At various points throughout the 2024 offseason, defensive back Coby Bryant’s current and future status with the Seattle Seahawks has been a question mark.
The former slot cornerback, now primarily playing safety for the Seahawks, recorded 70 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, four forced fumbles and four pass deflections as a rookie in 2022. Battling injuries and added depth at corner last season, Bryant saw action in just nine games as a sophom*ore and finished with 18 tackles and one forced fumble.
With the team adding even more depth at cornerback entering 2024, Bryant would need to make an impact from a new spot, and that’s precisely what he did in the team’s preseason-opening victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Bryant didn’t have any tackles in 19 defensive snaps, but he secured one interception early in the second quarter off a tipped ball from a punishing hit by K’Von Wallace on Chargers tight end Hayden Hurst and nearly had another later in the game. He was Seattle’s fourth highest-graded defensive player in the game, per Pro Football Focus, with an 86.4 overall grade.
“I take preseason serious, whatever the case may be,” Bryant said postgame. “I just love football and competing.”
Bryant isn’t a player who stands out solely on his athleticism. As he displayed Saturday, Bryant is a smart football player — always managing to be in the right place at the right time. That trait was apparent in his rookie season when he tied for second in the NFL in forced fumbles.
That’s an element of Bryant’s game that can’t be taught, and it may be enough to extend his career in Seattle. So far, he’s adapting well to not only a position change but also the innovative scheme head coach Mike Macdonald is implementing.
“Mike challenges us extremely hard in practice, and then versus when it’s in a game, it’s a lot easier. I feel like that kind of helps us when we go out there,” Bryant said. “As a team, you definitely want to have that dog mentality, no matter what it is, special teams, offense, defense, that’s the mentality you want to have.”
Bryant has to be the favorite to backup Julian Love at free safety on Seattle’s 53-man roster. Macdonald likes to run three-safety packages, and he could be especially useful if the team gets into any dime, quarter or dollar sets (six-to-eight defensive backs). At the very least, Bryant displayed his value as a serviceable fill-in in a pinch.
“I’m embracing it pretty well,” Bryant said of the move to safety. “Each week I’m growing. I set myself with goals to attack each week, what I need to work on, what I’m improving on, so just the little things.”
Interestingly, former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll appeared to be experimenting with Bryant at free safety last year in the preseason, as well. Bryant played 103 snaps there in the 2023 preseason, per PFF, which was more than he lined up at corner during that span. He then only played one snap at free safety during the regular season.
Second-year safety Jerrick Reed II is also expected to fit in somewhere once he returns from injury (torn ACL in Week 10 last season), but that may be after the start of the regular season. The Seahawks would have time to evaluate their depth at that position or elsewhere to reshuffle the roster upon Reed’s return.
With a few more quality preseason outings against the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, Bryant will have fully flipped the narrative from being potentially the odd man out of Seattle’s cornerback room to becoming a contributing safety. If Bryant continues creating turnovers, the coaching staff won’t have a choice but to keep him around and supply him with opportunities.
Seattle’s next preseason game will be on the road against the Titans at 4 p.m. PDT on Saturday, Aug. 17, preceded by a joint practice with Tennessee in Nashville. Following an encouraging first outing as a team, Bryant is glad he and his defensive teammates get to hit someone else for a change.
The Seahawks allowed just 71 total yards in the first half against Los Angeles and didn't surrender a first down for the game's first six drives. That defensive effort allowed Seattle to nearly double the Chargers' time of possession.
“We get tired of scrimmaging each other each and every day,” Bryant said. “Obviously, we learn each other. But just to go against someone else and execute the way we did, it shows something.”
This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.
