Seahawks 90-Man Roster Rundown: Matt Gotel

After a successful career at Division II West Florida, Gotel is aiming to make the uncommon jump up three levels of competition to make the opening day roster.

With the calendar flipping to June and offseason programs wrapping up across the country, NFL training camps will begin around the NFL in less than two months time. To celebrate the new incoming season, the All Seahawks staff 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 2022 campaign.

Matt Gotel, Defensive Tackle

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 341 pounds

2021 Stats*: 26 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks

*College stats at West Florida

Having started his career in junior college, Gotel received a scholarship from the Argonauts of West Florida before the 2019 season. That year was Gotel's best, helping the team win a Division II national title. He missed the 2020 season due to it being cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but came back with a vengeance, nearly duplicating his 2019 stat line. A true force in the middle with a stout, powerful frame, the Tacoma native chose to play for his hometown team as an undrafted rookie, accepting a paltry $5,000 over teams like San Francisco and Pittsburgh.

Best Case Scenario: Making an impact as a 3-4 nose tackle isn't easy but blowing up a play with penetration is the easiest way to do just that. Maximizing those opportunities will be key to earning a spot on the practice squad, as the Fangio-style defense is reliant on a nose tackle, and if Gotel can do that regularly, he could earn himself a practice squad spot as a developmental player.

Worst Case Scenario: With Poona Ford and Bryan Mone in front of him on the depth chart, opportunities will be very limited for Gotel. With his position being situational as it is, making an impact proves to be difficult in the preseason and he doesn't do enough to warrant a practice squad spot.

What To Expect In 2022: A quality nose tackle is becoming more necessary in today's NFL and with a solid preseason, Gotel can open the eyes across the league. While he is unlikely to earn a spot with the Seahawks considering the depth they have at the position, there are over a dozen teams who could use a promising developmental two-gapping lineman. With practice squads having increased to 16 players, teams might be more willing to take a flier on a Division II player who flashed in training camp and preseason as well, so it's not out of the question he could be with Seattle or another team in that capacity during the 2022 season.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Roster Profiles

Kevin Kassis | Cade Brewer | Liam Ryan | Deontez Alexander | Elijah Jones | Josh Turner | Scott Nelson | Joshua Onujiogu | Jarrod Hewitt | Darwin Thompson