Jordyn Brooks, Tariq Woolen, and Darrell Taylor, Seattle Seahawks.
Before the 2022 season began, almost everyone wrote off the Seattle Seahawks. At best, they might eke out 5 or 6 wins. Instead, the Seahawks shocked everyone by going 9-8 and reaching the NFL Playoffs. So what now?
The Seahawks brain trust has some decisions to make this offseason. The answers depend on who General Manager John Schneider and Head Coach Pete Carroll think they are.
Are the Seahawks a contender who is a few pieces away from competing for a Super Bowl? Was the 2022 season a mirage that used a last place schedule and good draft to fool themselves into thinking they’re closer to real contention than they are? Where Schneider and Carroll land on those questions dictates what happens next.
According to the 12s on social media, Seattle should:
Those are all interesting ideas, but not very likely to happen. There are more realistic solutions. We have a three-pronged plan for the Seattle Seahawks to build off what they accomplished in 2022.
In Part 1, we covered who should lead the offense. This time it’s the defense.
This year’s defense was something out of Pete Carroll’s nightmares. The line couldn’t stop anyone, the linebackers missed tackles, and the guys in the secondary looked like Ferdinand Magellan with some of the angles they would take.
The result was Seattle finishing 30th out of 32 teams in rushing yards allowed. The two teams below them were Houston and Chicago.
Seattle needs to address this issue through the draft, preferably with their top pick. There are 12s out there who want to trade down and accumulate future first-round picks while wish-casting for the players they might get with them.
The flaw is this isn’t Madden, and the next season can’t be simulated. Seattle is trying to win now, not tank for future assets.
Regarding trading back for more picks in this year’s draft, the Seahawks can do it with their other first round pick at number 20. They need a game-changing defensive lineman, and there are enough high-end ones in this draft to get someone very good with the fifth overall pick.
In a perfect world, Chicago will trade out of the top slot with anyone BUT the Colts. If they do either Jalen Carter or Wil Anderson should make it to Seattle. Cater would be the best fit for Seattle. He could blow up the middle, allowing Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor to apply pressure off the edges.
If Carter and Anderson are gone, the next best option is massive Tyree Wilson over Myles Murphy for the same reason.
There’s also Nolan Smith, who should be lurking around the 20th spot. He’s drawn comparisons to the Eagles Hassan Reddick in draft circles and could be a pass rushing force early on. Behind Smith, BJ Ojulari, Siaki Ika, and Will McDonald will all be floating around the same area. The Hawks should be able to dramatically improve their defensive line in the first round.
The other spot Schneider and Carroll need to address, at some point, is linebacker. Seattle Seahawks incumbent MLB Jordyn Brooks will miss significant time in 2023 with a knee injury. Cody Barton can’t be the team’s best linebacker.
A free agent, Barton can be brought back to Seattle on the cheap, but he needs a partner better than him in the middle. Whether that’s via the draft or a free agency remains to be seen.
Draft-wise, Clemson’s Trenton Simpson and Arkansas’s Drew Sanders are some early draft possibilities for the Seattle Seahawks.
There are some quality linebackers on expiring contracts who could fit in as a placeholder for a year while Brooks rehabs. Drue Tranquill is coming off a solid season in Los Angeles. Tampa Bay may let veteran Lavonte David walk now that it’s rebuilding time in Tampa.
The other intriguing option is Buffalo’s Tremaine Edmunds. At just 25 with a world of talent, Edmunds could be a game-changing type of player if he reached his full potential.
Finally, there’s Jamal Adams. While his last two seasons ended with injuries, they weren’t the chronic types of problems that could derail his career.
The Prez will only be 28 years old next season and had no injury issues before coming to Seattle. There’s every reason to believe he can return and be an impact player next season.
If the Seattle Seahawks young corners continue to progress and safety Quandre Diggs gets back to form, then Adams can be that dominant in-the-box safety we saw in his first Seattle season.
How do you think the Seattle Seahawks will address their biggest defensive deficiencies?