Quarterback

Three off-seasons ago, the Seahawks made a franchise changing decision to trade quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. Wilson had been the Seahawks starting quarterback for ten seasons, made the Pro Bowl in all but one of those seasons, and led back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, including a victory in Super Bowl 48. However, the Seahawks didn’t make a conference championship in any of Wilson’s final seven seasons in Seattle and, after their first losing season in the Wilson era in 2021, with Wilson on the wrong side of 30, the Seahawks felt it was the right time to move on from him, with the team stuck in limbo and the Broncos willing to pay a steep price for acquire him, giving the Seahawks a package of two first round picks, two second round picks, and three players in return. The Seahawks looked like they were entering a full rebuild, but something unexpected happened. 

While Wilson struggled in Denver, proving the Seahawks moved on from him at the right time, Wilson’s former backup Geno Smith broke out. Smith was originally not even seen as the favorite to start in 2022, with many expecting it would be young developmental quarterback Drew Lock, who was acquired in the Russell Wilson trade, and then likely a quarterback from the 2023 NFL Draft if Lock couldn’t prove himself. Instead Smith made 49 starts over the next three seasons, completing 68.5% of his passes for an average of 7.41 YPA, 71 touchdowns, and 35 interceptions, while leading the Seahawks to a 27-22 record in those games. It was kind of a best of both worlds situation for the Seahawks, as they remained competitive in the short-term, while building for the long-term, with seven picks combined in the first two rounds of the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts.

However, none of those picks were a long-term quarterback of the future and, with Geno Smith heading into his age 35 season and the final year of his contract in 2025, the Seahawks were again at a crossroads. Smith had proven he could be a capable quarterback, but he never won a playoff game and it seemed unlikely he would be the quarterback that could get them back to the Super Bowl. On top of that, he was expecting a significant raise on his new extension, one that would carry him into his late 30s. Further working against Smith getting that extension from the Seahawks was the fact that they had moved on from long-time coach and one of Smith’s biggest supporters Pete Carroll last off-season and replaced him with a much younger coach in Mike Macdonald. 

Macdonald kept Smith for 2024, but this off-season the Seahawks decided to hit the reset button again at the quarterback position and sent Smith to his old coach Pete Carroll, now in Las Vegas, for a third round pick. The Seahawks then took the money they could have given to Smith on an extension and gave it to free agent quarterback Sam Darnold, who came to town on a 3-year, 100.5 million dollar deal. Darnold was once a bust as the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, spending his first seven seasons in the league with four different teams, but, like Geno Smith, he seemed to be a late bloomer when he broke out with that fourth team, the Minnesota Vikings, last season, completing 66.2% of his passes for an average of 7.92 YPA, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions (102.5 QB rating).

Darnold is still only going into his age 28 season and, if he continues playing like he did last season, the Seahawks will have replaced Smith with a younger, better quarterback, while getting a relatively high draft pick in the process. However, there are reasons for concern that Darnold may not replicate his 2024 season in his new home. For one, Darnold is still a one-year wonder who, prior to last season, completed 59.7% of his passes for an average of 6.66 YPA, 63 touchdowns, and 56 interceptions in 56 career starts (78.3 QB rating). 

Much of Darnold’s previous struggles can be blamed on him being in some bad situations, particularly in New York and Carolina, where he made all but one of those 56 starts, but if the situation gets the blame for those struggles, it should also get some of the credit for Darnold’s breakout last season, as Darnold had a great coaching staff and supporting cast on his side in Minnesota. Now in Seattle, the situation probably won’t be as bad as it was in New York or Carolina, but it also probably won’t be nearly as good as it was in Minnesota and, as a result, Darnold could regress somewhat. 

The Seahawks also don’t seem totally sold on Darnold either, hedging their bet by using the third round pick they received from the Raiders on Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. Milroe enters the league very raw and might spend his rookie season as the third string quarterback, with the now veteran Drew Lock (78.8 career QB rating in 28 starts) being brought back this off-season after one-year with the Giants, but Milroe is a great athlete with a strong arm who could develop into a starter long-term and Darnold’s contract only guarantees him 37.5 million, making it easy for the Seahawks to move on at any point after this season if he doesn’t live up to his big price tag. Darnold definitely elevates the ceiling of this quarterback room, compared to Geno Smith, but he also lowers the floor significantly.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

Trading away Geno Smith and replacing him with Sam Darnold was not the only franchise changing trade the Seahawks made this off-season, as they opted not to extend talented receiver DK Metcalf ahead of the final year of his contract this off-season and instead traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second round pick, giving themselves another additional premium draft pick. Metcalf had another solid season for the Seahawks in 2024, with a 66/992/5 slash line on 108 targets, a 74.3 PFF grade (33rd among wide receivers), and 1.81 yards per route run (38th among wide receivers), but he wanted upwards of 30 million annually on his next contract and the Seahawks have another talented receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who will need a long-term extension soon as well. 

