By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times
RENTON — Summer is almost here for the Seattle Seahawks.
With mandatory minicamp over, all that remains is a passing-game camp devoted mostly to young players next week, and the Seahawks head into a roughly six-week break, not due back until training camp in late July.
So what did we see at minicamp last week? Glad you asked.
Here are six thoughts:
1. About those quarterbacks
Who really is ahead in the competition between Geno Smith and Drew Lock to replace Russell Wilson at quarterback?
It’s worth remembering that there are strict limits on what teams can do in the offseason — no full pads and no real contact and as such accurate assessments are difficult.
What’s going to determine the battle is who makes the best decisions once pads go on and the speed ramps up to: 1. make plays; and 2. limit turnovers.
The latter may be the biggest question for Lock, who tied with Carson Wentz for the most interceptions in the NFL in 2020 with 15. Geno Smith threw 21 as a rookie in 2013 against just 12 TDs, but has a 22-to-16 TD-to-INT ratio since.
OK, so not Russell Wilson-esque. But for Pete “It’s All About The Ball” Carroll, that stat figures to loom largest of all.
“We just need to accumulate all the information and see what happens,” Carroll said Thursday.
For now, there isn’t near enough info to know much of anything.
2. Two battles got more intriguing
Right tackle and cornerback.
First-round pick Charles Cross looks to have a solid hold on left tackle, set to join guards Damien Lewis and Gabe Jackson and center Austin Blythe on the starting offensive line (assuming Jackson’s recovery from knee surgery isn’t a lingering issue; he sat out all of OTAs and minicamp).
Right tackle, which began the offseason as a two-man battle between third-round pick Abraham Lucas and second-year player Jake Curhan, became a three-man race when 2020 sixth-round pick Stone Forsythe, who had been playing almost solely on the left side, was thrown in the mix.
“Stone has really improved with time,” Carroll said. “You can’t tell (who is ahead) right now, those guys all did a nice job. They’re a little bit different, but Stone is really, he’s become better. He’s physically better than he was as he came here. He’s stronger, he’s more flexible, and he can play both sides, but yeah, he’s in it.”
As for cornerback, Artie Burns and Sidney Jones ran consistently with the starters on the right and left side with Justin Coleman at nickel. Rookie Coby Bryant made a strong showing on the left side, as well. And 2020 fourth-round pick Tre Brown has been presumed a possible starter once he recovers from a knee injury.
The absence of Brown helped open the door for Burns, a 2016 first-round pick of the Steelers, and Carroll seemed somewhat surprised by how well he’s played so far.
“I was fired up about Artie,” Carroll said Thursday of Burns, signed as a free agent in March after spending last year with the Bears. “I didn’t realize he would look that good that early, so he’s taking to our stuff.”
3. Reminds you of who now?
Carroll lavished praise on the nine-man rookie draft class, and as of now, there’s nothing ruling out all nine making the 53-man roster and contribute in some way in 2022.
But one quote from Carroll on Thursday caught our eye about second-round pick Boye Mafe, a 6-4, 261-pound edge rusher from Minnesota.
“He’s the closest looking fit to Cliff Avril that we’ve seen,” Carroll said. “The explosion and the flexibility … and Cliff had a great career for us and in the league. If he can get anywhere near that, it would be a great plus for us. It looks like he’s got the chance to be that kind of a player. We’ll see how that goes.”
4. That makes sense now
The most ominous — and disheartening — news of minicamp is Carroll confirming that the career of running back Chris Carson is in doubt.
Carson had surgery in December to fix “a disc issue that needs to be fused.” The team hoped Carson would be cleared to take part in OTAs and minicamp, but he wasn’t and Carroll said Thursday, “I can’t tell you anything for certain now at this point.”
Observers of the team understood that drafting Ken Walker III with the 41st overall pick in April was, in part, because of uncertainty over Carson. But the pick seemed to catch some national analysts, who questioned if the Seahawks really had a need at tailback after re-signing Rashaad Penny.
Carroll’s comments on Carson further reinforced why the team selected Walker, a workhouse a year ago at Michigan State where his 22 attempts per game ranked fourth in the nation while his average of 6.2 yards per carry ranked fifth, whose role on the team could be significant this year.
5. One position stood out
Tight end. The Seahawks had high hopes for Noah Fant when they acquired him as part of the Russell Wilson trade considering he already has 170 catches in three NFL seasons, a number not too far off the likes of George Kittle (216) and Rob Gronkowski (187) in their first three years.
And the way Carroll saw it, Fant showed he may be capable of a lot more during minicamp.
“Noah probably had one of, maybe the most spectacular, camps of anybody,” Carroll said. “I just thought he made plays throughout the whole time down the field, short area stuff, understanding the scheme, all of it, he just adapted so beautifully. I didn’t know him other than through the draft process, but he handled himself just impeccably.”
Carroll also liked the sight of 2020 fourth-round pick Colby Parkinson, who stands 6-7, consistently making plays after suffering through injury-plagued seasons his first two years in the NFL.
“Maybe the guy that’s most exciting is Colby,” Carroll said. “Colby Parkinson really became a go-to guy, and he’s got that tremendous frame and catching range, and he runs really well.”
Throw in the steadiness of Will Dissly, re-signed to a three-year deal in March, and Carroll said “the position is really strong.”
We’ll throw in an honorable mention for the safety position, mostly to make sure to note that Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs were back on the field — at least during walk-throughs — following offseason surgeries with each saying they expect to be ready for training camp. That was as big of a positive of minicamp as anything else.
6. Don’t stress about Metcalf
Yes, we waited until now to mention the one big negative of minicamp — the absence of DK Metcalf, making a statement he’d like his new contract sooner rather than later, thanks.
The expectation all along has been that something will get done. The Seahawks consider the 24-year-old a vital part of their future and by all counts intend to do what it takes to keep him.
The guess here is that it still happens and probably before training camp.
Judging by Twitter, Metcalf doesn’t seem to be stressing it too much.
A few hours after Carroll told the media Thursday he was no less optimistic a deal will get done Metcalf tweeted, “What a lovely life.”
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