ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) August 11, 2024
We're pleased enough to think Murphy doesn't need to play another snap in the preseason. He's too valuable to risk injury and they should keep him fresh, healthy and ready to destroy come Week 1.
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