The Seahawks could have afforded to keep both, but they fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb for being too pass heavy last season (7th in pass attempts, 29th in rush attempts last season) and replaced him with Klint Kubiak, who prefers a more balanced attack, and paying top dollar to two wide receivers did not line up with their new offensive philosophy. The Seahawks instead signed veteran Cooper Kupp to a 3-year, 45 million dollar deal and picked up an extra high draft pick in the process, allowing them to focus money and draft capital on other parts of the roster.

A few years ago, signing Kupp would have been a huge boost to any offense, as Kupp won the receiving triple crown with the Rams in 2021, totaling a 145/1947/16 slash line, averaging 3.12 yards per route run (1st among wide receivers), and receiving a 92.3 PFF grade (2nd among wide receivers). Kupp was on his way to a similar season in 2022, averaging 2.40 yards per route run (8th among wide receivers) and posting a 86.3 PFF grade (7th among wide receivers), but his season lasted just nine games due to injury. 

In 2023 and 2024, Kupp was solid, but did not reach the heights he reached in 2021 and 2022, with yards per route run averages of 1.86 and 1.99 respectively and PFF grades of 72.4 and 71.2 respectively, while again missing more time with injury, limited to 12 games each of those two seasons. Perhaps most concerningly, Kupp seemed to be phased out of the offense down the stretch last season, with just a 10/143/0 slash line in his final five games, including two post-season games, and he now heads into his age 32 season.

Kupp is already clearly on the decline, but age 31 to age 32 is the biggest single season drop off in terms of elite production probability. Overall, a 32-year-old wide receiver is about half as likely to top 1000 yards receiving in a season as a 30-year-old wide receiver and about a third as likely as a 28-year-old wide receiver, a steep drop off in a 4-year span. Kupp’s recent injury history doesn’t help matters. The Seahawks are obviously not getting the best of Cooper Kupp and there is a good chance he drops off further and/or misses significant time with injury, so he figures to be a clear downgrade from the much younger, healthier Metcalf.

The Seahawks also moved on from Tyler Lockett, who was a solid #3 receiver last season with a 49/600/2 slash line, but who was going into his age 33 season owed 17 million, making him an easy cap casualty this off-season. The Seahawks don’t have a great option to replace him though. They signed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a 1-year, 4 million dollar deal and he figures to be the favorite for the #3 receiver job. He has been decent, but unspectacular throughout his 7-year career, averaging a slash line of 29/509/3 per season with 1.25 yards per route run and now he heads into his age 31 season, so his best days are likely behind him. 

As far as #3 receivers go, Lockett was pretty good last season, so Valdes-Scantling figures to be a downgrade. Behind Valdes-Scantling, the Seahawks have Jake Bobo, a 2023 undrafted free agent who has averaged just 1.01 yards per route run in limited action thus far in his career, as well as 5th and 7th round rookies Tory Horton and Ricky White, neither of whom are likely to make a significant impact in year one, leaving Valdes-Scantling as the likely #3 receiver, largely by default.

With the rest of the wide receiver room looking underwhelming, Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be the clear #1 receiver. A first round pick in 2023, Smith-Njigba had a decent rookie year with a 63/628/4 slash line on 93 targets and 1.32 yards per route run and then he took a big step forward in a bigger role in 2024 with a 100/1130/6 slash line on 137 targets and 1.81 yards per route run. Smith Njigba will face more double teams with Metcalf gone and Darnold could prove to be a downgrade under center, so he might not be as efficient as he was a year ago, and, with this offense likely to run the ball more, he might not even see that many more targets, but he also has the talent to take another step forward in his third season in the league, which could help him beat those double teams and help him get to balls that may be less accurate than they were last season. 

The Seahawks will also likely lean on their tight ends more this season than they did in 2024. Noah Fant led Seahawks tight ends with a 48/500/1 slash line and 64 targets, but was overall underwhelming. That has largely been the case for him since he arrived in Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade. Fant was a first round pick by the Broncos in 2019 and showed some promise early in his career, but he hasn’t lived up to that promise since arriving in Seattle, averaging just a 43/467/2 slash line and 1.32 yards per route run in three seasons with the Seahawks. 

Now going into his age 28 season, it is very likely Fant is who he is at this stage of his career, which, in addition to the Seahawks lack of wide receiver depth, is why the Seahawks opted to add a higher upside tight end option early in the draft, taking Miami’s Elijah Arroyo in the second round. Arroyo may spend his rookie season behind Fant on the depth chart, but the Seahawks figure to use two tight end sets somewhat frequently to offset their lack of depth at wide receiver and, with Fant set to hit free agency next off-season, Arroyo looks like the future starter at tight end for the Seahawks. 

