Seahawks 90-Man Roster Primer: Aashari Crosswell

Two years ago, Crosswell looked like a budding NFL prospect roaming Arizona State's secondary in the Pac-12. After opting out of the 2020 season, can the versatile safety rediscover his game and become the latest undrafted gem unearthed by Seattle?

With the calendar flipping to June and offseason programs in full swing across the country, NFL training camps will begin around the league in less than two months. To celebrate the new incoming season, we will be breaking down the Seahawks' 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2021 campaign.

Aashari Crosswell, Safety

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 208 pounds

2020 Stats: N/A (Sat out season due to COVID-19)

One of the top 10 safety recruits in the country, Crosswell wasted minimal time becoming a key contributor for coach Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils as he saw snaps both as a deep safety and box safety. As a true freshman, he earned Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 honors and picked off four passes for 127 yards, the seventh-highest total in the nation and most among first-year players. He followed up with another strong season in 2019, racking up 50 tackles, a pair of interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 10 passes defensed. Impressively, he wasn't credited with a single missed tackle against the run either. But after initially planning to play last season, following a suspension for a minor team infraction, he chose to opt out for the remainder of the 2020 season in December with no recorded statistics and declared for the NFL draft.

Best Case Scenario: Like other defensive backs towards the back end of the roster, Crosswell will need to impress with his savvy on special teams. He was versatile at Arizona State, which bodes well for his chances, as coach Pete Carroll has an eye for versatility. There are some things in his corner to aid him in grabbing one of the last roster spots as a special teams role player. Anything other than that is a pipe dream.

Worst Case Scenario: A host of other defensive backs show more willingness and skill to grind it out on special teams and Crosswell gets lost in the shuffle, leading to an early exit in training camp and no practice squad spot.

What to Expect in 2021: While he's a sound tackler with quality ball skills, the cards are stacked against Crosswell in terms of sheer numbers for him to make the Seahawks 53-man roster. At least six or seven other defensive backs will scrap for a spot or two on the fringe of the roster to play special teams and provide emergency depth at defensive back and there's no path to the field as a safety with Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Marquise Blair, and Ryan Neal atop the depth chart. Crosswell will have his say and if he can rediscover his pre-2020 form, he may have a fighting chance to steal a spot, but it might be too much of an uphill battle for him to do much more than secure a practice squad gig.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Roster Primers

Alex McGough | Darvin Kidsy | Greg Eiland | LaDarius Wiley | Joshua Moon | Nick Guggemos | Cam Sutton | Walter Palmore | Jared Hocker | Brad Lundblade