Position battles to monitor during Seahawks-Titans joint practices

The Seattle Seahawks are set for their first joint practices this week since 1991. The Seahawks traveled to Nashville early ahead of Saturday’s second preseason game for joint practices with the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday and Thursday. Competitive practices against rival teams are often more useful for roster evaluation purposes than exhibition contests are, and head coach Mike Macdonald has already stated that few (or no) starters will play Saturday.

With competitive joint practices versus the Titans beginning on Wednesday, we’ve identified position battles you should be monitoring.

Seahawks WRs vs. Titans CBs

The Seahawks arguably have the league’s best trio of wide receivers. D.K. Metcalf, Jaxon-Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett should give Tennessee’s cornerbacks all they can handle. These head-to-head battles should be fun and competitive because the Titans are talented at cornerback after acquiring L’Jarius Sneed in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this offseason. His opposite starter Chido Awuzie may miss practices with a calf injury, but Roger McCreary is a talented No. 3 cornerback.

There’s also a fun side-quest here given that Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson was Macdonald’s defensive backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens last season.

Seahawks DL vs. Titans OL

We’ll especially be paying close attention to the Seahawks’ defensive line versus the Titans’ offensive line. The Seahawks should have the upper hand on the interior with Dre’Mont Jones, Leonard Williams, and Byron Murphy II squaring off with Titans sophomore left guard Peter Skoronski and their new starting center Lloyd Cushenberry. The Titans are holding an uninspiring competition at right guard between Dillon Radunz and Andrew Rupcich.

The EDGE versus offensive tackles should be fun and unpredictable. Both sides have a lot of youth. How will Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, and Uchenna Nwosu fare versus Titans rookie left tackle JC Latham, and third-year right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere?

In a fun storyline, Murphy will reunite with fellow rookie defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, who was drafted by the Titans. Murphy and Sweat played together at Texas last season.

Seahawks CBs vs Titans WRs

The Seahawks are deep at cornerback with Devon Witerspoon, Riq Woolen, and Tre Brown helping spearhead Macdonald’s defense. The Titans revamped their wide receiver room this offseason by signing Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in free agency to build around sophomore quarterback Will Levis. It’s a shame DeAndre Hopkins will miss these practices with a knee injury, but these battles should be fun nonetheless. Levis is a gunslinger that will want to test Seattle’s cornerbacks in coverage.

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