When it comes to the Seahawks, roster depth has been a popular talking point this preseason, with Pete Carroll himself labeling it "as good as it's ever been" during a Tuesday interview on 710 ESPN Seattle. The head coach also identified depth as one of the Seahawks' two greatest strengths as they closed out training camp, with experience among the team's "core group of players" being the other.
Ahead of the Seahawks' preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs this past Saturday, Seattle general manager John Schneider also touched on the topic, calling the club's current depth "very similar" to the depth the Seahawks saw in 2013 when they won Super Bowl XLVIII. This week, NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo, who recently spent time discussing roster depth with players at Virginia Mason Athletic Center, shared an interesting statistic about just how deep that 2013 team was.
"Eighty-one of the 90 players that reported to camp for the Seahawks wound up appearing in an NFL regular season game," Garafolo said. "That's a ridiculous amount of depth, and they feel like this year's roster stacks up."
On Twitter, Garafolo added: "Only six never signed another contract (active, practice squad, etc). They feel they're that deep again this year."
Whether or not the Seahawks' current roster will measure up to the depth of that 2013 team remains to be seen. A clearer picture of that comparison should come into focus down the line when it's known how successful the Seahawks' 2016 season was, not to mention knowing how those who don't make Seattle's 53-man roster will fare. But heading into the second week of preseason, it's clear the Seahawks feel very comfortable with where their current roster stands.
"Well, we've had great teams before," quarterback Russell Wilson said Wednesday. "I can honestly say this is the most competitive team and talented team I think across the board, especially from the receiver position. You think of those guys and all the depth that we have and all the ability that we have, all the playmakers. There's about, I don't know, nine, 10 guys that can play great football. I'm not sure how many more, there's probably another few after that. They're all competing for this opportunity to be really special and have the opportunity to make this 53-man roster, which is not going to be easy and we're looking forward to that. We like that."
Informed of Wilson's assessment, Carroll added: "It's hard for me to compare it to the 2013 group other than to know that there were so many good players in that roster makeup. It feels like that again. It feels like there's a lot of guys that could play. We could be comfortable with different guys moving in and out of the lineup, which means that we have a very competitive roster. So I don't disagree with [Wilson]. We feel like there's a lot of guys at the receiver spots, there's a lot of running backs, there's a lot of corners, we're going to have a rotation at the D-line that we like. Those are all really good signs. The tight end position I think is going to be better than it's been. So those are all positive."
Look through the best photos from the Seahawks final practice at Virginia Mason Athletic Center before Thursday night's preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings.
