RENTON, Wash. – Josh Jobe has become a player whom Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald won’t ever turn down an opportunity to celebrate.
This is because of how the fourth-year cornerback has performed since entering the starting lineup in Week 7 of last season and how his attitude and approach embody what Macdonald wants his team to be.
Jobe, 27, went undrafted out of Alabama in 2022, the same year Seattle drafted defensive backs Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant. In two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jobe made three regular-season starts and played just 238 defensive snaps. He didn’t make the Eagles’ roster coming out of training camp last year and was signed to Seattle’s practice squad.
Jobe wasn’t active until Seattle played the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 20. He and rookie Nehemiah Pritchett were injury fill-ins for Woolen and Tre Brown. By Week 9, Jobe had taken Brown’s job. In March, Jobe re-signed with Seattle on a one-year deal worth $2 million, with only $300,000 guaranteed, according to Over the Cap. He’s playing in a secondary with three Pro Bowlers.
Through two games, he’s been one of Seattle’s best defenders. And no one on the team is surprised by that statement.
“What you see is what you get with Jobe – he takes pride in his performance,” defensive backs coach Karl Scott said. “There’s nobody that cares more about the output of what he puts on the field than him. You can tell that in his preparation, how he goes about things. He cares about it; he’s a smart guy. The questions he asks, he’s ahead of stuff a lot of times.
“Most importantly, he’s a competitor. One of the biggest insults you can tell Jobe is he can’t do something. He’s going to find a way.”
Jobe allowed just two catches for 8 yards on eight targets through two games, according to Next Gen Stats. But even describing Jobe as “allowing” those targets requires context. In the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle sent a blitz that forced quarterback Brock Purdy to check the ball down to Christian McCaffrey. Jobe sprinted to the flat and made an open-field tackle that limited the running back to 1 yard.
On his other four targets in Week 1, Jobe had sticky coverage against receiver Jauan Jennings on an out route on second-and-goal from the 8; shut down a go route from Jennings on third-and-2 in the red zone (Julian Love then blocked a field goal on fourth down); forced an overthrow to McCaffrey in the red zone on third down; and then picked off Purdy on a crossing route intended for receiver Ricky Pearsall in the fourth quarter.
“That was an incredible play; that is a rare one,” Love said of Jobe’s interception. “That ball thrown heavy on an over (route) in a man situation. The ball was floated, and he had the wherewithal to track his man, be stride-for-stride, step-for-step with him, look up, find the ball and then go high-point it. That was a special play.”
In Week 2, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t try Jobe until the second quarter on a slant to receiver DK Metcalf, who dropped the pass after separating from the cornerback with a shove at the line of scrimmage. Jobe was credited with allowing a 7-yard catch to receiver Roman Wilson, but that was a checkdown in the flat on third-and-20 late in the fourth quarter. Once again, Jobe made the tackle. His last target was a pass breakup on a back-shoulder pass to Metcalf in front of Seattle’s sideline.
(Jobe was also in coverage on a 50-50 ball Rodgers threw to 6-foot-7 tight end Darnell Washington for a successful two-point conversion, but point-after attempts are charted separately.)
“He had a tremendous game,” Macdonald said of Jobe on his radio show. “He’s tough, physical. He’s played the ball well late in the down. Played a tremendous game, he really did. Deserves a lot of credit. I’m happy for him. All this guy does is work and try to pay attention to detail and prepare. Doesn’t have a lot to say for it, which is cool; that’s his personality. He’s playing really good football right now.”
On a team that preaches the importance of being physical, Jobe’s tackles on the completions in his vicinity stand out just as much as his coverage reps.
“He comes with bad intentions,” said Scott, who also coached Jobe at Alabama. “He plays the game the way you want it to be played.”
Macdonald loves Jobe’s story just as much as he loves the production. There were points in Macdonald’s career, the coach said this week, when he wouldn’t be as confident in a backup or a practice squad call-up being thrust into the lineup. He has since altered his viewpoint and adopted the mindset of being excited to see how a guy who has worked in the shadows will perform when the lights come on. It’s one of the reasons the Seahawks refer to the practice squad as the “ready squad.”
“You learn to think like that,” Macdonald said. “You learn how important it is when these things come about. About having a developmental mindset throughout your whole team and how you coach guys and having a development plan for everybody in your program.”
Jobe is the latest example of that philosophy coming to life. Players can see that it’s wrong to view the team as just a 53-man roster.
“We’re rolling 70 deep,” Love said, counting the team’s 17-man practice squad. “If you’re down (on the practice squad), you’ve always got to be ready to go. There’s a pride in that. It’s a cool culture to be a part of. … It just heightens the amount of preparation for everybody. It’s exciting. You know you can actually get a shot here if you’re doing the right things.”
Because of Jobe’s preparation, he’s not only a valuable asset to the defense, but he’s also a way coaches can illustrate an aspect of the team’s culture. Teammates rave about how Jobe never takes a play off in practice. Receivers applaud him for being sound in his technique and difficult to deceive. Before Jobe’s first start against the Falcons, Love said Jobe would come to him every day asking to watch film. Even if he didn’t play well, his dedication was undeniable.
“That same mindset he had when he was trying to watch film each day, he’s still asking me,” Love said. “He cares. He’s a pro.”
As Macdonald continues to build his culture in Seattle, he can add Jobe to the list, along with Bryant and receiver Cody White, as examples of how the team rewards players whose production is preceded by behind-the-scenes commitment to their craft.
“You can go on hope and faith, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a whole different thing to have testimony, actual evidence of guys doing that,” Scott said. “(The) majority of everybody in the country is probably saying that, but to actually go out there and do it? Successful or not, at least you have that on film. …
“If you come in here and you do the things that we’re asking you to do and you’re capable of doing, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a shot. This goes back to Mike’s philosophy of chasing edges.”
Jobe rarely has much to say, either to the media or his teammates. Middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV referred to Jobe as their “quiet dog.” Teammates love that about him. Jones said there’s a look in Jobe’s eyes that says, I’m here with you. I’m ready to fight.
After Purdy overthrew McCaffrey on third-and-14 in Week 1, Love ran over to his teammate to celebrate. They could have done something demonstrative like a dance, chest bump or a leaping shoulder tap. Instead, Love extended his arm like an employer after a job interview with a prospective employee. Jobe shook his hand, and they moved on to the next play. It was a fitting move given how much Jobe is lauded for being all about his business.
“We love the guy,” Love said. “Jobe is a great dude. You just know that in his case, everything’s been earned. There’s some people it’s not that way – in this world, not even football-related. But everything he’s doing right now, it’s all earned. And we’ve seen it.”