Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Takeaways: Defense Dominates First Padded Practice

Led by an active defensive line and a secondary playing sticky coverage, the Seahawks defense nearly pitched a shut out in Monday's opening padded practice.

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams (99) and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (10) listen during a training camp drill. / Corbin Smith/Seahawks On SI

RENTON, Wash. - After several months of being at a disadvantage in non-contact practices, Rayshawn Jenkins and the Seattle Seahawks defense emphatically struck back with the pads coming out for the first time in Monday's fifth training camp session.

Though it wasn't quite real football with defenders not tackling ball carriers to the ground - at least most of the time - coach Mike Macdonald got to witness his defense bring their hard hats and deliver in the physicality department, making their presence known at all three levels from the first 11-on-11 snap throughout practice. Their dominance kept Geno Smith and the first-team offense out of the end zone all day long and if not for a spectacular touchdown catch by Jake Bobo late in practice, they would have pitched a shut out.

"It felt great. Any good defense that I've been around, once those pads come on, that's when you know the real football starts," Jenkins said after practice. "It was expected that we came out here and set the tone. I know the offense will come out firing tomorrow, so we'll just have to step it up a little more."

Several defensive players turned in standout performances on Monday, including linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who recorded a would-be sack on Smith on the first play from scrimmage and later crashed into the backfield after rocketing past pulling guard Anthony Bradford for a three-yard tackle for loss on Ken Walker III. Julian Love also continued his stellar camp, intercepting Smith on a pass intended for DK Metcalf over the middle, his second pick in five practices so far.

Most impressively, Seattle's defense held serve in multiple red zone sessions against Smith and the first-team offense, playing sticky coverage on the back end and creating pressure to flush the quarterback out of the pocket in multiple occasions as they held them out of the end zone.

Here are four additional takeaways from a competitive, hard-hitting fifth practice at the VMAC:

1. Now healthy, Tyrel Dodson looks the part of a menacing, disruptive MIKE linebacker in Macdonald's defense.

Entering camp, Seattle had major questions at linebacker with Dodson and Jerome Baker both sitting out the entirety of the offseason program recovering from injuries. But in his first audition with pads on, Dodson stood out in particular, as No. 0 could be seen hovering around the line of scrimmage and gobbling up ball carriers on the perimeter as well.

On the Seahawks second series during team drills, Dodson shot out of a cannon through the A-gap to meet Walker a yard in the backfield, stone-walling him with a powerful bear hug to draw a quick whistle. A few plays later, he sprinted from the opposite side of the formation to meet Zach Charbonnet outside on a sweep and wrapped him up for a minimal gain.

Towards the tail end of practice, Dodson continued to come through with impact plays as a run defender and showed off excellent athleticism in pursuit. Playing downhill and quickly reading counter trey, he ambushed Charbonnet in the backfield and corralled him for a two-yard loss, only to follow up with another stop on the outside on a running back swing route a few plays later.

It's still early, but Dodson's play so far in camp has been quite encouraging, and his eagerness to mix it up on the first day of pads suggests he will be ready to rise to the challenge as the successor to Bobby Wagner. Meanwhile, his new running mate Baker looks healthy as well and made a couple of solid stops against the run with both players settling into a new scheme nicely.

2. Continuing to improve as camp progresses, Sam Howell had his best day of camp in pads.

Oddly enough, some quarterbacks prefer throwing with shoulder pads on rather than without them and Howell may very well fit into that category. After struggling with accuracy for most of the first four practices in non-padded sessions, he looked far more comfortable from the pocket on Monday, delivering catchable balls to all three levels and playing with better command of Ryan Grubb's offense.

With highlights on offense few and far between early in the scrimmage period, Howell stood out as a bright spot out of the gate. Quickly identifying one-on-one coverage on the outside, he took a one-step drop and lofted a perfect throw down the sideline to Cody White, feathering the pass over the top of cornerback Lance Boykin for a 30-yard connection.

Jul 27, 2024; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell during training camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Demonstrating better timing within the confines of the offense, Howell hooked up with receiver Laviska Shenault on a 15-yard comeback route on the next series to move the chains, unloading the football before the wideout exited his break and hitting him right on the numbers. To cap off a solid day, while Bobo deserves mad props for managing to catch the ball while diving with full extension, he threw the only touchdown of the practice to beat tight coverage from Boykin.

There isn't a competition between Smith and Howell, but at least the Seahawks are starting to see the quarterback they thought they traded for in March after a sluggish start. With padded practices back on the menu, the coaching staff should have a better chance to evaluate him in coming weeks leading up to the preseason.

3. The return of pads welcomed a highly competitive 1-on-1 drill in the trenches with some surprising results.

No offense to the 7-on-7 drills taking place on the opposite side of the 50-yard line, but nothing encapsulates the excitement of the first padded practice better than 1-on-1 blocking drills featuring the offensive and defensive line. With their first chance to pop teammates and play real football in the trenches, the two groups lived up to the hype with an exciting back-and-forth session.

In one of the headline matchups, left tackle Charles Cross set a heavy anchor to thwart a bull rush attempt by Nwosu on their first rep, then followed up by washing the rusher downfield on a speed rush, winning both snaps. On defense, Leonard Williams got the most of Laken Tomlinson in a battle between two seasoned veterans, including executing a filthy club/swim move combo off an initial bull rush to power past the blocker and quickly penetrate the pocket.

Though Byron Murphy II got the better of guard Anthony Bradford a few times during scrimmage play, including beating him with a rip move for a tackle for loss on Charbonnet, the second-year blocker took the win during 1-on-1s. With rain coming down and a wet field impacting footwork, he was able to ride the rookie defensive tackle to the ground on an attempted dip move, pinning him to the turf for a decisive win. On the next snap, he locked the rookie down on a bull rush, preventing the defender from collapsing the pocket.

Several of Seattle's young tackles performed well during the drill as well, including an impressive rep by sixth-round pick Mike Jerrell against starting linebacker Boye Mafe. Mafe attempted to beat him with a quick swim move, but the rookie promptly shut down the counter, sliding his feet and pushing the defender back towards the line of scrimmage. McClendon Curtis also had a pair of excellent reps against Darrell Taylor, neutralizing speed rushes for a pair of wins.

4. Tempers flare - albeit briefly - on a few occasions in the first padded session.

It's not uncommon for the arrival of pads and real football to come with a side of animosity, but usually it takes a little time for things to simmer before fights break out on the practice field. However, it didn't take very long for tensions to lead to a pair of scuffles on Monday.

Early in Seattle's first scrimmage period, with Smith under pressure from Nwosu, the quarterback tried to thread the needle to Metcalf over the middle. Cornerback Riq Woolen had tight coverage and extended his right arm in front of the receiver for a deflection, which didn't seem like a big deal at the time. But only a few plays later, after Woolen was involved wrapping up Walker on a run play, Metcalf got into his face and the two had to be separated by teammates and coaches.

Following the conclusion of 7-on-7 and 1-on-1 drills, at the tail end of a run play where George Holani wound up on the turf, rookie Christian Haynes also got locked up on undrafted rookie Nathan Pickering and they had to be split up as well. With padded practices just getting started, and joint practices in Tennessee looming, expect plenty more on field clashes in coming days.