The 2019 Seattle Seahawks will make the playoffs again this team. I’m sure of it. Absolutely. In fact, I am so sure of this, I am going to give you twenty reasons why by way of player personnel. Starting today, I will profile a player a day that I think will make a major impact on this team either as a starter or major contributor this year.

Are we ready for this? Sure, we’re ready for this. Let’s do it.

Number Twenty: Rasheem Green, Defensive end.

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Why is Green going to make an impact?

He was an extremely athletic defensive lineman heading into his college football days at USC from high school. There was a vibe around the draft circles in 2018 that had he had stayed another season in college, he would have probably been a first round pick this year, but, he left USC early, and entered the league at 21 years of age, and Seattle eventually landed him in round three. He flashed mightily in the preseason, but as predicted by some, the regular season proved more or less a redshirt year for him. The scouting vibe was that he probably needed to redshirt to get more NFL strong.

Why I believe he will make an impact this year is that he has now benefitted from a full offseason in Seattle’s strength and conditioning program, and organized team activities. While Seattle took LJ Collier in round one this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if a healthy more built up Rasheem Green is ready to make perhaps a bigger impact sooner. They could both easily become starters on this line by the end of the season, but I, for one, am pretty excited to see what year two has in store for this former Trojan.

Some think that Green is best suited to play the five technique spot that Michael Bennett once held, but I kinda see potential at the other end spot. Yes, Green has played both end and tackle in college, but I wonder if they don’t give him looks at the LEO end position this training camp while free agent addition Ziggy Ansah is mending from his shoulder injury. He reminds me of former Carolina Panther intimidator Greg Hardy a bit, especially in terms of body type. For five tech, the team has Collier, Naz Jones, Brandon Jackson, and Quinton Jefferson. In short, it’s a crowded spot, but if Green plays up to his athletic potential at LEO, he could give Seattle a massive and intimidating looking base front with tackles Jarran Reed, Al Woods/Poona Ford, and Collier/Jones/Jackson/Jefferson, etc. That’s potentially the biggest d-line we’ve seen Seattle roll out with in the Pete Carroll era, even when they had Red Bryant and Alan Branch. Ansah could be preserved to coming in on passing downs like Cliff Avril did in 2013. Some interesting stuff to consider.

It’s easy to be dismissive when thinking of Green. They drafted Collier with their first pick, and former seventh rounder Jacob Martin flashed more than Green did in the regular season of 2018 when they were both rookies. However, when they traded away Frank Clark, and only used one draft pick on a defensive end when the position was a perceived big area of need for the team prior to trading Clark , yeah, something sort of smelt like they might think they got something waiting in the wings already on this roster. Even with the one year rental signing of the still on the mend Ansah, it feels like they aren’t in any rush to add more. Why? Could it be Martin? Shaquem Griffin? Cassius Marsh? Maybe.

But I gotta hunch that they might be waiting for Green to blossom. If he does, I think he has got the potential to an interesting every down player. So, I’m calling it here. I think he is going to be a surprise player this year, and he’s going to make an impact. I’m looking forward to it.

Go Hawks.