The Seahawks have made a habit of whiffing on their first-round picks in recent years. While there are exceptions like Jordyn Brooks, more often than not those selections have been used on players that have not panned out in the NFL, at least not yet.
One example is defensive end L.J. Collier, Seattle’s choice in the first round of the 2019 draft. Collier showed some potential during the 2020 campaign, posting three sacks, seven quarterback hits and 17 pressures. However, he fell out of the rotation this past season and the team reportedly tried to shop him around the trade deadline but got no takers. Collier was only on the field for 218 defensive snaps, 30% of the team’s total.
Heading into 2022, ESPN has named Collier as the one Seahawks player who could most use a change of scenery.
“The 29th pick of the 2019 draft was a healthy scratch in seven of the first 10 games of last season as Seattle went with bigger bodies in the middle of its new-look defensive line. If the Seahawks stick with that in 2022, then they might again view Collier as too small to play inside and not twitchy enough to play on the edge.”
Collier is just 26 and has one year left on his contract.
