Seattle Seahawks Rookie LB Tyrice Knight 'Needs to Keep Chasing it' After Debut

Despite an encouraging first outing for Seahawks fourth-round rookie Tyrice Knight, head coach Mike Macdonald said he still has plenty of room to grow.

Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight walks back to the huddle after a drill during the team's mandatory minicamp at the VMAC. / Corbin Smith/All Seahawks

With Jerome Baker sidelined due to injury, Seattle Seahawks fourth-round rookie Tyrice Knight got the start at middle linebacker alongside Tyrel Dodson in the team’s 16-3 preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.

Knight remained in the game longer than Seattle’s actual first-team defenders, playing 30 total defensive snaps in the game, per Pro Football Focus. Most starters were pulled after two drives — both three-and-outs by the Chargers offense.

In his debut, Knight finished second on the team in tackles with four on a near down-the-middle split between run defense and coverage snaps. He also allowed a four-yard reception on his only target in coverage.

Knight was Seattle’s highest-graded defensive player with an 89.9 grade, including an 84.7 coverage grade. The overall grade tied Knight for the ninth highest among all NFL linebackers in Week 1.

“He’s a rookie. He’s doing the things, he’s making the plays that he needs to make right now to compete, but he needs to keep chasing it,” head coach Mike Macdonald said of Knight’s performance post-practice on Monday. “There needs to be a sense of urgency there on his mentality, and he’s doing that. I told him it’s going to take him three years. You haven’t made it yet, buddy. You’ve played one preseason game; you’ve got a ways to go. He’ll get there. We’re excited about him, but he’s got some room to grow."

Macdonald’s and PFF's assessments of Knight's first game action are a perfect example of why in-house grading can be vastly different from an outside source. Linebacker grades are also especially unreliable considering the complexity of their assignments and roles.

External graders could have thought Knight executed a play perfectly when Macdonald wanted him to do something else within the fabric of the scheme. Players can go off of their assignments and still make plays, resulting in a positive grade even if it was off script. That’s just one possibility as to where there is misalignment.

To be clear, it doesn’t seem like Macdonald is saying Knight played poorly. But if Knight posted anywhere near a top-10 performance in the NFL in Macdonald’s eyes, the reaction probably would have been different.

In the past, Macdonald has stated he was high on Knight in the draft because the two-year starter out of UTEP was quick reading his keys and diagnosing plays. Knight showed some of that in his first preseason appearance — especially in run defense — but obviously still has much to improve on.

The “it’s going to take him three years” portion of Macdonald’s comments is likely more centered on how long it’s going to take for Knight to realize his potential as an NFL linebacker, rather than suggesting he won’t be ready to play at all in the regular season until then.

Knight has plenty of time to develop. Baker and Dodson were brought in to start for Seattle this season to ensure a rookie wasn’t thrust into a starting role before they were ready. Macdonald, who has had great success developing NFL linebackers in the past, will know when Knight is ready.