Seattle Seahawks five weakest position links
Ed Stein
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A team is only as good as its weakest link. These are the Seattle Seahawks’ five weakest links.
The NFL salary cap guarantees some level of equality between teams. Since they have a fixed floor and ceiling one or a handful of teams can’t outspend the others. It all comes down to how wisely teams use the financial resources they have. To build up one area or position, another may be sacrificed in hopes that the team can get by or someone steps up. Here are the Seattle Seahawks‘ weakest links.
Just missed – offensive line depth
It’s bad enough to have a somewhat suspect offensive line. It’s worse when there is no one decent to one of the starter’s places in case of injury or poor performance. Last season, I was very critical of Jamarco Jones for not beating out starter Brandon Shell.
Then I found out what was worse than Shell, watching Jones or Cedric Ogbuehi try to replace him. Neither could do the job. At least Jordan Simmons isn’t a bad fill-in at guard.
5 – Backup quarterbacks
Last season was the first time since 2016 a quarterback other than Russell Wilson threw a pass in a Seahawks game. It took two years, but Geno Smith got to play for Seattle. He completed four-of-five passes in the Seahawks 40–3 blowout win over the Jets. Not exactly a show of force.
It’s a good thing RW3 stays healthy. Does anyone think the team can win with Smith as the quarterback? Behind Smith, Danny Etling, and Alex McGough are complete unknowns.
4 – Outside linebacker
K.J. Wright still isn’t signed. That leaves a gaping hole in the Seattle Seahawks defense. The team’s plan, for now, is to give last year’s second-round draft pick Darrell Taylor a first shot at the vacated position. It’s not a role Taylor had in college, so what he can do there remains to be seen. Especially since Taylor missed all of 2020 with a leg injury.
3 – Defensive tackle
For the Seahawks to sign players they needed in the offseason, sacrifices had to be made. One of those sacrifices was defensive tackle Jarran Reed. His salary for 2021 was too high, and he needed to go.
Seattle replaced Reed’s quality with lots of quantity. Al Woods is back for the third time. Woods joins 2020 holdovers Rasheem Green, and Bryan Mone, and two other free agent signings Robert Nkemdiche and Myles Adams. At least the Seahawks still have Poona Ford at the other DT spot.
2 – Right tackle
Brandon Shell battled injuries last season. When he wasn’t hurt, Shell couldn’t pass block. Russell Wilson had to deal with pass rushers in his face constantly. Finding a new right tackle should have been a priority in the offseason. Since it wasn’t, they have to live with Shell for another year.
1 – Center
It was a surprise last September when Ethan Pocic won the starting center job in training camp. He was decent, as a first-year starter, but his overall performance lacked. Pocic had issues with making line calls and too often needed help from his guards to block. Hopefully, he improves from year one to year two.
Darrell Taylor has a Frank Clark-like build—now trying to carve out a Bruce Irvin-like role with #Seahawks: strongside LB early downs, edge-rushing end on passing downs.
A possible K.J. Wright succession plan—though don’t rule out Wright returning for an 11th season with SEA pic.twitter.com/KX4ELyMawb
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) May 14, 2021
What do you think the Seattle Seahawks weakest position links are? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.