Seattle Seahawks secondary suffers when Tre Flowers plays

  |  
Oct 8, 2020
Seattle Seahawks injury
Tre Flowers, Seattle Seahawks.

Third-year Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tre Flowers has been a disaster on the field in 2020. His regression since his rookie season of 2017 makes Flowers a liability the Seahawks can’t afford.

Against Dallas, I pinned the Seattle Seahawks poor pass defense on the entire secondary. Last week one man deserved most of the criticism, Tre Flowers.

When Flowers was drafted in 2018, he was primarily a safety at Oklahoma State. Because he had good size and speed, the Seahawks moved him to cornerback. They threw him straight into the fire, starting opposite Shaquill Griffin in the first game of the season. Rookie NFL corners get picked on, and quarterbacks went after Flowers. He seemed up to the challenge.

Downhill Slide

Flowers showed some development as a rookie, but there is another side of sports that doesn’t get much attention. After a season in the league, there was enough video of Flowers that receivers made adjustments to their approach with him. Unfortunately, Flowers couldn’t adjust back.

That explains why Flowers has regressed since his rookie season. Pro Football Focus gave Flowers a 64.1 rating as a rookie in 2018. It dropped to 49.5 last season, and so far this year, he’s at 38.6.

It became obvious by the end of 2019 that Flowers would never develop into what the Seahawks hoped for. That’s why they traded for Quinton Dunbar in March from the Washington Football Team.

Seattle is very banged up in the secondary. Flowers started at cornerback the last two weeks because Dunbar was out with a knee injury. It didn’t help that All-Pro safety Jamal Adams missed the Dolphins game as well. Adams generally does a good job of doubling receivers over the top. The way Miami receivers beat flowers, Adams probably wouldn’t have made much difference anyway.

Move on

Tre Flowers can’t cover man-to-man and his zone defending isn’t much better. He isn’t an NFL cornerback. As further proof, after Adams came over from New York, Marquise Blair beat out Flowers for the nickelback job.

Seattle Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton Jr. has to find someone else if Dunbar is a no-go again this week. Even when Dunbar does return, Flowers is a risky proposition in the slot as a nickelback.

It’s time to stop the charade and drop Flowers to the bottom of the depth chart. Maybe GM John Schneider can move him in the offseason for a late-round draft pick.

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