The Seahawks also have AJ Barner, a 2024 4th round pick who showed some promise as a rookie, playing 502 snaps in total, but he was more of a blocker than a pass catcher (260 blocking snaps, 242 routes run) and seems likely to enter 2025 as the third tight end on the depth chart. He could still have some upside going forward and his 1.13 yards per route run wasn’t bad for a rookie, but he is unlikely to have a big role in this passing game this season, barring injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. Overall, this remade Seahawks receiving corps will almost definitely be worse than it was a year ago and is not the same caliber of receiving corps as Sam Darnold had in Minnesota.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

The Seahawks’ strategy of changing quarterbacks, downgrading their receiving corps, saving money, and accumulating extra draft picks made some sense if they had used the extra resources to significantly address what was one of the worst offensive lines in the league last season (26th in pass blocking grade, 24th in run blocking grade on PFF), but the Seahawks didn’t really do that. They didn’t sign a single starting caliber offensive lineman in free agency and mostly rolled their cap savings into next off-season, as they rank just 28th in average annual value of their roster, a metric heavily correlated to winning percentage. The Seahawks did use their first round pick on North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel, a talented guard prospect, but they really needed to use multiple early draft picks on the offensive line, given the state their offensive line was in going into the draft, and they didn’t.

Zabel looks like a future above average starter, but he is just a rookie and it’s possible he is not even an upgrade on departed veteran Laken Tomlinson, who had a decent, but unspectacular 62.1 PFF grade in 17 starts at left guard last season. Center Olusegun Oluwatimi was decent in 8 starts last season with a 64.2 PFF grade, but it might be wishful thinking to expect the 2023 5th round pick to take a step forward in his third season in the league and he might not even be able to translate his decent play in a limited role last season into a season-long role. Connor Williams, who had a 62.9 PFF grade in 9 starts at center last season, is retired, so if Oluwatimi struggles or misses any time with injury, the Seahawks are left with Jalen Sundell, a 2024 undrafted free agent who played 53 snaps as a rookie, as the alternative.

Right guard saw three different players make starts in 2024, Anthony Bradford (10 starts), Sataoa Laumea (6 starts), and Christian Haynes (1 start) and all three struggled mightily with PFF grades of 48.3, 37.9, and 48.5. All three are relatively young, selected in the 4th round in 2023, the 6th round in 2024, and the 3rd round in 2024 respectively, but any of the three would have to take a big step forward to even be a decent starter in 2025 and that seems unlikely. Sixth round rookie Bryce Cabeldue could also be in the mix for the starting right guard job at some point this season, but that says more about the state of the position than anything positive about Cabeldue, who would almost definitely struggle in a significant rookie year role. 

Bradford, who also struggled with a 51.7 PFF grade in 11 starts as a rookie in 2023 before continuing to struggle last season, is probably the favorite for the starting right guard job and seems likely to continue struggling. Along with the potential of the rookie Zabel, probably the biggest reason to be optimistic this offensive line can be at least somewhat better this year than a year ago is the potential for better health from right tackle Abraham Lucas, who missed 10 games last season, leaving Stone Forysthe and Mike Jerrell, who finished with PFF grades of 43.1 and 46.4 respectively, to start in his absence. 

Lucas also missed 11 games in 2023 and has had PFF grades of just 53.1 and 61.9 over the past two seasons respectively, so the potential for him to struggle and/or miss significant time with injury is there, but the 2022 3rd round pick did have a solid 68.5 PFF grade in 16 starts as a rookie, so the upside is at least there as well. If Lucas misses more time, the Seahawks would likely turn to either Jerrell, a 2024 6th round pick, or veteran Josh Jones, a career backup who has made 24 starts in five seasons in the league, while finishing below 50 on PFF in four of those five seasons. Both would likely struggle if forced into significant action.

The saving grace of this offensive line is left tackle Charles Cross, the 9th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, who has developed into one of the better left tackles in the league. Cross has started 48 games in three seasons in the league, has seen his PFF grade improve from 63.7 to 67.6 to 82.5 last season, and is still only going into his age 25 season, so he has a good chance to continue playing at the level he played at last season, or potentially even a higher level, for years to come. 

However, the flip side of that is the Seahawks’ offensive line was horrendous last season even with Cross having a big year, so if he happens to regress even somewhat or, even worse, to miss some time with injury, the Seahawks would be in big trouble upfront. Overall, this offensive line looks likely to be a big problem, especially a concern since Sam Darnold had the third longest time to throw in the league last season and broke out in large part because of that, finishing second in the NFL only behind Lamar Jackson with 25 passing touchdowns on dropbacks of longer than 2.5 seconds.

