Seattle Seahawks Experimenting With Coby Bryant's Best Positional Fit

Coby Bryant had a massively diminished role in his second season and the Seahawks are working in OTAs to find his best fit in Mike Macdonald's defense.

Nov 13, 2022; Munich, Germany; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant (8) celebrates with fans in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during an NFL International Series game at Allianz Arena. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Following a promising rookie season, Seattle Seahawks defensive back Coby Bryant saw a drastic decrease in his usage last season once the team added No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon, an enforcing slot corner who was one of the lone bright spots for an inconsistent defense.

Landing on injured reserve soon after with a toe injury, Bryant played 77.3 percent of his 146 snaps in 2023 in the first two games of the season, while Witherspoon played opposite of Riq Woolen on the outside. Once Witherspoon moved inside most of the time, Bryant’s role diminished — playing just 23% of the team’s total defensive snaps after being on the field for 65% as a rookie in 2022, according to Pro Football Reference.

However, there is hope for the third-year pro. New Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde said the coaching staff continues to actively experiment with different roles for Bryant to try and get him involved in head coach Mike Macdonald’s new scheme that utilizes versatile playmakers.

“We’re just moving him in a couple of positions,” Durde said of Bryant after Seattle’s seventh OTA practice on Monday. “He’s playing safety at the moment and then he moved and got some reps at nickel as well, but we’re just really looking at all those situations and going through it.”

In his college and professional careers, Bryant has insubstantial game experience in either safety position. Bryant has lined up at free safety or in the box on just 5.5 percent of his career snaps, with most of those in the latter position, according to Pro Football Focus. He's been used mostly in the slot in the NFL after being a boundary corner at Cincinnati in college.

But, as Durde explained, the 6-1, 193-pound defensive back has potential at various positions that could at least make him valuable as a rotational player in specific defensive sets, potentially giving him an advantage over some of the players he will be competing against for a roster spot this summer.

Bryant has displayed a nose for the ball, as he forced four fumbles as a rookie in 2022 and added another in extremely limited play as a sophomore. He was also fairly effective as a pass rusher, generating two sacks, two quarterback knockdowns, and four pressures on just 12 pass rush snaps as a rookie, according to Pro Football Reference.

In his first two NFL seasons, Bryant’s struggles have primarily been in coverage, where he has allowed an average passer rating of 108.3 while mostly seeing the field in the slot, where his underwhelming change of direction athletic testing has shown up at times trying to defend NFL receivers.

When final roster cuts are made in late August, Bryant’s versatility and experience — at least in practice — in a wide range of positions will certainly give him an edge. As of now, he is the only player in the Seahawks secondary truly getting reps at both cornerback and safety, which speaks to the versatility he brings to the equation for a defense that values that trait immensely.

“Definitely you can see it, but I think on the back end there’s a bit less room for error,” Durde said of Seattle’s overall defensive versatility. “So, right now … before you can build on the versatility, it’s really understanding your job, understanding the checks, understanding how they align and the detail within that. Once they master that, that’s when you can start the versatility.”

The potential of what Seattle has on the back end won’t be fully apparent until training camp when contact is permitted and defensive backs can contest catches. That will be when Bryant either solidifies his place on the Seahawks roster or falls out of favor with the new coaching staff, and he will be a player who bears close watching once the team reports in late July.