RENTON — Quarterback Jalen Milroe’s first appearance on a practice field as a Seahawk may have gotten the most attention as the team held its rookie minicamp this weekend.
But that was hardly all that happened.
Here are six other notes and observations:
Offensive linemen make good first impression
As Macdonald noted, the nature of minicamp — no pads or contact and what is obviously a bare-bones playbook considering everyone having just arrived — makes it tough for sweeping assessments.
But he said what he liked what he saw of the three offensive linemen Seattle took in the draft — first-rounder Grey Zabel, sixth-rounder Bryce Cabeldue and seventh-rounder Mason Richman.
Zabel played throughout at left guard with Cabeldue at right guard and Richman at right tackle.
“Great group overall,’’ Macdonald said. “Really excited about our draft picks. Hard to give it a fair evaluation right now. You can see the skillset, the movement, things we see on tape, see the attitude. We will work the finish and all that stuff when it becomes time, but really good first step with those guys.’’
UDFA signee Amari Kight of Central Florida played left tackle with the starting offense and UDFA signee Federico Maranges of Florida Atlantic played center. Maranges in particular could prove one to watch. He is one of just three centers on the roster behind holdovers Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell.
The $250,000 guarantee the team gave Maranges suggests the Seahawks view him as at least being on the practice squad this year, where he could be the de facto third center on the depth chart and available when needed.
Arroyo off to “a great start’’
There was some question about the health of second-round pick tight end Elijah Arroyo of Miami after he did not run a 40-yard dash at the combine after hurting his knee at the Senior Bowl.
But Arroyo appears healthy now. He said after Friday’s practice the knee is not an issue and he appeared to take part in everything during minicamp.
“He did a great job,’’ Macdonald said. “Great to have him in person. Got a great attitude. Great spirit about him. Practices hard. Does a great job taking what we’re trying to teach him fundamentally and then taking that to his position. So off to a great start.’’
Emmanwori “wants to be great’’
Seattle drafted just two defensive players, and only one was on the field — second-round safety Nick Emmanwori — with fifth-round defensive lineman Rylie Mills still recovering from an ACL injury in December.
As the team had said was the plan, Emmanwori played both safety and in the slot in nickel/dime packages.
“You see the movement skills,’’ Macdonald said of the 35th overall pick out of South Carolina. “You see all the things you saw on tape. Different language for him, but he’s got great intent. I think he wants to be great, which is a fun characteristic to work with.
“(I’ll) be the first to tell you, like all of our guys, you see it and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is awesome.’ Now we’ve got to go. We’ve got to detail it up. We’ve got to get or angles right. I mean, there is a lot of fundamentals that we’ll be working on.’’
Nose tackle spot filling out
Depth at nose tackle loomed as something of a question following the draft with the Seahawks having not made any additions to that position this offseason.
But as they’d said they would, the Seahawks took steps to address it over the past week. Seattle last week agreed to a deal with veteran Johnathan Hankins, who was the team’s primary starter at that spot in run-down situations last season.
The Seahawks also signed three undrafted free agent nose tackles: DeMeco Roland (6-foot-3, 312 pounds from Southern Mississippi), J.R. Singleton (6-1, 299, Iowa State) and Bubba Thomas (6-1, 301 pounds, South Alabama).
The expected signing of Hankins has yet to become official and the Seahawks will need to make a roster move when it does.
Macdonald said he likes the overall depth at that spot.
“Excited to get (Hankins) back,’’ he said. “I wouldn’t say it (fills) a major void because we have guys that can play in the A gap. But, yeah, I think whether or not you watch tape last year, he played some pretty dang good football for us.’’
A new role for Sheriff?
Jamie Sheriff became one of the feel-good stories of Seattle’s 2024 preseason when he led the Seahawks in sacks with three despite having not signed until the first week of August.
In fact, Sheriff had first gotten on the team’s radar with a good performance as a tryout player at rookie minicamp in 2024 but was not on a roster until the Seahawks signed him, doing so in part to fill out the depth after a few injuries hit.
After being waived and claimed by Carolina at the roster cutdown date, he returned after the Panthers waived him following one game and spent the rest of the season on Seattle’s practice squad. He played in one game as a practice squad elevation on special teams.
After spending last season working primarily as an edge player, specifically at strongside linebacker, the team is now toying with moving him to inside linebacker.
Sheriff was one of two veterans taking part in rookie minicamp — receiver John Rhys Plumlee was the other. As Macdonald noted, the rules allowed for each to be on the field this weekend.
Sheriff appeared to spend most of his time working with the inside linebackers, and mostly at weakside backer with UDFA signee Jackson Woodard of UNLV typically working as the middle linebacker (former Husky Alphonso Tuputala, who attended as a tryout player, also played MLB).
Macdonald indicated it may not be a permanent shift but that the Seahawks wanted to see how Sheriff looked playing inside linebacker in minicamp — a spot where the team could be looking for some depth.
“Jamie, we’re looking at moving his position to off the ball ‘backer and SAM (strongside) for some more position flexibility, something he hasn’t really had a lot of reps doing,’’ Macdonald said. “Felt like it was a great opportunity for him to see those more live and in color before we got to OTAs (Organized Team Activities, which begin May 27).’’
Plumlee getting comfortable at receiver
As for Plumlee, minicamp allowed him to get even more work at receiver, the spot he has played since signing with the Seahawks last November.
Plumlee played primarily quarterback at Ole Miss and Central Florida but did see some time as a receiver during his final season at Ole Miss in 2021.
He then transferred to UCF where he started 23 games at quarterback, throwing for 29 touchdowns while also running for 16 more.
His initial hope was to keep playing QB in the NFL.
But after being waived by the Steelers at the end of training camp last August — he’d signed as an undrafted free agent — and then Jacksonville, where he spent a couple months on their practice squad, he signed with Seattle and moved to receiver.
The Seahawks were impressed enough that they signed him to the active roster before the final game of the season against the Rams, which kept him under contract for 2025.
The 6-foot, 200-pounder made a handful of catches Friday and Saturday, appearing increasingly comfortable at his new position.
“Just more reps at receiver,’’ Macdonald said of why the team wanted him to take part in rookie minicamp. “Just kind of be a part of it and felt like that (was a) great opportunity for him.’’