Grade: B-

Running Backs

As I mentioned, the Seahawks are planning on running more this season, after ranking just 29th in rushing attempts last season. The Seahawks did finish with a middle of the pack 4.25 yards per carry, 17th in the NFL, but that gets a lot worse when you see their top-2 backs, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, averaged just 3.75 yards per carry and 4.21 yards per carry respectively. The offensive line was primarily to blame though, as Walker and Charbonnet finished 3rd and 17th respectively among running backs on PFF in rushing grade and averaged 3.05 yards per carry after contact and 3.35 yards per carry after contact respectively, good for 23rd and 10th respectively among eligible running backs. In terms of elusive rating, which also factors in missed tackles, both were even better, ranking 3rd and 12th at 113.5 and 81.3 respectively. 

A second round pick in 2022, Walker has a YPC average of 4.21 on 600 career carries, with 3.04 yards per carry after contact, and a 89.2 elusive rating, while Charbonnet, selected in the second round in 2023, has a career 4.24 YPC average on 243 carries, with 3.18 yards per carry after contact and a 64.9 elusive rating. Walker and Charbonnet saw similar amounts of carries last season, with 153 and 135 respectively, but that is only because Walker missed essentially six games with injury, with Charbonnet having 91 carries in those 6 games and just 44 in his other 11 games. In games where both played, Walker averaged 13.9 carries to just 4.0 for Charbonnet. Walker also missed two games in each of his first two seasons in the league, but, unless he misses significant time like he did last season, I would expect Walker and Charbonnet to have a similar carry split as 2023, when Walker had 219 carries to Charbonnet’s 108, even with Walker missing two games.

Both Walker and Charbonnet were active in the passing game last season, with Walker finishing with a 46/299/1 slash line and 1.33 yards per route run on 53 targets and Charbonnet finishing with a 42/340/1 slash line and 1.08 yards per route run on 52 targets. Like with carries, I expect Walker to have a bigger split of the running back targets this season, as long as he can stay healthy and, with less wide receiver talent than a year ago, it’s possible running backs will be a bigger part of the passing game, so Walker has the potential for a pretty big receiving year out of the backfield, while Charbonnet should also have a decent amount of pass game opportunities. 

Walker also averaged 1.30 yards per route run in 2023 and, while Charbonnet only averaged 0.76 yards per route run as a rookie in 2023, he was productive in the passing game in college, so it’s not a surprise he took a step forward in that aspect in 2024. I should also note that Charbonnet had an excellent season as a pass blocker last season, allowing just 7 pressures on 100 pass block snaps, the same amount of allowed pressures as Walker, who only pass blocked 44 times.

Kenny McIntosh, a 2023 7th round pick, seems likely to be the third back again. He had an impressive 5.55 YPC average last season, but, even with Walker missing significant time, he only finished with 31 carries on the season, which were the first carries of his career. I don’t expect that to change much this season, so, even on an offense that figures to run the ball more this season, McIntosh is an afterthought. If either Walker or Charbonnet miss significant time, the other back figures to handle the vast majority of the work, with McIntosh seeing just a few carries here and there when Walker or Charbonnet need a breather. Overall, this is a deep backfield, with two running backs capable of carrying the load and making guys miss, but they might not have the production to match their talent if the offensive line doesn’t improve significantly.

Grade: A-

Edge Defenders

The Seahawks made one significant signing on defense this off-season, giving ex-Cowboys edge defender DeMarcus Lawrence a 3-year, 32.5 million dollar deal to replace Dre’Mont Jones, who was a cap casualty ahead of 16.51 million non-guaranteed in 2025. Jones was a bust of a free agent signing two off-season ago and it wouldn’t be hard for Lawrence to be an upgrade, after Jones finished with just a 54.3 PFF grade across 617 snaps last season, but Lawrence definitely comes with a lot of risk. 

Prior to last season, Lawrence had consistently been one of the best edge defenders in the league for several years, finishing above 70 on PFF in seven straight seasons from 2017-2023, including six seasons above 80 and three seasons above 90. He primarily excelled as a run defender, but also was a productive pass rusher as well, totaling 49.5 sacks, 61 hits, and a 13.5% pressure rate in 105 games across that stretch. 

However, Lawrence was limited to 167 snaps in four games by injury last season and played poorly in limited action when on the field, with just a 56.8 PFF grade. It’s possible Lawrence could bounce back in a significant way if he is healthier in 2025, but Lawrence is also going into his age 33 season, so his best days are likely behind him. It seems likely Lawrence has at least some solid play left in the tank and the contract the Seahawks got him on is very reasonable all things considered, but he comes with a lot of risk, in addition to a lot of potential reward. It wouldn’t be hard for him to be better than Jones though, assuming he doesn’t suffer another major injury.

