Vikings at Seahawks Depth Chart Preivew

The Vikings and Seahawks will face off Monday Night as the #5 and #6 seeds-to-be in the playoffs, but each team has a chance to improve their ranking. Let's have a look at how the Seahawks stack up:



Injury Report



* My Thoughts *

The Seahawks have had a challenge beating teams with winning records, similarly to the Vikings. However, unlike Minnesota, Seattle narrowly lost to Denver, lost to the Rams twice within 6 points, nearly had a game tying TD against the Chargers... their biggest loss is by 8 points. This Seattle team is a tough cookie, and Russell Wilson is playing just as well as he always has. His 29 passing TDs with scrambling abilities will guarantee the Vikings defense will have a tough time containing him. (One note: Wilson has fumbled the ball 9 times this year and 23 times over the 2017-18 seasons. The Vikes should strive to swat the ball out of his hands.) However, the past month or two the Hawks have put their focus on running the ball. Chris Carson, a 7th rounder from last year's class, already has 700+ yards rushing and has proven himself as a starter. They also have two viable change-of-pace HBs; 1st round rookie Rashaad Penny, a great runner but not a good 1st round pick, and Mike Davis, more of a receiving back with good speed. If the Vikings fail to stop the run early, they will run it all day long.

The Seahawks haven't needed to air the ball out very much, and their receivers don't have stats that will power a fantasy team. Only Tyler Lockett has provided that, as he's went from kick returner-only to legitimate starting WR over the past season to two. Doug Baldwin has been banged up for most of the season, and he hasn't played as well as in past years. He's a game time decision. David Moore and Jaron Brown shouldn't pose a threat. The TEs are incredibly underwhelming. Vannett is a good blocker and Dickson is a career underachiever.

The Seahawks offense has received a lot of compliments after been absolutely putrid from 2016-17. PFF sure doesn't think so, but under a new O-line coach, they're very good run blockers. They still suck as pass blockers, as Wilson's sack % has increased from 7.2% to 10.2%. 1st round bust Germain Ifedi (aka the guy the Vikings probably would have drafted if they listened to the fans instead of Treadwell) has been a terrible RT. They did trade for Duane Brown, who's a quality blindside tackle. Justin Britt is drawing poor grades this season after being a very capable center in previous seasons. Sweezy and Fluker have been among the worst O-linemen in the NFL for the past 2-3 seasons. It hasn't stopped them from running the ball efficiently - the Seahawks have some good coaches.

On defense, the Seahawks have lost several quality players like Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, Sheldon Richardson, Michael Bennett, and Richard Sherman since 2017. They have a middle-of-the-pack defense now, which is honestly impressive after all that. Seattle uses a heavy rotation on the D-line, ensuring around 10 players will play at least 20% of the snaps. The only real pass rushing threats are Frank Clark (who is quietly a great pass rusher with 3 straight seasons with 9+ sacks) and Jarran Reed (6.5 sacks). In the run defending category, Nazair Jones, Dion Jordan, and Quinton Jefferson have done well there. Former Viking Shamar Stephen hasn't played well as a part time run defender.

The Seahawks activated Mychal Kendricks from his suspension (insider trading), and he will likely start... but I can't say for certain. He's rated highly by PFF, but teams haven't really wanted to hang on to him (the Vikings didn't try that hard to sign him in free agency). The talented K. J. Wright will miss this game, leaving Austin Calitro to probably start in his place. PFF rates Bobby Wagner as the league's best linebacker. The Vikings should be able to run the ball on this team, but run your plays away from Wagner or they're doomed.

Finally, looking at the DBs, the CBs are not playing well. The Seahawks are starting a 5th round CB named Tre Flowers, who was never on my draft radar. He's earned some poor coverage grades. Even worse is that Shaq Griffin, after a solid 2017, has been rated among the 10 worst CBs in football. Yikes. Nickel CB Justin Coleman, yes, the same one who was a UDFA with the Vikings, is one of the league's better nickel corners. I guess Zimmer & Co. swung and missed on him. Meanwhile, the safety position is fine with Tedric Thompson playing admirably in his first few NFL starts. Bradley McDougald has been an underrated safety, as the Bucs simply let him go and have had safety problems for years now.

Predicted final score: Seahawks 24, Vikings 16

While the Vikings have a more talented squad, the Seahawks are coached far better and have made do with inferior players. The Vikings offense is below average and hasn't shown the ability to score points on the road. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are a better squad at home and Russell should be able to have a few big drives that will score points against a decent defense. The Vikings simply don't have what it takes to go up against teams like Seattle and come out on top.

Any thoughts?