Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar can play after all in the 2020 season. (AP)
After months of believing the Seahawks would be without offseason acquisition Quinton Dunbar, it appears he could be back in action and not miss a game, after being announced he was not charged in a proven armed robbery in Florida.
Related: Dunbar will not be charged with the proven armed robbery in Florida
Dunbar, a 28-year-old cornerback who bought the Seahawks from Washington earlier this offseason, was believed to be Seattle’s new starting cornerback against pro bowler Shaquill Griffin, but his alleged involvement in the robbery, including his NFL colleague cornerback DeAndre Baker, who was indicted, landed Dunbar on the NFL Commissioner’s release list and had much faith that he would retire for most of the entire 2020s.
Now, the NFL will complete its investigation and determine if Dunbar is suspended and, if so, for how long. Even a brief suspension could be good news for the Seahawks, who added Dunbar and All-Pro safety Jamal Adams to the defense, giving the team its best second in years.
So if Dunbar finally plays for the Seahawks in 2020, what does that mean for the secondary as a whole? Former safety of Seahawks and secondary coach and current Seahawks radio analyst Paul Moyer discuss that on Friday with 710 ESPN Seattle’s Bob, Dave and Moore.
“It’s big,” Moyer said. ‘We knew this was the biggest trade takeover until Jamal Adams and how important Quinton Dunbar is precisely because of what they want to do for the defense. I’m excited for him and the Seahawks. ”
One of the first points Moyer brought up was Dunbar’s potential redesign would allow for one of head coach Pete Carroll’s things in the world: competition.
“You’re coming back to that competitive character and my goodness, you now have a secondary issue that will take the young boys to the next level or they will have to move on, so we will find out a lot about these second-year players,” he said. , referring to 2019 defensive backs Marquise Blair and Ugo Amadi. “The other (thing) is just depth. I would like to see what could happen in the nickel position now and there are all sorts of possibilities. ‘
Nickel defense along with pass rush have been two of the key focuses on Seattle’s defense this offseason. The team ran base defense with three linebackers almost 70% of the time in 2019 and did not appear to have a nickel angle on the roster they trusted. It took until the end of the season for Amadi, a pick in the fourth round, to look into extended action in the slot. Now the Seahawks have a few options for that spot in 2020.
“You sure have Blair, Amadi, you can potentially throw in Quinton Dunbar, you can hand in Tre Flowers,” Moyer said. “… You can do so many things and they will not do 1,000 different things because that has never been their MO, but it makes them sure they can match by staff and it is certainly different in the NFC West. You have some teams that are a two- or three-tight end offense, some teams that are a proliferation offense, other teams where they are maximally protected and looking for deep passes and deep crossings. That I think a lot of guys are going to play here. ”
Flowers has started at outside corners the last two years, but struggled in coverage and with penalties late in the season and in the playoffs, which led many to assume that Dunbar would take his starting spot. Moyer believes the two could see the field at the same time because of Dunbar’s athletic ability.
“I think Tre, for his skill set, is probably better than an outsider … I think Dunbar could easily slip into the nickel,” Moyer said. ‘When he played for (Washington), he was inside at times … he has a lot of speed and like I said, he can do anything. However, he needs to improve on his press type and more aggressively try to remove his routes and shoulders and jam (the receiver) and all that stuff, but he is certainly capable of it. ‘
Listen to Moyer’s full interview with Bob, Dave and Moore on this link as in the player below.
Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Bob, Dave and Moore on Twitter.
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