The Seattle Seahawks have scored five touchdowns in their last two victories. Four of those scores belong to rookies. Finding the end zone isn’t the only way to contribute, but those numbers provide a snapshot of the production Seattle is getting from its first-year players through eight weeks of the season.
“You can see rooks all over the place, playing, contributing and doing things,” coach Pete Carroll said after a 24-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Lumen Field that improved Seattle to 5-2. “That is such a boost to us entering the second half of the season.”
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Undrafted rookie Jake Bobo caught an 18-yard touchdown against the Cardinals in Week 7, then scored on a 3-yard jet sweep on the opening possession Sunday against Cleveland. That was Bobo’s third scrimmage touchdown of the year to go with his 10 catches for 135 yards.
“We kind of thought if we hand it to him, he’s going to figure out how to get in there; he did,” Carroll said. “Wasn’t perfect, but it was clean enough to get a score. We continue to work him into everything we’re doing because he’s a good ball player. He needs to be part of it. You’ll see him continue more have opportunities in different kinds of ways.”
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Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the No. 20 pick in the draft, scored his first touchdown against the Cardinals, then had the game-winner versus Cleveland on a 9-yard reception with 38 seconds remaining. Since Seattle’s Week 5 bye, Smith-Njigba has 11 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns (season totals: 23 catches for 209 yards).
THANK YOU, JSN!
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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 29, 2023
Smith-Njigba started slow but has come on in recent weeks and proven to be a reliable No. 3 option behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. He was drafted in part to address Seattle’s issues generating yards after the catch. Through eight games, he’s averaging 6.13 yards after catch per reception, which is eighth among wideouts with at least 15 targets (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise), one spot behind Miami’s Tyreek Hill (6.26).
Smith-Njigba’s skill set has naturally improved Seattle’s screen game. On Sunday he picked up 19 yards on second-and-15 to put the offense in the red zone. Seattle scored a touchdown a few plays later. The game-winning play Sunday was a bubble screen.
Bobo is seventh on the team in targets (13), but he’s doing well to maximize his opportunities. He has turned his touches into a first down or touchdown 57.1 percent of the time, which leads the team and is tied for sixth among skill players with at least 10 touches. On an offense with plenty of mouths to feed, Bobo is delivering when his number is called.
“Jaxon and Bobo have both been playing their butts off this whole season,” Metcalf said. “And I’ll add Zach Charbonnet in there as well. Our rookies on offense have been showing their butts. The O-line been playing their butts off. The defense been playing their butts off. We all just have to continue to play as a team and continually feed off one another.”
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Speaking of Charbonnet, he has also been effective when called upon. The 52nd pick in the draft has carried the ball 28 times for 162 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per carry. Among running backs with at least 25 attempts, Charbonnet ranks top 10 in EPA per rush and third in success rate.
Charbonnet carried the ball only five times on Sunday but went for 53 yards and recorded three explosive runs (12 or more yards). When the Seahawks were trying to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, they trusted him to be on the field. Over the course of three plays on Seattle’s first drive in the fourth quarter, Charbonnet had a 13-yard carry on third-and-1, a 7-yard catch and a 20-yard run. On the game-winning drive, Seattle went with Charbonnet over DeeJay Dallas in its two-minute drill.
Up front, fourth-round rookie right guard Anthony Bradford has played 300 offensive snaps over the last five weeks and surrendered just 10 pressures and no sacks in 178 snaps as a pass blocker.
And that’s just the offense.
Seattle’s best rookie is its top draft choice, Devon Witherspoon, who is playing both left cornerback and nickel depending on the situation. Witherspoon leads all rookie defenders with 15 splash plays, and he’s one of only two first-year players to record a defensive touchdown (Detroit’s Brian Branch is the other). Among cornerbacks to play at least 100 coverage snaps, Witherspoon ranks in the top 25 in passer rating allowed (73.2) and is tied for fifth in passes defensed (eight), according to Next Gen Stats. He’s also tied for fourth among rookies in sacks (two) despite rushing the passer only 12 times.
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Witherspoon, the No. 5 pick, has already won an NFC Defensive Player of the Week award, and he’s on track to be a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year. His playmaking and versatility have been key for the Seahawks. They have a top-five scoring defense with Witherspoon in the lineup (18 points per game).
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Seattle’s 2022 draft class set the bar high. That class produced five starters and a rotational piece in edge rusher Boye Mafe. The 2023 class is working to meet that standard. It has a budding star in Witherspoon, three promising offensive skill players and another reliable starter on the offensive line. Not to mention guys like center Olu Oluwatimi and edge rusher Derick Hall.
“It’s a beautiful topic for us to be on because it shows the continuity of how we work and how we choose the players on the team and all John (Schneider’s) side of the world that he owns,” Carroll said. “To have the obvious success last year, come back and top it off again and figure it out again and here we’re going again — I mean, what’s going to happen next time, you know? (That’s) what’s really exciting.”
The Seahawks had four picks in the first two rounds of the 2023 draft, so some of this production is to be expected. However, it’s still notable that the team sitting atop the NFC West is benefiting from yet another strong rookie haul, featuring an undrafted gem in Bobo. One of the reasons general manager John Schneider and Carroll get along so well is how much they enjoy putting young players on the field. And the young guys playing right now are contributing to a team with its sights set on being a contender.
“I like it because it gives me flashbacks of old Seahawks teams,” second-year cornerback Riq Woolen said. “They had a class with (Russell Wilson) and then they had another class around that time, and they went on to make a legacy for themselves. I feel like we can reach that level or (go) beyond that level. Just continue to work, continue to play as a team, continue to play off each other and get closer as a family.
“Having that extra class coming in here, it shows that the culture throughout building, it works. Whatever the coaches are teaching us, we just buy into it and do our thing.”
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(Top photo of Jake Bobo: Steven Bisig / USA Today)
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