The Seahawks face the Raiders tonight and there will be many intriguing story lines to follow but I wanted to point out af few players I'll be watching closely. First of all, fifth round pick out of Appalachian State, safety Mark LeGree. LeGree was fairly obscure playing at Appalachian State coming into the Draft but once Seahawks fans saw his career numbers from there they were rightly excited. LeGree racked up 22 interceptions, which led the nation at the time he declared, and was known as a hard-hitting ballhawk type of player.
Some players take a little longer to develop than others but LeGree has been very quiet in this year's training camp and preseason. He is in a battle right now with former undrafted players Atari Bigby, Josh Pinkard, and Jeron Johnson for one or two spots on the 53-man roster, so LeGree needs to prove his fifth round worth. It's tough to say whether or not his spot on the roster is in danger, but he's been outshone a bit by the other safeties I mentioned. I'd love to see him make some big plays tonight.
Second, defensive end/defensive tackle Lazarius Levingston. "Pep" Levingston was a seventh round pick for the Seahawks in the Draft this year out of LSU, and has quietly had a pretty good preseason. He had two sacks last weekend against the Broncos and is making a case for the Seahawks retaining him on the 53-man roster. I'm hoping he can play strong on both the outside and on the interior as solid and versatile depth for the Hawks this year so I'll be watching him closely tonight.
Third -- DB Byron Maxwell. Maxwell was a sixth round pick for the Seahawks this season and has been a strong performer on special teams thus far. I'd keep an eye on #41 during kickoffs and punts, as he's been playing the gunner role quite well. I am hoping to see Maxwell make the team.
Finally, Malcolm Smith. The weakside linebacker chosen by the Seahawks in round seven out of USC has also had himself a pretty decent camp and preseason, and is one of those roster bubble guys that you would absolutely hate to see get cut. I'm hoping he puts on a performance tonight that doesn't give John Schneider and Pete Carroll a choice. Look for him to fly around and make tackles, and to drop back into coverage and hopefully break up some passes.
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