Quarterbacks

1. Russell Wilson

2. Trevone Boykin

This position is set in stone.

Running backs

3. Thomas Rawls

4. Christine Michael

5. C.J. Prosise

6. Alex Collins

7. Will Tukuafu

Troymaine Pope played well in the first two pre-season games but let’s consider the whole summer. When the likes of Rawls, Michael and Prosise were missing time during camp — Collins was taking a lot of the workload and a ton of snaps. He gained rave reviews during the mock game they played. The Seahawks have cut productive pre-season RB’s in the past and Pope might be the latest casualty. Either way, it’s the #4 running back spot. They’ll hope this player rarely sees the field in 2016.

Tight ends

8. Jimmy Graham

9. Luke Willson

10. Nick Vannett

11. Brandon Williams

Graham appears healthy enough to avoid starting the year on PUP. Vannett’s injury at least sounds minor enough to avoid that status too. Brandon Williams was recently described by Pete Carroll as a core special teamer and appears destined to make the roster.

Wide receivers

12. Doug Baldwin

13. Jermaine Kearse

14. Tyler Lockett

15. Paul Richardson

16. Tanner McEvoy

17. Kevin Smith, Kasen Williams or Kenny Lawler

The first four names are a shoe-in. There are two big questions remaining. Who wins the #5 WR spot and will they look to keep a #6 too? Tanner McEvoy has been a playmaker averaging 25.6 YPC (per Field Gulls) in pre-season. He also drew the big P.I. call against Minnesota which technically was another explosive play.

McEvoy is incredibly raw and would present three gambles:

a.) Can he make plays when it matters during the regular season?

b.) Can he contribute to special teams?

c.) Do you want to risk losing one of your other, more polished receivers?

Carroll suggested he will miss the Oakland game with a groin injury and expressed some sadness about that. That hinted at a costly missed opportunity for the player and the team — especially if others stand out against the Raiders with extended playing time.

The idea of keeping a sixth receiver would allow them to carry McEvoy and avoid losing another. This could be especially important at the start of the season due to the injury issues at TE (McEvoy, if healthy, could be used as a bigger target). It’s also worth noting that the likes of Jermaine Kearse, Ricardo Lockette, Kasen Williams and Kevin Smith were all cut in the past and weren’t lost forever. They did, however, lose fourth round pick Chris Harper when he was cut in 2013.

Offensive Line

18. Bradley Sowell

19. Mark Glowinski

20. Justin Britt

21. Germain Ifedi

22. Garry Gilliam

23. J’Marcus Webb

24. Rees Odhiambo

25. Joey Hunt

26. Jahri Evans

The Seahawks carried nine O-liners last year. The first seven names listed are virtual locks at this stage. Joey Hunt took the second team reps vs Dallas ahead of Patrick Lewis. The Seahawks can save around $1.2m by keeping Hunt as the backup center over Lewis. They might prefer to keep a veteran presence at guard because this is a young, inexperienced group. Terry Poole is making a strong case but there’s a greater need for depth at guard with Sowell, Ifedi, Webb, Odhiambo and Gilliam all capable of playing tackle. Will George Fant make the practise squad? He’s played well enough to be considered for a red shirt spot.

Defensive line

27. Michael Bennett

28. Cliff Avril

29. Frank Clark

30. Cassius Marsh

31. Ahtyba Rubin

32. Tony McDaniel

33. Jarran Reed

34. Jordan Hill

35. Quinton Jefferson

Despite a lot of talk about Jordan Hill’s place on the roster, there’s very little reason to cut him and lose some valuable depth on the D-line. Hill underperformed last season but he had a 5.5 sack campaign in 2014. This looks like a really solid group but they’ll need Frank Clark and Cassius Marsh to produce when they’re on the field. They’re maybe one edge rusher short.

Linebackers

36. K.J. Wright

37. Bobby Wagner

38. Mike Morgan

39. Brock Coyle

40. Kevin Pierre-Louis

The Seahawks kept seven linebackers last season and six in 2014. I’ve listed only five here — but Cassius Marsh and/or Frank Clark are also expected to be used in several different positions. Eric Pinkins hasn’t really done enough to warrant a place and there isn’t a great deal of depth here. Steve Longa appears to be in with a shout.

Defensive backs

41. Richard Sherman

42. Earl Thomas

43. Kam Chancellor

44. DeShawn Shead

45. Jeremy Lane

46. Kelcie McCray

47. Tharold Simon

48. Marcus Burley

49. Steven Terrell

50. Tye Smith

The last three names are the ones to focus on. Burley is good at what he does and warrants keeping for some extra flexibility in the slot. He also had some nice special teams plays in pre-season. Tye Smith was stashed on the 2015 roster and they might want to keep him around again this year. Steven Terrell isn’t flashy but generally does what they want him to. He understands his role, the defense and the way they play on special teams. Tyvis Powell is probably a more popular pick but he hasn’t looked great when tried at corner and he hasn’t backed up a strong performance at Kansas City. They might stash him instead of Tye Smith, choose to flat out cut Terrell or carry one less receiver. Powell might be one of the difficult cuts they’re forced to make.

Brandon Browner hasn’t flashed at all in pre-season. Has the switch to safety underwhelmed or are the Seahawks keeping their powder dry? Many wanted to see the original LOB reunited and he’d be a popular keep — but this is an extremely competitive position group and Browner might be too much of a luxury.

Special teams

51. Steven Hauschka

52. Jon Ryan

53. Nolan Frese or Clint Gresham

I think a lot of people expected a change at long snapper after the Dallas game. We’ll see what happens.

The two things I’m least confident about:

a.) What they do at receiver (whether they keep five or six and who makes it)

b.) Which defensive backs they keep