Has Josh Jobe Earned Starting Job in Seahawks’ Secondary?

RENTON, Wash. – One week after calling the cornerback spot opposite of Riq Woolen an open competition, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald isn’t showing his cards on his plans on whether Tre Brown or Josh Jobe will be starting after a much-needed bye week.

With Jobe exhausting his three practice squad elevations in Sunday’s 26-20 overtime loss to the Rams and Brown still working back from an ankle sprain, Macdonald hinted that a spot on the 53-man roster could be coming soon, as the Seahawks will have to figure out where he fits into the equation as early as this week with players out of town.

“We’re going to have to make a couple of personnel decisions this week,” Macdonald said. “So that’ll be on the docket for sure.” 

Guarded as expected, Macdonald didn’t provide any guarantees on Jobe’s status, and he certainly wasn’t going to announce him as the starter two weeks before Seattle’s next game at San Francisco. There’s time to not rush into any judgments and breaking down film in coming days will be part of the equation.

But Macdonald has made rewarding players who earn reps on the practice field a priority, evidenced by the fact Jobe has started over Brown each of the past two weeks despite the latter being active and suited up. While Brown’s health has been cited as a reason for that, the fact he hasn’t played a snap in either of the previous two games proves Jobe has gained the trust of the coaching staff and thus earned himself more chances to play.

“You’ve got to go earn it every day in practice. That’s the message,” Macdonald said on Monday. “Guys that bring it every day and show up in practice and show up in games and help us win, they’re going to play. If you take a step back, then you’ve got to be accountable.”

With those opportunities, while he hasn’t been perfect and allowed a couple of explosive receptions in coverage in a Week 8 loss to the Bills, it’s safe to say Jobe has not only showed up, but also exceeded expectations, making it far tougher for Macdonald and his staff to plug Brown back into his previous starting spot. Or, from a half glass full mindset, easier to wait things out and make sure Brown is fully healthy.

Through three starts, Jobe has allowed just seven catches on 16 targets, including one reception on four targets for 16 yards in Sunday’s loss to the Rams. Those receptions have turned into 129 yards and north of 18 yards per reception, but he hasn’t surrendered a touchdown, picked off Josh Allen two weeks ago on a near-defensive touchdown, and has three pass breakups, producing a sterling 46.1 passer rating in coverage.

Even considering a still small sample size with 108 snaps in coverage so far, per Pro Football Focus charting, Jobe ranks second in passer rating allowed behind only Bears star Jaylon Johnson. He also ranks fifth in completion percentage against (43.8 percent) and 14th in forced incompletion rate (19 percent). Despite playing less than half the games of his peers at cornerback, he also has the same number of pass breakups as Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.

Of course, context matters and must be considered in conjunction with raw stats. On one of the incompletions thrown in Jobe’s direction yesterday, Rams receiver Tutu Atwell would have had a first down along the sideline, only to drop a well-thrown ball from Matthew Stafford. He also drew a pass interference penalty on Cooper Kupp in the red zone that led to a touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson to open the third quarter.

Still, Brown wasn’t exactly tearing it up before injuring his ankle in a loss to the Giants in Week 5, yielding a 136.6 passer rating in coverage with two touchdowns and 15.4 yards per reception allowed. That could be part of the rationale behind why the Seahawks have been hesitant to rush him back into action in the first place.

If Macdonald wants to truly run a ship where players earn opportunities on merit and not a predisposed status, sending Jobe back to the bench when he has played quite well in in Brown’s stead would be counterintuitive to that message and could potentially have a detrimental impact in Seattle’s locker room.

Losing five of their previous six games, the Seahawks have no shortage of concerns that must be addressed by the coaching staff as well as the front office over the next several days. On the plus side, Jobe’s standout play has created a positive dilemma to work out, and it will be interesting to see if Macdonald continues to back up his words by awarding him with a starting job he has rightfully earned and at least sticking with the hot hand for now.

‘Not There Yet’: O-Line Continues to Prevent Seahawks From Reaching Potential

Game Recap: Seahawks Fall Short in Crushing OT Loss to Rams

Rapid Reaction: Turnovers Haunt Geno Smith, Seahawks in 26-20 Loss to Rams