Seahawks GM John Schneider Previews Rayshawn Jenkins' Role

Free agent pickup Rayshawn Jenkins is leading the way for the Seattle Seahawks' new-look safety room.

The Seattle Seahawks' defense will look very different this coming season, and considering the unit's struggles in 2023, perhaps that is for the best.

Nowhere will that difference be more apparent than on the back end, particularly at safety. As Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs depart, in comes Rayshawn Jenkins to lead the new-look safety unit.

Jenkins may not have the accolades of the players he's replacing, but he's still a very strong player in his own right. The 30-year-old was a 2017 fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers, although he's more well-known for his more-recent run with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over his three years in Jacksonville, Jenkins became an impact player and a leader on the Jaguars' defense.

It goes without saying, but Seahawks general manager John Schneider is extremely excited to add Jenkins to see what Jenkins can bring to his defense.

“He was a cap cut down in Jacksonville and played a lot of one-high (safety) this year for them and then played down in the box as well," Schneider said, per Seattle Sports. "He’s been known more as like a strong safety, but really aggressive.

“We’ll play probably more two-high (safety) this year, or split safeties, and he has ability to do both,” Schneider said of Jenkins. “Extremely disruptive player. We loved him coming out of college. He was college teammates with (Seahawks defensive back) Artie Burns.”

As mentioned previously, one of Jenkins' best traits is his ability to lead a defense. If a linebacker went down in Jacksonville, Jenkins would often be the one to relay play calls to the rest of the defense.

As Jenkins transitions to a new team, Schneider is hopeful he can bring that same quality to Seattle.

“He would have been able to call it for them. Smart football player,” Schneider said.

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The Seahawks had some fierce competition for Jenkins, most-notably from the division-rival San Francisco 49ers, but it was well worth fending off those competitors to land a player of his caliber.