The Seahawks are also hoping for a healthier season out of fellow edge defender Uchenna Nwosu. Nwosu has been a solid edge defender throughout his 7-year career, finishing with PFF grades in the 60s and 70s in every season, but he was limited to just 190 snaps in 6 games last season, after playing just 283 snaps in 6 games the prior season. Nwosu had a 72.6 PFF grade across 952 snaps in 2022, totaling 9.5 sacks, 17 hits, and a 13.8% pressure rate as a pass rusher, and he’s still only going into his age 29 season, so he has a good chance to be an impact player if he can stay healthy, but he also comes with a lot of risk, given how much time he has missed over the past two seasons.

If Lawrence and Nwosu stay healthy and have solid seasons, the Seahawks should have a solid trio of edge defenders. Those might be big ifs, but Boye Mafe, their top returning edge defender is much less of a question mark. A second round pick in 2022, Mafe has gotten better in every season in the league, going from a 64.6 PFF grade as a rookie to a 73.9 PFF grade in his second season in 2023 to a 75.2 PFF grade last season and he should remain at least a solid starter in 2025. Also a solid run defender, Mafe has compiled 15 sacks, 12 hits, and a 13.3% pressure rate as a pass rusher in 31 games over the past two seasons.

If any of the Seahawks’ top-3 edge defenders miss time with injury, the Seahawks will push Derick Hall into a bigger role, similar to last season when he played 673 snaps. A 2023 second round pick, Hall struggled as a rookie with a 44.4 PFF grade across 308 snaps. He continued to struggle against the run in his second season in the league, but he took a big step forward as a pass rusher, with 8 sacks, 13 hits, and a 12.2% pressure rate, so Hall should at least have a role as a situational pass rusher, even if everyone is healthy, and he may have further untapped upside as a run defender, still only going into his third season in the league. The Seahawks probably don’t have any elite edge defenders, but this is a deep position group that has the potential to be very effective if everyone stays healthy.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

The Seahawks didn’t make any significant additions at the interior defender position but they didn’t necessarily need to make any. Leonard Williams is arguably the best player on their entire defense and was well worth the second round pick and 3-year, 64.5 million dollar extension the Seahawks gave up to acquire him in the middle of the 2023 season, especially since the Seahawks have accumulated so much extra draft capital in recent years. 

Williams flourished in his first full season in Seattle, posting a career high 87.1 PFF grade across 750 snaps, playing the run well and adding 11 sacks, 15 hits, and a 11.6% pressure rate, but that wasn’t totally out of the ordinary for him, as he has exceeded a 70 grade on PFF in all ten seasons in the league, while averaging 823 snaps per season and accumulating 54.5 sacks, 155 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate in 158 games, with just 6 games missed. He is now going into his age 31 season, so it’s unlikely he is able to quite repeat the best season of his career at his age, but he also hasn’t shown any signs of decline, he’s been remarkably durable throughout his career, and even if he isn’t quite as good as he was a year ago he should still remain a well above average every down starter.

Fellow veteran Jarran Reed played the second most snaps at the position last season and had a pretty solid season himself, posting a 70.8 PFF grade across 679 snaps and particularly excelling as a pass rusher, with 4.5 sacks, 10 hits, and a 12.1% pressure rate, but, like Williams, that was a career best year, and he is even older, now going into his age 33 season. Reed has always been a solid pass rusher throughout his career, with 38.5 sacks, 77 hits, and a 8.0% pressure rate in 139 career games, but he has also pretty consistently struggled against the run, which is why he never had a 70+ overall grade from PFF until his ninth season in the league in 2024. He will likely regress in 2024 and could drop off completely, given his age.

Luckily, the Seahawks do have a 2024 first round pick Byron Murphy who is likely ready to take a step forward in his second season in the league. Murphy was mediocre as a rookie, with a 57.8 PFF grade across 457 snaps, but he definitely has the potential to give the Seahawks a lot more this season, even if that’s not a guarantee. I would expect him to take over a starting role next to Williams, with Reed being more of a situational pass rusher this season.

Depth outside of the Seahawks’ top-3 interior defenders is a question mark. Jonathan Hankins played 389 snaps last season, but was terrible with a 35.9 PFF grade. Hankins was a solid player in his prime, but he has finished below 60 on PFF in four straight seasons, including three seasons below 50, and, now heading into his age 33 season, it is unlikely he gets any better. He may still have to play a significant reserve role though, as the Seahawks’ alternatives are sparingly used holdovers Mike Morris and Quinton Bohanna, as well as 5th round rookie Rylie Mills.

Morris, a 2023 5th round pick, has played just 96 nondescript snaps in two seasons in the league, while Bohanna has struggled across 605 snaps in four seasons in the league with four teams since going undrafted in 2021, including just 6 snaps for the Seahawks last season. Depth might not be a big concern because Leonard Williams almost never comes off the field, but if any of their top-3 interior defenders miss time with injury, the Seahawks would be forced to play someone in a significant role who would almost definitely struggle in that role. The Seahawks’ interior defender group is talented, but top heavy.

