Coby

Bryant

Bryant appears to be replacing Kevin Byard — though we’ll see what the Bears wind up doing here, it could be that they plan to invest heavily at safety with Jaquan Brisker also a free agent. Bryant played a career-high 1,163 snaps on defense for the Seahawks last year and had a 67.2 PFF coverage grade. He’s not an amazing tackler, but Bryant should provide plenty of range for the Bears.

Jones will be the starting left tackle agaisnt the 49ers with Charles Cross (hamstring) unable to go. The inactives for the winner-take-all game for Seattle will be Cross, TE Nick Kallerup, S Coby Bryant, QB Jalen Milroe, LB Jared Ivey, OL Mason Richman and OL Bryce Cabledue.

Cross suffered the injury in the Seahawks’ Week 15 win over the Colts and missed Week 16 against the Rams. He was reported to have a 2-4 week hamstring injury last week, marking this the second week of the reported timeline. Cross is likely to miss Week 17 with a DNP designation on Wednesday. Also listed as DNP Wednesday was S Coby Bryant (knee), who suffered a knee injury in Week 16. Bryant will need to practice the rest of the week to play in Week 17 against the Panthers, but he is in jeopardy of missing time.

Seahawks S Coby Bryant (knee) is expected to miss “some time.” Woolen has broken up seven passes and intercepted one pass this season. Fowler describes him as being only “banged up.” Bryant has broken up two passes and ranks second on the team with four interceptions. Losing either player hurts. Hopefully, Woolen can play in Week 17 against the Panthers.

Most notably, both tight end Will Dissly and tight end Noah Fant are absent from the inactives list, which should allow the Seahawks to play primarily from 12-personnel again in Week 4. The snap rates amongst the three primary tight ends have been mostly split evenly, but the bigger news is the expected low snap rates for rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Fellow corner Coby Bryant is listed as out because of a toe injury. Though Seattle’s secondary is decimated heading into Week 3, it’s hard to imagine their opponents taking advantage of the situation. The Panthers are starting Andy Dalton this week while Bryce Young deals with an ankle issue. Dalton ranks near the bottom of the starting quarterback for fantasy purposes.

In addition to Bryant, CB Tariq Woolen (chest) and S Julian Love (hamstring) also missed practice. Woolen was already reported to likely miss Week 3 and Bryant and Love’s injuries leave Seattle’s secondary thin. The team promoted CB Artie Burns from its practice squad to remedy the injuries for a Week 3 matchup against the Panthers.

Henderson notes that it sounds like Bryant has made quite the impression so far. Seattle’s other outside cornerback competitors next to Sidney Jones appear to be 2021 fourth-rounder Tre Brown, journeyman Artie Burns, and 2022 fifth-rounder Tariq Woolen. Brown was up-and-down in his small sample last season. It’s not completely implausible that Bryant will start right away. Seattle’s corners look like a dream fantasy matchup at the moment.

Bryant (6’1/198) played in a staggering 63 games and 3,317 snaps for the Bearcats, taking heavy advantage of the free year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He was consistently targeted because the Bearcats had Sauce Gardner on the opposite side of him, but he only allowed 55% of his targets to be completed. His redshirt senior year was when he truly shined. He won the Jim Thorpe Award and was a first-team All-ACC and All-American. He posted career-highs in PFF coverage grade with an 85, pass breakups with 11, and allowed only 44% of his targets to be completed. Throughout his career, he had a staggering 37 pass breakups and 10 interceptions. While Bryant has a great build and instincts, he will likely struggle against great speed and route runners who can exploit him. He looks to be a good CB2 with a great corner on the opposite side.

With all the hype around Bryant’s (6'1/198) teammate Sauce Gardner, we forget Bryant was named the 2021 Thorpe Award winner and voted one of the top CBs at the Senior Bowl. Bryant didn’t do much testing at the combine with just the bench press and 40-yard dash, but his run didn’t stand out. He ran a 4.54 at 193 lbs, which is solid for his weight, but when it’s compared to other defensive backs who were running sub-4.4s, it doesn’t look good on paper. NFL.com’s Chad Reuter notes during his floor drills he lacked hip fluidity and speed during his backpedal. As of now, NFL Next Gen Stat gives him a 74 athleticism grade and a 6.25 prospect grade, which is considered average. He certainly has the accolades to be a solid NFL prospect with great size for his position, but also a great football IQ and instincts. The unimpressive combine may, unfortunately, move him out of the Day 2 conversation, but he could become a stellar value in the mid-rounds.