Seeing potential gold in what other teams send to the NFL’s scrapheap is the hallmark of every talented general manager, and Seattle Seahawks roster-builder John Schneider got a steal courtesy of NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams.
Fourth-year defensive back Derion Kendrick is proving to be a true “find,” according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson. He praised Schneider for making smart use of the waiver wire to snap up a player “let go by the Rams on cut-down day.” A player who’s “stepped in the last two games at nickel and just got his second interception in that span.
The pick referenced by Henderson was Kendrick’s contribution to another sterling defensive play by the Seahawks in Week 3. They helped themselves to a pair of sacks and eight quarterback hits during the 44-13 beatdown of the New Orleans Saints at Lumen Field on Sunday, September 21.
Things are clicking at both ends of a stout unit, with Kendrick and the secondary feasting on the pressure being created by a dominant line having fun up front.
Seahawks Defense Already Playing at Elite Level
The potent mix of pressure and coverage inspiring elite defensive football from the Seahawks was personified brilliantly by Kendrick’s theft against the Saints. He pounced after New Orleans quarterback Spencer Rattler was chased from the pocket and heaved a desperate pass while being hit.
📺: CBS
This was Kendrick’s second pick in just three games as a member of the Seahawks. To put the 25-year-old’s fast start to life in Seattle into perspective, Kendrick is already outpacing one All-Pro cornerback.
It’s New York Jets shutdown cover man Sauce Gardner, who has grabbed just a single INT “in his past 34 games combined,” per Hawk Blogger’s Brian Nemhauser. The latter even noted how Kendrick’s tally “is also more than his entire former team (the Rams) have through 3 games (1).
It is also more than his entire former team (the Rams) have through 3 games (1).
Some context is needed here, like the Rams already facing Pro Bowl Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud, as well as the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Seahawks, meanwhile, beat up on the hapless Saints this week, although Kendrick and Co. did stymie Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in Week 2.
Seattle’s defense is dominating different levels of opposition because of the elaborate schemes of head coach Mike Macdonald. Schemes turning unheralded performers like Kendrick into prolific playmakers.
Derion Kendrick Raising Game in Mike Macdonald’s Defense
Kendrick entered the pros without fanfare as a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, but he’s defying the modest entry point by adapting to the sophisticated demands of Macdonald’s defense.
Those demands often require cornerbacks and safeties to rotate positions pre- and post-snap to disguise coverage. A great example was broken down by under zone x, who showed Kendrick (1) shadowing Saints wideout Chris Olave from the near slot in “great off-man coverage.
Pushes laterally with the stem without giving ground to maintain pre-snap relation to the WR.
Contacts at top of route and slips the hip to undercut given post-safety help.
The combination of a man-coverage look with zone principles was typical of how the Seahawks keep the picture changing on the back end. It’s helping Kendrick raise his levels and also creating a nice problem for Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde.
They know two-time Pro Bowler Devon Witherspoon and this year’s second-round pick Nick Emmanwori are starters, but injuries to both have forced a reset. Kendrick has been part of the successful overhaul, along with Coby Bryant and Josh Jobe.
Not every member of this unheralded trio will stay in the starting lineup, and Kendrick having “had a potential turnover slip through his fingers” two games running, according to Michael Shawn-Dugar of The Athletic, puts him on notice.
For now though, Kendrick is proving a steal who has strengthened the Seahawks at the expense of one of their fiercest division rivals. That’s commendable work from Schneider and the front office.
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