Seattle Seahawks depth chart 2021: Predicting Week 1 offensive and defensive starters

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is in the prime of his career. But the rest of the roster has lacked one thing or the other in the past few seasons, leading to disappointing playoff exits.

Can Russell Wilson and the Seahawks get back to the Super Bowl in 2021? To make that happen, Seattle has to fill every unit on the roster with quality starters and competent backups.

Here's how the Seattle Seahawks depth chart is currently shaping up for the 2021 season.

Seattle Seahawks 2021 Depth Chart

Offense

Quarterback: Russell Wilson, Geno Smith

Running Back: Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, Travis Homer

Wide Receiver: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, D'Wayne Eskridge, Freddie Swan, Penny Hart, John Ursua, Aaron Fuller

Tight End: Gerald Everett, Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson

Fullback: Nick Bellore

Left Tackle: Duane Brown, Stone Forsythe

Left Guard: Damien Lewis, Cedric Ogbuehi

Center: Ethan Pocic, Kyle Fuller

Right Guard: Gabe Jackson, Damien Lewis, Cedric Ogbuehi

Right Tackle: Brandon Shell, Cedric Ogbuehi

Defense

Left Defensive End: Carlos Dunlap, Aldon Smith, Robert Nkemdiche

Left Defensive Tackle: Poona Ford, Cedrick Lattimore, Robert Nkemdiche

Right Defensive Tackle: Bryan Mone, Al Woods, Benson Mayowa

Right Defensive End: Kerry Hyder Jr., LJ Collier, Benson Mayowa

Left Outside Linebacker: Jordyn Brooks, Cody Barton

Middle Linebacker: Bobby Wagner, Cody Barton

Right Outside Linebacker: Ben Burr-Kirven, Nate Evans

Left Cornerback: Ahkello Witherspoon, Pierre Desir, Tre Brown

Strong Safety: Jamal Adams, Ryan Neal

Free Safety: Quandre Diggs, Marquise Blair

Right Cornerback: DJ Reed Jr, Tre Flowers, Ugo Amadi

Special Teams

Kicker: Jason Myers

Punter: Michael Dickson

Punt Returner: DJ Reed

Kick Returner: Freddie Swain

Long Snapper: Tyler Ott

Seattle Seahawks Depth Chart 2021 Roster Analysis

Offense

Quarterback: The Seattle Seahawks have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Russell Wilson. The veteran threw for 40 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2020, basically matching Tom Brady's numbers from last season.

Running Backs: Chris Carson is a great underdog story. He was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL draft and was able to hold off first-round pick Rashaad Penny. Now, Penny remains the backup for Carson. Overall, the duo is a solid one-two punch with Travis Homer in the background.

Rashaad Penny

Wide Receivers: The Seattle Seahawks have one of the best receiving units in the NFL. In DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the Seahawks have two of the most explosive receivers in the league. Draft pick D'Wayne Eskridge should add more firepower to the receiver room for 2021.

Tight Ends: The Seattle Seahawks picked up Gerald Everett this offseason. If the veteran struggles, the Seahawks will happily go back to Will Dissly. Dissly is already on a similar level to Everett but can take over games.

Fullback: Nick Bellore will be the Seattle Seahawks' fullback for 2021. He was graded a 41.6 in 2020, according to PFF. He will need to be better in opening holes for Carson and Penny in 2021.

Offensive Tackle: Duane Brown and Brandon Shell will be the starting tackles for the Seattle Seahawks in 2021. Duane Brown was one of the first dominoes to fall before the end of Bill O'Brien's career when he went to the Seattle Seahawks from the Houston Texans. Since then, Duane Brown has quietly been great. He was graded 87.3 in 2020 by PFF.

Meanwhile, Brandon Shell has been decent, giving up three sacks and having four penalties called on him in 2020. The depth is decent as well.

Offensive Guard: Damien Lewis and Gabe Jackson will start in 2021. Damien Lewis was solid in 2020, earning a grade of over 70 on PFF. However, he struggled with penalties, committing 12 in 2020. On the other hand, Jackson's grade was lower than Lewis' but only had three penalties in 2021.

Center: Ethan Pocic had an average season in 2020, earning a 62.4 PFF grade. Put simply, he needs to be better for the Seattle Seahawks in 2021. Russell Wilson cannot afford to have pressure up the middle as he starts to climb in age. The Seattle Seahawks would not like to see backup Kyle Fuller on the field this season.

Defense

Defensive End: Carlos Dunlap and Kerry Hyder Jr. round out the position. Dunlap is 32 years old but is still getting sacks. He had eight in 2020. Meanwhile, Kerry Hyder Jr. is also over 30 years old but is still producing at a decent level for the Seattle Seahawks. He had nine sacks in 2020. Aldon Smith and LJ Collier will serve as the main backups.

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Defensive Tackle: Poona Ford and Bryan Mone will start at defensive tackle. Ford had a great 2020 campaign as he was graded an 81.9 by PFF. He only had three sacks but defensive tackles are about generating pressure and contracting the pocket. Bryan Mone has been improving year over year since he was drafted in 2019. This year could see him poised for a breakout season.

Linebacker: The star linebacker is still Bobby Wagner. He will be 31 years old going into 2021 but he has been playing like he is in his prime. He had over 100 tackles in 2020 and earned an 83.2 PFF score.

Jordyn Brooks and Ben Burr-Kirven round out the starting linebacker positions. Brooks is coming off a rough rookie year in 2020. Hopefully, he has a breakout 2021 season for the Seattle Seahawks. Ben Burr-Kirven is a bit of a wild card going into 2021. Hopefully, the end result is good for the Seattle Seahawks.

The depth will be stretched in 2021. The Seattle Seahawks are hoping they do not need to rely on it.

Cornerback: Ahkello Witherspoon was a decent pickup for the Seattle Seahawks. However, it will be risky to use him as a starter in 2021. DJ Reed Jr. was also a good pickup for the Seattle Seahawks.

Ahkello Witherspoon

Safeties: The Seattle Seahawks are basically hoping that Jamal Adams and Bobby Wagner can be their secondary in 2021. Jamal Adams, one of the rare great picks of the New York Jets, took a step back with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020. He needs to turn it around in 2021.

The Seattle Seahawks will also be trotting out Quandre Diggs, who also had a dip in 2020. Both Adams and Diggs need to step up in 2021 or this secondary could be in trouble.

Special Teams

Jason Myers will be the kicker for the Seahawks in 2021. He was stellar last season and did not miss a single field goal attempt. Michael Dickson is one of the best punters in the league and has proven to be a worthy fifth-round pick. The punt returner will be DJ Reed and the kick returner will be Freddie Swain.