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Seahawks’ linebacking corps remains pretty much the same as it was to end last season, but their linebacking corps underwent some big chances during the season last year. They started with veterans Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dobson as their top-2 linebackers, with 4th round rookie Tyrice Knight as their top reserve, but then they traded Baker mid-season along with a draft pick swap for fellow veteran and pending free agent Ernest Jones, who they kept on a 3-year, 28.5 million dollar extension. The Seahawks then released Dobson mid-season and replaced him in the starting lineup with Knight, who played 426 snaps in eight games from week 11 on, after playing just 124 snaps to that point in the season.

Knight played pretty well for a rookie, not only receiving a solid 65.4 PFF grade overall, but receiving run defense and pass coverage grades above 60, showing himself to be a well-rounded player capable of playing every down. Knight should remain a capable every down player in 2025, possibly with the potential to be even better, though it’s fair to question how high the upside of the former fourth round pick is. Jones, on the other hand, actually was underwhelming with a 59.4 PFF grade across 667 snaps in 10 games after being acquired, excelling against the run, but struggling mightily in coverage.

However, receiving a grade under 60 isn’t the norm for Jones, who had a 62.5 PFF grade in six games with the Titans before being traded and now has finished above 60 overall on PFF in three straight seasons, including a career best 82.1 PFF grade in 2023. Still only in his age 26 season, Jones should remain at least a capable every down player with the upside for more if he can find his 2023 form. He’s always been a better run defender than coverage linebacker, with PFF grades against the run of 78.8, 90.0, and 73.6 over the past three seasons, but, at his best, he is also solid in coverage.

Knight and Jones are a solid starting duo, but their depth behind them is questionable. Drake Thomas, a 2023 undrafted free agent who has struggled across just 42 career defensive snaps, is probably their top reserve, with all of their other options being former undrafted free agents who have never played a defensive snap in the NFL and who might not make the final roster, Josh Ross, Michael Dowell, and Patrick O’Connell. If Jones or Knight miss significant time with injury, the Seahawks could be in some trouble.

Grade: B-

Secondary

To mask some of their lack of depth at linebacker, the Seahawks may use three safeties together frequently in sub packages. With five picks scheduled for the first three rounds, the Seahawks packaged a second round pick and a third round pick to move up to the top of the second round to take safety Nick Emmanwori, a projected first round pick and a player who is capable of lining up in multiple spots, including linebacker. Emmanwori probably won’t start for the Seahawks as a rookie, but he could still have a significant role and he provides insurance for starting safety Coby Bryant, a surprise breakout candidate last season who could regress this season and also a free agent next off-season.

Bryant, a 2022 4th round pick, struggled mightily in his first two seasons in the league, primarily at cornerback, with a 58.9 PFF grade across 757 snaps as a rookie and a 34.0 PFF grade across 147 snaps in his second season in the league, before breaking out with a 72.8 PFF grade across 785 snaps in 2024, primarily at safety. It’s possible he’s permanently turned a corner and will remain a solid starter at his new position, but there is also some potential for regression.

Bryant will start opposite Julian Love, who is one of the Seahawks’ better defensive players. A 4th round pick in 2019, Love was inconsistent early in his career, but he has developed into an above average starter over the past three seasons, while getting better in every season, going from a 70.0 PFF grade in 2022 to a 72.8 PFF grade in 2023 to a career best 81.2 PFF grade in 2024. Love might not be quite as good again in 2025, but he is still only in his age 27 season and should remain at least an above average starter even if he regresses a little bit.

Along with the talented Love, the Seahawks also have a pair of talented cornerbacks, Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen. Witherspoon was the 5th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and has gotten off to a great start to his career, with a 84.1 PFF grade across 883 snaps as a rookie and a 76.1 PFF grade across 1,103 snaps last season. Still only going into his age 25 season, Witherspoon should continue playing at a high level and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he had his best season yet in 2025. Woolen, meanwhile, has received PFF grades of 71.6, 67.1, and 67.9 in three seasons in the league (46 starts) since being drafted in the 5th round in 2022. Only in his age 26 season, I would expect more of the same from him in 2025.

The Seahawks have questionable depth behind Witherspoon and Woolen though, another reason why the Seahawks could frequently use three safeties together in sub packages. Josh Jobe will probably nominally be their third cornerback, despite struggling with a 51.0 PFF grade across 443 snaps last season, after struggling with a 40.8 PFF grade across 240. snaps in the first significant action of his career in 2023. Even as the nominal third cornerback, he could see fewer snaps than Emmanwori. Jobe’s biggest competition for the third cornerback job is Nehemiah Prichett, a 2024 5th round pick who struggled mightily with a 29.5 PFF grade across 151 snaps as a rookie. 

