The Seahawks have had depth issues at linebacker all summer and they moved to address that today, acquiring rookie Michael Barrett in a trade with Carolina. The deal sends cornerback Michael Jackson to the Panthers.
I was a bit surprised the Seahawks didn’t draft Barrett, frankly. He has history with Mike Macdonald at Michigan and I had a fifth round grade on him. The Panthers drafted him in the seventh round. Barrett declared himself “the steal of the draft” after being taken. He fell in part due to poor testing numbers after getting injured pre-draft. The injury forced him to miss the Senior Bowl.
Seattle has cornerback depth and if Jackson was unlikely to make the roster, they won’t lose anything moving him on for a shot at adding to a position of need. With Jerome Baker injured again, this was more important than ever.
That said, Jackson played well in Seattle and the Panthers are getting more of a proven commodity. It speaks to the limited linebacker options available that this is the path the Seahawks have taken. I think they needed to draft another linebacker this year, rather than select two cornerbacks and two developmental offensive linemen. Especially with options available, such as Barrett.
Here’s what I wrote about the former Michigan man pre-draft:
Barrett is a no-frills linebacker but he plays with an extremely physical style, he’s reliable and he gets in the right position to do his job. He could come in and provide excellent special teams value and then develop into a potential starter down the line.
They had to find a way to add a linebacker one way or another. This addresses the issue to an extent and it’ll be interesting to see if his familiarity with the Head Coach helps.
One other name to keep an eye on might be Jamin Davis at Washington. He’s struggled since being taken in the first round three years ago. Despite incredible physical potential, it just hasn’t happened for him with the Commanders. This year he’s been switched to edge rusher, almost as a shot to nothing, with the belief he’s on the roster bubble and is a potential cut-candidate.
If he does become a free agent, he might be worth looking at — he’s still young (25) with great length, speed and explosive athleticism.
