With OTAs now opening across the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in a little over two months, officially ushering in the first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.

In preparation for the new incoming season, we’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, diving into scheme fits, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2024 campaign.

After playing in eight games with the Seahawks in 2023, will Drake Thomas rebound from injury and find a way to earn a rotational role in 2024?

Thomas was a three-star recruit per 247 Sports and committed to play for NC State in the 2019 recruiting class. He played in four seasons for the Wolfpack, including playing with his brother and current Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Thayer Thomas. He was increasingly productive throughout his career. He finished with 292 tackles, including 46 for loss, 19 sacks, and four interceptions. Thomas went undrafted in the 203 NFL Draft and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent. After being waived by the Raiders during final cuts, the Seahawks claimed him off waivers. During his rookie season, he played in eight games before being placed on injured reserve in November.

Despite his size, Thomas is a throwback middle linebacker who would play inside as the MIKE defender in Macdonald’s defense. With his lack of speed, he’s likely an early down player moving forward with special teams capabilities, which could still be a valuable asset for the Seahawks.

Back to full health after a significant injury, Thomas thrives during training camp and the preseason during all phases and pushes one of Tyrell Dodson or Jerome Baker for a starting spot. At the very least, his play in the running game forces Macdonald to play him on early downs and he stuns as a contributor on defense for the Seahawks in 2024.

Clear size and athleticism limitations become a major hindrance for Thomas, especially coming off injury, and expose him in coverage on obvious passing downs. He gets pushed by the likes of Patrick O’Connell and Eason Gibbs for his roster spot and ultimately doesn’t return on the practice squad after being released in late August.

Bringing him in for a top-30 visit before the 2023 draft, the Seahawks liked Thomas enough to not just claim him off waivers, but also played him right away on special teams upon arrival last season. He showed some nice ability on kick and punt coverage, but he only got five snaps on defense with three coming in his final game before an injury ended his season prematurely.

Going into 2024, Thomas has a chance to thrive under Macdonald’s leadership in a linebacker room that has a significant amount of questions if he’s healthy enough to compete. But he has yet to practice this spring and that makes his situation a bit more murky. Offering significant special teams experience, Thomas has enough talent to make the 53-man roster, but it won’t be without a fight and will be health permitting.

Previous 90-Man Roundups

Buddha Jones | Devin Richardson | TaMerik Williams | Rason Williams II | Ro Torrence | Nathan Pickering | Dee Williams | Devere Levelston | Kobe Lewis | Sunny Anderson | Mike Novitsky | Max Pincher | Easton Gibbs | Hayden Hatten | Garret Greenfield| Carlton Johnson| Matt Gotel |George Holani | Cody White | Ty Okada

There is an interesting name that has been out at Seattle Seahawks OTAs: former UW Huskies head coach Chris Petersen.

Seahawks busy learning Mike Macdonald’s ‘really creative’ defense

Now almost five years removed from his successful tenure on Montlake, Petersen has a unique perspective of the goings on at Seahawks headquarters in Renton. Not only does he have his decades of experience as a big time coach at both Washington and Boise State, but he also has been an analyst for FOX Sports in recent years.

Petersen is familiar as well with two assistants under new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald: offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff, who both relocated to the other side of Lake Washington after helping the Huskies reach the national championship game earlier this year.

Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk welcomed Petersen on the show Thursday morning, giving him a platform to share his observations from visiting Seahawks practice. Here are a few things Petersen pointed out.

Chris Petersen on Seattle Seahawks OTAs

First takeaway

“What a great looking team, just physically. I mean, (Seahawks general manager/president of football operations) John Schneider, he’s got some guys over there. There is no question about it, just walking around and looking at the defensive guys and the length and the size of the secondary – I was like, ‘Wow.’ That was probably the first thing that jumped out to me.”

Second takeaway

“The second thing was probably the newness of the staff. A lot of focused energy, teaching. You know, the times that I’ve been there in the past so many years with Pete (Carroll) and his style and his system, guys really knew what was going on and the energy and – you know, (it’s) Christmas and everybody’s running around. Pete ran a program a lot different than a lot of NFL guys do. He had a little bit more of that college spirit than a lot of of the pros do. And so I felt like that was different, and again, I think a lot of it has to do with the newness of Coach Macdonald and his staff.”

Brock Huard on biggest difference Macdonald brings to Hawks

Third takeaway

“The third thing that jumped out at me – and again, it’s kind of still ‘Underwear Olympics’ over there, I get it, they don’t have pads, they’re not really playing – but I thought Geno Smith looked really good. The accuracy and what that ball looks like coming out of his hand and all those type of things. I was like, ‘Yeah, geez, I forgot they got Geno.’ And Geno’s a wily veteran for sure by now with the experience he’s got the last couple of years.”

Working the arm. pic.twitter.com/74uPaLQg0i

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 24, 2024

The Grubb and Huff offense report

“So they’re trying to get their ways implemented, their styles, their systems. You know, they had that thing – I mean, obviously – running pretty smoothly over there at UW where you know a lot of these little nuances are taken for granted. Now nothing’s taken for granted. They are starting from scratch and they really have to earn and build the credibility in their rooms that they’re teaching. And so you could really feel the focus and intention of, like, getting this system, this new system, and their way of of doing things installed.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with former UW Huskies head football coach Chris Petersen in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports from 6-10 a.m. weekdays.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

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• What Tyler Lockett sees in new Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Howell

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