The Seattle Seahawks finished the 2023 season with a 9-8 record and missed the playoffs for the second time in 3 seasons. It was an up and down year for this team as they started out with a 5-2 record with wins over teams like the Lions and Browns, before dropping 5 of their next 6 games to fall to 6-7, and then ultimately winning 3 of their final 4 games – to finish the year with a 9-8 record. It was frustrating for the Seahawks and their fan base because every time they’d do something right and take a step in the right direction and look like a team that could win a playoff game – they would take not just one – but multiple steps back and be back to square one. And while I don’t think the Seahawks are going to win the Super Bowl this year – spoiler – I think they are a bit underrated heading into the season and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this team made the playoffs this year. This was a team that finished 25th in points allowed per game last year and they brought in one of the best defensive minds in all of football in Mike McDonald to be their next head coach. And while the return on investment may not be immediate this year – in the sense of winning playoff games – I do think he will be a great coach for them in the long run. But that brings us to the question of how far can Seattle actually go this year? Well we’re going to break everything down in today’s video. Now let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by breaking down what the Seahawks did in free agency – both in terms of who they signed and who they lost. And the biggest contract they shelled out was to veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Personally I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Leonard Williams trade when it was made because of what they gave up to get him – knowing they were going to have to pay him shortly after the season. And Leonard is a solid player – and has been throughout his entire NFL career – but he’s not a true game changing guy and I wasn’t the biggest fan of trading a second round pick for a player who turning 30 the following offseason in a situation where you had to pay him – because there was no chance the Seahawks were going to trade a 2nd round pick for a half a season rental. That left the ball completely in Leonard’s court in free agency / contract negotiations and Leonard signed a 3 year $64.5 million dollar contract with $43.8 of it being guaranteed. And their biggest weakness entering this year – which was stopping the run – was addressed by bringing in former Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy with their first round pick in the 2024 draft, and by bringing in veteran Jonathan Hankins in free agency. They also brought in former Dolphin linebacker Jerome Baker after 2020 first round pick Jordyn Brooks signed with Miami – so Miami and Seattle essentially swapped inside linebackers for the upcoming season – and I think Baker is a solid linebacker and they signed him to a 1 year deal. If Baker works out – then Seattle will probably look to sign him to another one year deal or maybe even try and lock him in for a few years. And one of the things that has to be remembered for the Seahawks not just entering the 2024 season – but from a long term perspective – is – what John Schneider and Mike McDonald are building isn’t going to be an overnight change. With Seattle bringing in guys like safety Rayshawn Jenkins who signed a 2 year deal this offseason, or linebacker Tyrel Dodson – what needs to be remembered is this team had just two picks in the top 100 this year and I’m sure that’s not how Mike McDonald wants his drafts to go moving forward. Safety Rayshawn Jenkins came over from the Jags and will turn 31 in January and only one of his two years are guaranteed on his contract – so he’s not going to be a long term solution – at least he probably shouldn’t be viewed as a long term solution for this team moving forward. One thing that needs to be noted or remembered with the 2024 Seahawks is they have the 12th most dead money entering the year at over $36 million dollars. $20.8 of that 36 million comes from Jamal Adams who recently signed with the Tennessee Titans. Former Safety Quandre Diggs allocates for $10.2 of the $36 million and that’s a tough blow for Seattle – when you have over $31 million dollars wrapped up in two safeties who aren’t even on the team. No matter how good of a GM or head coach you have – that’s going to naturally put a team behind the 8 ball in the grand scheme of things. They also lost former guard Damien Lewis in free agency to the Panthers who signed a 4 year $53 million dollar contract to sign with the Panthers, they lost tight end Colby Parkinson who signed with the Rams, tight end Will Disney who signed with the Chargers, linebacker Bobby Wagner who signed with the Commanders, and backup quarterback Drew Lock who signed the Giants. In addition to the players we’ve discussed – they brought back Noah Fant on a 2 year deal and brought in veteran tackle George Fant on a two year deal which I loved for a few reasons. The biggest of course is – you can never have enough depth along the offensive line in today’s era – and starting right tackle Abraham Lucas struggled when he came back from injury during the final few games of the 2023 season – and having an insurance plan in place is big for any team in a 17 game season