Jobe is probably better than Prichett by default and this is an area of concern if either Woolen or Witherspoon suffer a significant injury. The Seahawks’ secondary is led by a trio of talented players in Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen, and Julian Love and they have Coby Bryant, who could continue being a solid starter in his second season at his new position, and Nick Emmanwori, a second round pick who easily could have gone in the first, but depth is somewhat of a concern for the Seahawks in the secondary, especially if any of their top players misses significant time with injury.

Grade: A-

Kicker

Jason Myers is expected to be the Seahawks’ kicker for the 8th straight season. The 10-year veteran has been highly inconsistent throughout his career, alternating seasons of above and below average points above replacement metrics throughout his career, and has averaged out to be a slightly above average kicker with just 10.95 points above average total in 10 seasons in the league. His best season came in 2020, when he missed just four kicks all season, all of which were extra points, and totaled 13.64 points above average, but he followed that up with a career worst season in 2021, when he went just 17 of 23 on field goals, missed another 3 extra points, and had 7.30 points below average. Last season was a solid one for him, with 4.54 points above average, but based on his history, it is far from a guarantee that he can replicate that in 2025.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Seahawks were a solid team last season, winning 10 games and finishing slightly above average in first down rate differential (+0.96%) and yards per play differential (+0.17). Their defense should remain a solid unit, but their offense has a lot of question marks after downgrading their receiving corps and replacing Geno Smith with Sam Darnold. Darnold raises the ceiling at the quarterback position, but also significantly lowers their floor and he enters a situation that is significantly worse than the one he had in Minnesota, particularly on the offensive line, but also in terms of his coaching staff and receiving corps. This team has a wide range of potential outcomes, but ultimately it is more likely they win fewer games than more games, as compared with a year ago.

Prediction: 8-9, 4th in NFC West

Quarterback

The Seahawks seemed to be starting a rebuild two off-seasons ago, trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos for a package that included three players, two first round picks, and two second round picks. However, Wilson’s former backup Geno Smith has broken out over the past two seasons, after making just five starts in the previous seven seasons, while Wilson dropped off significantly in Denver and was cut after just two seasons. 

In his first season as the Seahawks’ starter in 2022, Smith completed 69.8% of his passes for an average of 7.49 YPA, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Smith wasn’t quite as good in 2023, completing 64.7% of his passes for an average of 7.27 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions, but he proved he wasn’t a one-year wonder and led an offense that ranked 11th in both yards per play and first down rate. What held the Seahawks back as a team in 2023 was mostly their defense, which ranked 24th in yards per play allowed and 29th in first down rate allowed. In an attempt to improve that side of the ball, the Seahawks fired long-time head coach Pete Carroll, an aging defensive mind, and replaced him with a much younger defensive mind in ex-Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald.

Because of Smith’s performance, the Seahawks have been able to have a little bit of the best of both worlds, remaining competitive, while accumulating significant draft capital. Over the past two seasons, the Seahawks have finished 9-8 in each season, qualifying for the post-season in 2022 and just missing out in 2023, while also selecting eight times in the top-75 picks between the 2022 and 2023 drafts. Whether or not the Seahawks can take the next step in 2024 largely depends on how those recent high draft picks develop, although that assumes Smith can avoid declining, now in his age 34 season.

The Seahawks haven’t used one of their high draft picks on quarterback of the future behind Geno Smith, but they did trade for ex-Commanders starter Sam Howell this off-season and the 2022 5th round pick is still only in his age 24 season, so he still has long-term potential. He was underwhelming in 18 starts over his first two seasons in the league in Washington, completing 63.2% of his passes for an average of 6.52 YPA, 22 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions, while taking 68 sacks, despite decent pass protection in front of him, leading to the Commanders moving on this off-season, but he’s at least a capable backup with the upside for more in the future, while Smith could remain a solid starter for at least another season. With Smith and Howell, this is a solid, if unspectacular quarterback room.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

Smith has played well, but he has definitely had help on this offense, most notably in the receiving corps. The Seahawks already had one of the best wide receiver duos in the league in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, who both surpassed 1000 yards receiving in 2020 and 2022, and they added further to this receiving corps last off-season when they used one of their first round picks, 20th overall, on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba got off to a slow start to his rookie season, in part due to missing most of the off-season with injury, but from week 5 on, he had a 51/556/4 slash line in 13 games, which extrapolates to a 67/727/5 slash line over 17 games, while averaging 1.44 yards per route run over that stretch, doing so despite having Metcalf and Lockett ahead of him on the depth chart.

Now going into his second season in the league, with a healthier off-season, Smith-Njigba could easily take a step forward. If he does, it would probably come at the expense of Lockett, who is going into his age 32 season and seems to be on the decline. From 2018-2022, Lockett averaged a 79/1057/9 slash line per season with a 1.97 yards per route run average, but in 2023, he fell to 79/894/5 with a 1.61 yards per route run average, both lower than any single season during the previous five seasons. 

