Seahawks Post-Offseason Depth Chart Review: Linebacker

While Seattle will miss No. 54 roaming the middle of the defense, a pair of athletic young linebackers look ready to carry the torch and depth may be better than expected if two players coming off knee injuries make it back to 100 percent health.

Understandably, the Seahawks' decision to trade Russell Wilson to the Broncos in March stands out as the most notable move the franchise made this spring. But they also lost their quarterback on defense when they released future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner, creating a massive void on and off the field.

Luckily, while quarterback remains Seattle's most pressing concern in the short and long-term, the organization appears to be in good hands moving forward without Wagner. Now serving as the defensive play caller with the green dot on his helmet, Jordyn Brooks looks poised to emerge as one of the NFL's premier young 'backers and has already taken a big step forward in the leadership department helping replace his former mentor in the middle.

"He's just stepped to the front, realized the opportunity is here, we need him, and he's the play caller," coach Pete Carroll said following Seattle's mandatory minicamp. "Along with that, it just has traditionally been that role, he senses it, and he's done a marvelous job, not with what he says, but with what he does and how he approaches this work. He's worked every day, giving you everything he has every step of the way. I mean, he has been a beautiful leader in that regard, and we couldn't ask for more.”

Heading into their annual six-week moratorium between organized team activities and training camp, how does the Seahawks linebacker room look? Diving into the depth chart, here's an updated look at the projected starters, a sleeper to watch, a potential wild card to keep an eye on, and a player squarely on the roster bubble.

Projected Starters: Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton

Coming into his own in his sophomore season, Brooks amassed an NFL-high 184 tackles while starting all 17 games at weakside linebacker, toppling Wagner's franchise record and receiving his first All-Pro vote as a result. Now rolling into his third season, the athletic, instinctive defender still has plenty of room to improve, including doing a better job diagnosing screens and getting his hands on the football when putting himself in position to do so in coverage. If he takes a positive step forward in those two aspects of his game and handles the transition to field general seamlessly, he has a chance to promptly emerge as an All-Pro linebacker in his own right.

Next to him, Barton will finally have the chance to play extensive defensive snaps after biding his time on special teams over the past three years. The former safety offers quality coverage skills and played well replacing Wagner in the final two games last season, producing 18 tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit in back-to-back wins over the Lions and Cardinals. If he can carry that play over to a full season, he could be the long-term answer in the post-Wagner era alongside Brooks.

Sleeper: Vi Jones

It won't be an easy task for any of Seattle's incoming undrafted rookies to make the 53-man roster in September. But Jones, whose father Robert starred for the Cowboys in the 90s and brother Zay recently signed a multi-year deal with Jacksonville, comes from a football family and possesses an intriguing blend of size and athleticism as a developmental off-ball linebacker. At his pro day, he measured in at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds while also posting a 36-inch vertical jump and 6.93-second 3-cone drill. While he won't be pushing for a starting job right away and will need to add a bit more muscle to play linebacker on Sundays, his special teams prowess - he blocked six kicks in college - will give him an excellent chance to steal a spot if he impresses in training camp and the preseason.

Wild Card: Jon Rhattigan

One of the team's undrafted success stories a year ago, Rhattigan missed most of training camp but played well upon his return to action, enjoying a strong performance in Seattle's exhibition finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. The former Army standout wound up on the practice squad to open the season, but earned a full-time promotion to the roster early in the year and grew into a valuable special teams contributor, producing 10 tackles and a fumble recovery in 14 games. Unfortunately, his season came to an abrupt end when he tore his ACL against the Rams in Week 15 and he underwent reconstructive knee surgery a few weeks later. Timeline wise, given how late the injury occurred, he likely will open the season on the PUP list. But if he can make a swift recovery, he should once again be a core special teams player and could push Barton down the road for snaps.

On The Bubble: Ben Burr-Kirven

Like Rhattigan, Burr-Kirven blew out his knee last season, with his injury happening during the Seahawks second exhibition game against the Broncos while covering a kickoff. Though he's several months ahead of Rhattigan in his rehab, he didn't participate at all in OTAs or mandatory minicamp and he's expected to undergo a minor cleanup procedure before the start of training camp, putting his status in question. Now in the final year of his contract, the ex-Washington star hasn't had many opportunities to play aside from special teams and with Barton in his way, he's unlikely to see the field on defense again this year. Assuming he's back healthy in August after a long road back, he will have to re-prove himself on special teams with other young linebackers nipping at his heels or his spot could be on tenuous ground.

Seahawks Post-Offseason Depth Chart Reviews

Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Receivers | Tight Ends | Tackles | Guards | Centers

EDGE/Outside Linebackers | Defensive Tackles | Linebackers | Cornerbacks | Safeties