Seahawks 90-Man Roster Primer: L.J. Collier

Following a disappointing start to his NFL career, Collier steps into year three pushed further down the Seahawks' depth chart. Can he break through to be an impactful defender in 2021? Or will his underwhelming journey continue?

With the calendar flipping to July and offseason programs recently wrapping up, NFL training camps will begin around the league in less than a month. 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.

L.J. Collier, Defensive End

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 291 pounds

2020 Stats: 22 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 21 pressures, two pass deflections

After a severely sprained ankle got his rookie year off to a rocky start and hindered him for much of the season, Collier bounced back by appearing in all 16 games for the Seahawks in 2020. Though year two didn't see him live up to his first-round status by any stretch of the imagination, it was a significant improvement for the TCU alum. Aside from putting up 3.0 sacks on 21 pressures while primarily working as a five-tech defensive end, he also came up with one of the best defensive plays of Seattle's season with his goal line stop of New England quarterback Cam Newton in the team's Week 2 victory. But now, despite some solid contributions in a little under half of the team's defensive snaps last year, Collier may see his playing time diminish with the arrival of free agent Kerry Hyder. Unless he forces the Seahawks' hand with vast improvement, another year in a limited role should all but cement him as a first-round miss and a mere rotational piece at the NFL level. 

Best Case Scenario: Now in his third career season, Collier takes a significant step forward while working in rotation with Hyder and on the interior defensive line.

Worst Case Scenario: Collier regresses and Rasheem Green overtakes him for snaps in the "big end" role behind Hyder, leaving him to fend for scraps of playing time and possibly landing him on the trade block for minimal return. 

What to Expect in 2021: This is a big year for Collier as he enters the second half of his rookie contract. Through his first 28 career games, including playoffs, he's inspired very little hope that he can eventually reach his first-round ceiling. That appears to be all but thrown out the window at this point, though he did prove capable of being a fine rotational piece in 2020. If that's all he can be this fall, that's still very useful for the Seahawks, especially with a clear-cut starter in Hyder secured. Like last year, expect Collier to have his moments while providing solid depth along a much-improved defensive line. 

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Roster Primers

Alex McGough | Darvin Kidsy | Greg Eiland | Joshua Moon | Cam Sutton | Walter Palmore | Jared Hocker | Brad Lundblade | Aashari Crosswell | Myles Adams | Jon Rhattigan | Aaron Fuller | Bryan Mills I Jake Curhan | Jarrod Hewitt | Connor Wedington | Nate Evans | Danny Etling | John Ursua | Gavin Heslop | Pier-Oliver Lestage | Tommy Champion | Cody Thompson | Josh Johnson | Saivion Smith | Jordan Miller | Aaron Donkor | Robert Nkemdiche | Alex Collins | Tyler Mabry | Damarious Randall | Cade Johnson | Cedrick Lattimore | Phil Haynes | Geno Smith | Kyle Fuller | Travis Homer | Tyler Ott | Rasheem Green | Ben Burr-Kirven | Penny Hart | Jamarco Jones | Aldon Smith | DeeJay Dallas | Nick Bellore | Stone Forsythe | Colby Parkinson | Al Woods | Cedric Ogbuehi | Alton Robinson | Jordan Simmons | Pierre Desir | Ryan Neal | Tre Flowers | Michael Dickson | Jason Myers | Freddie Swain | Cody Barton | Bryan Mone | Benson Mayowa | Rashaad Penny | Ugo Amadi | Ethan Pocic | Tre Brown | Darrell Taylor | Will Dissly | Ahkello Witherspoon | Kerry Hyder | Marquise Blair | Brandon Shell | D'Wayne Eskridge