Seahawks Have 'Real Competition' Developing at NT, Says Pete Carroll

Undergoing a youth movement in the middle of the trenches on defense, the Seattle Seahawks like where things stand with three incoming rookies set to engage in a position battle for snaps at nose tackle.

RENTON, Wash. - For the past several weeks, in the aftermath of a full-scale reboot orchestrated in the trenches this offseason, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has heard the rumblings about the team's lack of experience and depth along the defensive line.

For the record, Carroll has echoed those concerns throughout the spring, understanding Seattle had a huge hole left unfilled at nose tackle after releasing veterans Al Woods and Shelby Harris as cap casualties in March. Further exacerbating the issue, free agent Poona Ford signed a one-year deal with Buffalo after last month's NFL draft, creating more questions for a franchise that ranked a dreadful 30th defending the run last season.

But while Carroll and his staff have only seen their latest crop of rookies for one minicamp practice thus far, he revealed reasons for optimism at minicamp on Friday despite all of those high profile departures thanks to the presence of fourth-round pick Cameron Young and two accomplished undrafted signings in Robert Cooper and Jonah Tavai.

"The position already looks way better than it did a week ago," Carroll told reporters after the conclusion of Seattle's first rookie minicamp session. "We were concerned too. We wanted to make sure we had guys in here to battle."

Rarely one to see the glass half empty, Carroll's positivity shouldn't come as a surprise. That's how he has always been wired and it's part of the reason why players love to suit up for him.

But after the Seahawks received some criticism for not addressing the defensive line in the first two days of the draft last month, Carroll genuinely seems pleased with the young nucleus the team has assembled to compete for snaps once held by Woods, Ford, and Harris.

Headlining the group, Young looks the part of a viable NFL nose tackle and showed up for camp nearly 20 pounds heavier than when he weighed in at 304 pounds at the combine in February. On Friday, he could be seen throwing his violent hands knocking back blocking sleds and displayed better lateral movement than expected moving through pass rushing drills, leaving a positive first impression.

Fourth-round pick Cameron Young, who Pete Carroll says weighs 320-something, getting some hand work in during individual drills. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/CQvdRwhbV3

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) May 12, 2023

Though the team will have to wait and see how he holds up in game action, early indications suggest Young will be able to play significant snaps out of the gate for Seattle and with Bryan Mone likely to miss part of the season recovering from a torn ACL, the starting job at the position may be his to lose.

"He looked exactly like what we were hoping to see. We wanted to see a big guy that could come in and play nose tackle for us and there's no question," Carroll said. "You see him on film and all that, but you still got to get around him. He's a big man and real bright about the position, understands it and he's gonna do fine."

After investing an early day three pick to acquire him, Seattle will be banking on Young being able to get the job done as an anchor in the middle from day one. However, Carroll isn't going to just hand him a starting job by default, making the additions of Cooper and Tavai all the more important to push him over the next few months.

Formerly a starter at Florida State, the 335-pound Cooper checks off the boxes as a powerful, space-plugging traditional nose tackle best suited to play on early downs. Best known for his ability to defend the run, he had two different seasons for the Seminoles with at least 4.5 tackles for loss, finding ways to be disruptive in the backfield.

While his production has been hit-and-miss at the college level, Cooper also flashed in the past as an interior rusher, including posting 26 quarterback pressures in 2021 per Pro Football Focus, hinting he could be a more well-rounded prospect than anticipated when healthy.

As for Tavai, few defenders compiled better overall numbers at the FCS level over the past two seasons than he did at San Diego State. A frequent harasser for quarterbacks, he finished second in the country with 63 pressures and finished with 10.5 sacks in 2022, following up an impressive junior year with 57 pressures and 8.5 sacks. In addition, he racked up 28 tackles for loss, equally dominating against the run.

Talking about Tavai specifically, Carroll said they need to mesh his smaller size, skill set with position. But he lauded him for his instincts and nose for the football. pic.twitter.com/bi3pRSgjJK

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) May 12, 2023

Still, Tavai didn't hear his name called in the NFL draft due to unideal measurables and poor athletic testing. Undersized at 5-10, 283 pounds with 29-inch arms and underwhelming 5.06 40-yard dash speed, teams clearly questioned if his college production could translate against superior competition after feasting on the Mountain West conference.

Referencing Tavai's unusual short, stocky build for the position, Carroll acknowledged the Seahawks would have to "appreciate his style" for him to succeed in the league. But his football IQ and penchant for disruption should give him a chance to hold his own in the competition if they can find ways to emphasize his strengths and mitigate his obvious limitations in their scheme.

"Tavai's got a big background in playmaking. He's done so much and he's made so many plays in the backfield and is so hard to deal with," Carroll said. "He's not a big guy. He's just a real instinctive football player with great leverage and all of that because of his size."

As is the case with any position, the Seahawks are taking a significant gamble by going all-in on a youth movement to replace respected veteran contributors such as Woods and Ford. Growing pains will be part of the process moving forward, especially without a healthy veteran to help show them the ropes on the practice field.

However, the trio of Young, Cooper, and Tavai provides plenty of intrigue bringing different skill sets and playing styles to the equation for Seattle, inspiring more confidence than expected. And, as Carroll made sure to point out in his closing statement on Friday, there's still ample time to pursue additional reinforcements before the real bullets start flying in September to fortify the group if it becomes necessary to do so down the line.

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