Prior to the Seahawks fourth practice of training camp, head coach Pete Carroll joined the team's flagship radio station 710 ESPN Seattle for a 20-minute conversation with "Brock and Salk."
Much of the talk centered around Seattle's recently-inked contract extensions for quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner, which you can listen to in the full podcast embedded above.
Below, take a look at a few training camp takeaways to come from Carroll's segment with Brock Huard and Mike Salk. This season, Carroll plans to join the pair on-air around 9:30 a.m. PT the day after every game.
1. Jimmy Graham Has Jumped Out
He's one of the bigger bodies on the football field, standing at 6-foot-7 and 265-pounds, so even to the casual onlooker tight end Jimmy Graham is bound to stand out. Speaking strictly from a football-production perspective, though, it was Graham who Carroll quickly called out when asked which player has impressed most through the first three days of camp.
"Jimmy Graham, yeah," Carroll replied before Salk could even finish his question. "He's just a fantastic force. His ability to show himself open, and he does it with guys even hanging with him. He's so long and tall that the quarterbacks can just feel him getting open and they're anticipating him, so the ball is coming out quick."
A three-time Pro Bowler during his time with the New Orleans Saints, Graham joined the Seahawks via trade this offseason holding 51 career touchdowns under his belt, an average of more than 10 per season since he entered the League in 2010. In training camp, Seattle has yet to go through much red zone work, but Graham put on a show in that category during offseason workouts earlier this year.
"It just makes sense," said Carroll. "This is not rocket science. Throw it to that guy, he's pretty darn good. He's going to help everybody else, too. He's going to be a factor to help the running game. He's going to be a factor to help Doug [Baldwin] and [Jermaine] Kearse and all the wide receivers. So it's a beautiful complement and we'll just keep growing with it."
2. Nickel Cornerback Is A Competition To Watch
Jeremy Lane, who the team has preferred to use at the nickel cornerback spot in recent seasons, opened training camp on Seattle's Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list as he continues to rehab the arm and ACL injuries he suffered in Super Bowl XLIX this past February. That means there's a competition at the spot as training camp opens.
"There's a battle going on there, for sure," Carroll said. "Marcus Burley is a good football player. J-Lane has been the guy that we like and Marcus played there last year as well. It's good to get Will Blackmon, an experienced guy that's been through the system - he was with us, he was with [former Seahawks defensive coordinator] Gus [Bradley], so he's got some familiarity. He's a very competitive, smart kid, too. Tye Smith did some stuff yesterday that I was really fired up about. There will be a time here when we move him in there to give him some shots, too, so we'll see how that goes. But it's again a competition to watch."
3. Ahtyba Rubin Has Been One Of Training Camp's Most Physical Players
Defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin was signed in free agency this offseason after seven seasons with the Cleveland Browns. On Sunday, Rubin was observed moving into the starting lineup next to nose tackle Brandon Mebane, the same day Seattle released defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, a starter last season. Asked to name the most physical player he's seen at camp so far, Carroll singled out Rubin as one who's made his mark.
"He's a load, man," Carroll said. "He is a load. Not only is he a load at the line of scrimmage, he chases the football for a big man like you love to see. So I'm anxious to see him keep coming out. We need him to be a factor, obviously now. He's sent an initial message that he's going to be there and you're going to be able to count on him."
Seahawks players padded up for the first time this season at Day 3 of Seahawks Training Camp presented by Bing.