Now for the Seahawks defense entering 2024 – this is a unit I am excited for. I absolutely loved the Seahawks selection of UTSA corner Tariq Woolen during the 2022 draft and in 2022 – he had 6 interceptions and had another solid year last year too. The one knack on Woolen is his tackling – which can certainly be an issue at times and he was credited with missing 13 tackles last year. And while being able to consistently wrap up and make tackles is important and I don’t want to dismiss that – especially for a defensive player – Tariq is paid to shut opposing receivers down. And just because the interception numbers weren’t there in 2023 – like they were in 2022 – doesn’t mean he had a bad year. And in fact- in true man to man coverage last year – Tariq actually had the highest coverage grade amongst all corners – even higher than fellow 2022 draftee Sauce Gardner and this is per PFF. The reality is – teams didn’t test him. And they would rather go elsewhere which presents another challenge and that’s because of the number 5 overall pick from last years draft – Devon Witherspoon. There’s not much more to say than Devon Witherspoon is an absolute beast. He only had one interception during his rookie year – but it was a notable one as it was a pick 6 against the Giants on monday night football.
And that game was the moment Devon arrived. He had 7 total tackles, 3 quarterback hits, 2 sacks, and a 97 yard pick 6 in his 3rd career NFL game. As long as he stays healthy – the sky is the limit for him and I truly believe that. And I don’t think it’s fair to have Devon as my breakout player for the Seahawks – you know – the number 5 overall pick from last year who had a great rookie season – he just didn’t get the public recognition like he should have – but I don’t think it’s crazy to say he could be a consensus top 5 corner by the end of the 2024 season. Tariq and Devon are one of my favorite corner duo’s in the league and it’s going to be a no fly zone out there. Which is why it’s so important for the 2024 Seahawks defense to not be abysmal against the run. And what’s funny is we said the same thing about the 2023 Seahawks – just don’t be bad against the run and you’re going to win at least 9 games. In back to back years now they’ve finished 26th or worst in every rushing category including 31st in rushing yards allowed last year and 30th in rushing touchdowns allowed. And that’s the big question for this team entering the year – is to what ability can they stop the run? Because they have serviceable players on the interior. Jarran Reed and Leonard Williams are okay players to have along the defensive line and I think Byron Murphy will soon be a player teams regret passing on. He’s going to be a good player for the Seahawks in the long run. I also really like the depth they have in the trenches with Leonard, Jarran, Byron, Dre’Mont Jones, and Jonathan Hankins. And I have no doubt that this team can – and will routinely get after the quarterback. This team had 4 players have 40 or more pressures last year in Reed, Jones, Williams – and Boye Mafe – who is very underrated around the league – and that’s not going to be a problem for them this year – especially with Mike McDonald as the teams head coach. McDonald is a genius in terms of scheming his guys open, and with how he runs simulated pressures and that’s not going to change just because he doesn’t have Roquan Smith, or Kyle Hamilton on this team. R
Ravens players have attributed their team success last year to McDonald teaching his defense and making it extremely easy to remember calls. Whether it was a 4 man pressure with an edge dropping back and having a safety rush – which throws opposing offensive lineman off because they certainly expecting that – or any variation of a blitz package. The Seahawks defense has a lot of talented players – truly. And the two big questions for them entering the year is – how are they going to be able to stop the run – and how quickly are they going to be able to learn Mike McDonald’s system. And those are two questions – none of us know the answer to. But if they can even be slightly below league average – meaning around 20th or 22nd in rushing defense – as opposed to 29th or 30 – then they’re going to improve in a big way – and if they do – then the sky is the limit for this team. And this is why I think the Seahawks are an incredible underrated team heading into the year.
