Villanova Football: Previewing Isas Waxter II’s Camp Battle

After signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in April, Villanova Football alumnus Isas Waxter II faces an upward climb in making it onto a 53-man roster.

Some 20 percent of UDFA’s make the roster out of training camp, while 40 percent in total remain associated with an NFL squad, whether catching on with another team or landing on a practice squad.

Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 215 pounds, Waxter played cornerback with Villanova football, but his size (taller than the average corner) and speed (slower than the average corner) might behoove a switch to safety. Right now, he’s listed along with nine other players as a cornerback on the Seahawks’ depth chart. Seattle boasts just four free safeties and three strong safeties, respectively, so a switch would give him less competition.

Seahawks’ Depth Chart

Among those cornerbacks are Zy Alexander, another rookie UDFA, as well as a pair of contributors for Seattle last season, Riq Woolen and Nehemiah Pritchett.

Tyler Hall spent last season on the Seahawks’ practice squad, while Shemar Jean-Charles, Damarion Williams and JT Woods have all bounced between practice squads and serving as reserve options in recent seasons. Rounding out the list are Devon Witherspoon, the 2023 fifth overall pick, and Josh Jobe, who landed on the practice squad last season but signed a new deal with Seattle after acquitting himself well over ten games (six starts).

NFL teams typically keep five cornerbacks on their 53-man roster, perhaps stashing a sixth on the practice squad.

Witherspoon, Woolen and Pritchett will all make the roster or have an excellent chance of doing so, as will Jobe, so Isas Waxter needs to stand out the most among a crowd of practice squad members.

Over at strong safety, AJ Finley is another practice squad player and D’Anthony Bell has enjoyed playing time as a reserve. Second round pick Nick Emmanwori rounds out the list, so there’s another position grouping Waxter could sneak into.

With Seattle’s secondary struggling mightily last season, the door seems wider for Waxter than it would in most other circumstances.