Seahawks Week 8 Snap Counts: Running Back Split Surprises

RG Grey Zabel (63; 100%), RT Abraham Lucas (63; 100%), LT Josh Jones (63; 100%), LG Quenton Nelson (63; 100%), QB Sam Darnold (63; 100%), C Jalen Sundell (62; 98%), WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (61; 97%), TE AJ Barner (60; 95%), WR Cooper Kupp (5; 92%), WR Tory Horton (43; 68%), RB Jadarian Price (30; 48%), RB Zach Charbonnet (23; 37%), TE Eric Saubert (15; 24%), RB George Holani (11; 17%), FB Brady Russell (10; 16%), TE Nick Kallerup (4; 6%), C Olu Oluwatimi (1; 2%)

Unsurprisingly, Nelson played every snap in his first game with the Seahawks. Zabel also played every snap in his first NFL game at right guard. Sundell exited with an injury, but he only missed one snap, and that’s why Oluwatimi logged a play. The offensive line performance left a lot to be desired, with three players in new positions.

Smith-Njigba has averaged about 55 snaps per game, so his usage went up in this game. That was likely to make up for Rashid Shaheed’s absence, but Horton also saw a healthy dose of snaps after Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp.

Price saw more usage at running back, and that translated to the box score. Charbonnet logged nine touches for 29 yards in his first game this season, and Price totaled 12 touches for 37 yards. Neither was efficient on a bad day for the offense.

Defense

LB Ernest Jones IV (70; 100%), CB Devon Witherspoon (70; 100%), S Ty Okada (70; 100%), CB Josh Jobe (69; 99%), S Julian Love (66; 94%), LB/DB Nick Emmanwori (64; 91%), LB Drake Thomas (59; 84%), DL Byron Murphy II (54; 77%), LB Derick Hall (51; 73%), LB DeMarcus Lawrence (45; 64%), DL Leonard Williams (41; 59%), DL Jarran Reed (33; 47%), DL Mike Morris (26; 37%), DL Rylie Mills (23; 33%), CB Nehemiah Pritchett (13; 19%), LB Dante Fowler Jr. (8; 11%), S Rodney Thomas II (4; 6%), LB Connor O’Toole (4; 6%)

Williams was lower on the defensive line rotation only due to suffering a stinger in the second half. That increased snap counts for Morris and Mills, who overall filled in well. Even on a bad day for the defense, the Seahawks’ run defense held up and proved that their depth up front remains quite good.

Jones, Witherspoon, Okada, Jobe and Love are still the mainstays of the defense who rarely come off the field. Emmanwori is getting to that point, but he still plays somewhat of a specialist role. Head coach Mike Macdonald is starting to find a role for him on every play, however. 

The main deficiency was at edge rusher. Without Uchenna Nwosu, the rotation remained largely reliant on Hall and Lawrence, and they didn’t get much pressure. Seattle’s defense relies on Nwosu’s presence more than many realized.