Seahawks First-Round Pick on Roster Bubble, Per Analyst

The Seattle Seahawks will have some tough decisions to make in order to trim their roster down to 53 players before the start of the regular season. General manager John Schneider will need to cut some players who haven’t been able to produce at a high level, even potentially cutting one of his former first-round picks.

Michael-Shawn Dugar with The Athletic gave out some names of players who he believes are firmly on the roster bubble heading into the team’s preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys. Dugar mentioned players like safety Marquise Blair and edge rusher Vi Jones having a good shot at making the 53-man roster, but wasn’t as optimistic about defensive tackle L.J. Collier.

“The problem: Seattle re-signed Jefferson and acquired Harris via trade, then Adams started to shine in the preseason while Collier missed both games with an elbow injury,” Dugar said. “Collier has since returned to practice, but it’s hard to call him a lock to make the roster because of the talent in that position group.”

After sky-high expectations for Collier coming out of college, there’s a real possibility that his time in Seattle is coming to an end.

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How Did L.J. Collier Get Here?

Although he may not have been a superstar coming out of high school, Collier’s impact in his final college season made him an exciting NFL prospect. Unfortunately, Collier has yet to take that next step to have a dominant impact at the pro level.

Collier was a 3-star recruit out of Munday High School in Texas, with only two FBS offers from TCU and Texas Tech. Collier ultimately decided to play for the Horned Frogs, where he sat and waited his first two seasons before having a major impact.

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After playing four games as a redshirt freshman with one tackle, Collier played in all 27 games over the next two years, racking up nine sacks over that span. As a senior, Collier became one of the best players in his conference, earning a first-team All-Big 12 selection with six sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.

That impressive senior season helped Collier sneak into the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, with the Seahawks taking him with the 29th overall pick. Unfortunately, Collier has had very little impact on Seattle’s defense.

In his first three seasons with the Seahawks, Collier has only picked up three sacks and two pass deflections over 37 games. His minimal impact has been a massive disappointment, and his lack of availability in the preseason hasn’t helped things.

The Seahawks have added some news faces on their defensive line, so if Collier has continued to disappoint at training camp, then the team could very well cut ties with the player who already had his fifth-year option declined.

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Latest Training Camp Buzz

With the regular season nearly here, it’s safe to say that the Seahawks have had a pretty chaotic preseason and training camp.

The quarterback battle between Drew Lock and Geno Smith has been particularly chaotic. After Smith started the preseason opener against Pittsburgh, Lock was expected to be the starter against Chicago. However, the QB competition took an unexpected turn when Lock tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss the second preseason game.

The Seahawks have gotten some positive injury news, with guard Damien Lewis not expected to miss significant time after being carted off the field against the Bears and second-year receiver Dee Eskridge finally returning to practice. Unfortunately, it’s still unclear when rookie running back Kenneth Walker III will return to the team after suffering a hernia injury.

More news is certain to come out before Week 1, but head coach Pete Carroll is hoping his team can continue to get healthy.

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