The Seattle Seahawks rookies combined for 183 snaps in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams. Tory Horton’s absence impacted these numbers. It’s worth noting that the majority of these snaps, 122, were between the Seahawks’ first two picks, Grey Zabel and Nick Emmanwori.
Let’s analyze some of the key plays from this game!
Grey Zabel, Guard (74 snaps)
I usually use PFF only as a guide in terms of grades. But, according to PFF, Zabel had the worst grade in run blocking (38.9) and the seventh best grade in pass blocking (64), giving up two pressures. Regardless of these numbers, this was Zabel’s worst performance.
The offensive line had a big challenge against the Rams’ defensive line, but Zabel needed to do a better job. Something that catches my attention is that, as I have highlighted several times in other articles, the rookie has always shown the ability to recover from his mistakes, not repeating them in future situations.
An example of this was being beaten inside on two occasions. In the first instance, Byron Young easily gains inside leverage and forces Sam Darnold out of the pocket.
In this play, Zabel misses his punch with his inside arm. The positioning isn’t the best; he tries to adjust, but in the meantime, the defensive lineman manages to win and pressure the quarterback.
Another recurring problem was his work getting to the second level. He missed angles and at other times lacked speed. It’s worth noting that he spent the week on the injury report. This may have been a factor in this type of play.
Another example of a lack of explosiveness in this pull.
In this play, he shows excellent processing. He helps with the double-team at the first level, identifies the linebacker, and makes the block with an excellent angle.
The Seahawks call an outside zone. Zabel shows good mobility to reach the defender and keep the block moving.
He executes another pull, opening space for Ken Walker’s touchdown. Unfortunately, this is the play where Zabel got injured. However, better than any play I can show of Zabel, the most positive thing is that, according to reports, he avoided a serious injury, something that seemed likely given his condition after the play. I believe he’ll miss two weeks, and that will already be a victory for us. Neither the rookie loses much development time, nor do we need to depend on Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford’s backup.
Nick Emmanwori, Defensive Back (48 snaps)
There were 3 tackles, one pass deflected on two targets and 1 run stop.
10 snaps as DL;
15 in the box;
2 at cornerback;
21 in the slot;
On Trey McBride’s TD last week, Emmanwori at least showed carelessness in the tackle. It seems he doesn’t want to repeat the mistake, showing all his effort in that tackle that prevented the TD.
Very good play by him. He moves forward to defend the run, but quickly notices the play action already following the RB to the flat and makes the pass deflection.
His work in off-coverage still needs refinement. His transition seems much more robotic in this type of alignment.
Elijah Arroyo, Tight End (31 snaps)
Extremely timid game from him. Both of his targets were interceptions by Sam Darnold. Even playing 31 snaps, he didn’t manage many standout plays and still needs to improve his blocking technique.
He doesn’t show up at the start of the play, but the angle to get to the second level is quite bad. This makes it easy for the defender to escape.
Good sign of improvement in his game. He comes from the other side of the formation as a lead blocker. The big positive point is that Charles Cross loses his target at the second level and Arroyo readjusts his route to make the block.
Jalen Milroe, Quarterback (0 snaps)
Rylie Mills, Defensive Lineman (0 snaps)
Tory Horton, Wide Receiver (0 snaps)
Injured for the second game in a row.
Robbie Ouzts, Fullback (19 snaps)
During the game against the Cardinals, he was used several times as a kick-out block on the edge. Life wasn’t so easy against Jared Verse.
Sometimes he makes that lateral contact and fails to create the necessary separation.
Sometimes mistakes are costly. This play could have been a TD if he hadn’t missed that block.
Bryce Cabeldue, Offensive Lineman (0 snaps)
Mason Richman, Offensive Lineman (0 snaps)
Nick Kallerup, Tight End (11 snaps)
He’s already establishing himself as one of the best blockers in the league. He dominates No. 53 and takes him for a walk.
He comes in motion and manages to block none other than Verse for the successful run.
Second game in which he commits a hold. In this case, he nullified a TD run by Ken Walker. It wasn’t a scandalous hold, but he needs to improve this technique.
Final Thoughts
Injuries have started to affect the rookies. On the other hand, UDFA Kallerup has been gaining importance in blocking for the running game. Arroyo needs to get back to his best offensive form, and Tory Horton also has a chance to solidify his position in the “open” WR2 spot.