Seahawks' Projected Winners of Key Position Battles

The Seattle Seahawks have few questions at the top end of their roster, but there are plenty of positions that need to be decided upon outside of quarterback, safety and wide receiver.

The players around Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf and Jamal Adams will be vital to the team's success in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL.

One of the biggest preseason concerns is who will start around Adams in the secondary. Seattle has a handful of candidates, but no decisions have been made yet.

At tight end, there are two clear contenders to land the bulk of the offensive snaps. Gerald Everett and Will Dissly might combine in the Seattle offense, or one could take full advantage of their time during the next few weeks.

Seattle is also waiting on Duane Brown to come back from his contract holdout. He might be back for the regular-season opener, but the Seahawks need a contingency plan in place in case the holdout lingers.

The Seahawks have been set in one part of the secondary since the Jamal Adams trade last season, but there is a lot more instability at cornerback.

D.J. Reed, Ahkello Witherspoon, Tre Flowers and Damarious Randall are the top candidates to start on the outside. Adams and Quandre Diggs will feature on the interior of the secondary.

Reed has been out of training camp with an injury, but he will likely be back next week, per ESPN.com's Brady Henderson.

Flowers received the most action during the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. He had three solo tackles. Witherspoon had a single solo takedown.

All of the players are fairly new to the Seahawks defense, and they will be tasked with filling the void left open by Shaquill Griffin's free-agent departure to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Reed and Witherspoon carry the most starting experience from their respective tenures with the San Francisco 49ers. If both are healthy, they should get the nods to start the season.

Seattle does not need their corners to be all-world players, but they need to be consistent enough to not be liabilities that force Adams and Diggs to cover too much ground in the defensive backfield.

Prediction: D.J. Reed and Ahkello Witherspoon

Seattle has another peculiar positional battle developing at tight end.

Gerald Everett was acquired in free agency, but he ended up splitting time with Tyler Higbee during his final season with the Los Angeles Rams.

The 27-year-old has never had more than 450 receiving yards in a single season, and he caught one touchdown pass in 2020. That isn't exactly a promising sign for someone who could be the team's starting tight end.

Will Dissly did not have eye-popping numbers last season either. He brought in 24 receptions for 251 yards and two scores in his first full season of games for the Seahawks.

Everett and Dissly may split time at tight end, but one could emerge as the top target as the regular season gets underway.

Seattle does not need an exorbitant amount of yards and catches from its tight ends due to the presence of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, but it needs a little more consistency than Everett and Dissly have produced in previous seasons.

Everett should earn the edge because he was brought in to be Jacob Hollister's replacement, but do not be surprised if Dissly eats into some of his touchdowns if he produces a high catch percentage in September.

Prediction: Gerald Everett

Seattle's offensive line situation is complicated.

It's a less than ideal situation to be in with the regular season rapidly approaching.

Duane Brown is not practicing because he wants a new contract, and Cedric Ogbuehi has been dealing with an injury for most of camp.

This has allowed rookie Stone Forsythe to receive first-team reps and likely improve his stock in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Seattle could solve this problem by negotiating a new deal with Brown. That situation could be made easier for the front office since the Jamal Adams contract is now completed.

Until Brown is on the field and practicing, Seattle has to come up with a solution just in case that drags on.

At the moment, Forsythe seems like the backup answer, especially if he receives more first-team reps before the first week of the regular season.

Prediction: Duane Brown if a contract solution is reached. If not, Stone Forsythe.