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Lockett decline further in 2024, though he could still remain a solid pass catcher and he could age better than most receivers, having only ever missed two games in nine seasons in the league. DK Metcalf, meanwhile, is only going into his age 27 season and is very much in the prime of his career. A 2nd round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Metcalf has averaged a 74/1066/9 slash line per season with a 1.91 yards per route run average in his career, while also being very durable, missing just one game due to injury.

The Seahawks have one of the top wide receiver trios in the league, but injuries could happen, so depth may be needed. Jake Bobo, a 2023 undrafted free agent, showed some promise as a reserve last season, with a 19/196/2 slash line and a 1.31 yards per route run average, and he would probably be the Seahawks first option if one of their top-3 misses time. The Seahawks also still have 2021 2nd round Dee Eskridge, although he’s shown next to nothing in three seasons in the league, with just 17 catches and a 0.59 yards per route run average. Already going into his age 27 season, he’s running out of time to even be a capable backup and he won’t be guaranteed a roster spot.

The Seahawks gave significant playing time to three tight ends last season, Noah Fant (570 snaps), Colby Parkinson (494 snaps), and Will Dissly (378 snaps), but this season the Seahawks seem likely to just feature Fant as their primary tight end, re-signing him on a 2-year, 21 million dollar deal ahead of free agent, while letting Parkinson and Dissly go elsewhere. The only player remaining on the roster that the Seahawks acquired in the Russell Wilson trade, Fant is a 2019 1st round pick who has averaged a decent 1.48 yards per route run in his career and is only heading into his age 27 season. His 1.29 yards per route run average in 2023 led all Seahawks tight ends, so this offense could benefit from him having a bigger role.

Fant only had a 32/414/0 slash line last season, but that came on just 43 targets and Parkinson and Dissly leave behind 56 vacated targets, so Fant should see a significant uptick in production in 2024, even on a team that has a great trio of wide receivers. The only additions the Seahawks made at the tight end position this season are Pharaoh Brown, a veteran blocking specialist who has only caught 64 passes in 70 career games, and 4th round rookie AJ Barner, who is unlikely to play a significant role in year one. Led by a talented top-3 at wide receiver in DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a promising pass catching tight end in Noah Fant, this is a well above average receiving corps.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

The Seahawks also had an effective running game in 2023. Kenneth Walker was the lead back, with 905 yards and 8 touchdowns on 219 carries. That’s an average of 4.13 YPC, which was down from his rookie season, when the 2022 second round pick turned 228 carries into 1,050 yards and 9 touchdowns, a 4.61 YPC, but Walker had a disproportionate amount of his yardage as a rookie on long carries, with 17 carries of 15+ yards going for 481 yards, 45.8% of his overall total. On his other 211 carries, he averaged just 2.70 YPC and, as a result, Walker had a carry success rate of just 39.9%.

In 2023, Walker only had 28.0% of his rushing yards on 10 carries of 15+ yards, averaging 3.12 YPC on his other carries and seeing his carry success rate jump to 46.6%. The Seahawks took Zach Charbonnet in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft as competition for Walker because of Walker’s low carry success rate as a rookie, but Walker was able to improve in that area and hold Charbonnet off for the starting job all season, with Charbonnet limited to 108 carries as a true backup. Charbonnet was effective in that role though, averaging 4.28 YPC with a 49.1% carry success rate and looks more than capable of taking over the lead back job if needed in case of an injury to Walker. 

Walker also took a big step forward as a pass catcher in his second season in the league in 2023, going from a 27/165/0 slash line and 0.67 yards per route run as a rookie to a 29/259/1 slash line and 1.30 yards per route run in his second season. In addition to giving them another option as a runner if Walker didn’t improve his carry success rate, Charbonnet was drafted to be a passing down complement to Walker, but Charbonnet ended up only having a 33/209/0 slash line and averaging 0.76 yards per route run as a rookie. He could be better in that aspect in year two though. Walker and Charbonnet should remain an effective tandem in 2024 and they could be even better than a year ago, given how young both still are.

Depth behind Walker and Charbonnet is a minor concern, as the Seahawks don’t have another running back on the roster with an NFL carry and the only one who didn’t go undrafted is 2023 7th round pick Kenny McIntosh, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, but both Walker and Charbonnet seem capable of being a feature back in the case that the other one is injured so whoever the third back is would likely not see much action even if one of the two backs ahead of him on the depth chart gets hurt. Led by Walker and Charbonnet, this is a solid backfield, even if their depth is a small concern.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

In addition to using high draft picks on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kenneth Walker, and Zach Charbonnet in recent drafts, the Seahawks also used a pair of high draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft on a pair of offensive tackles, Charles Cross, who went 9th overall, and Abraham Lucas, who went 72nd overall. Both immediately became starters as rookie, with Cross receiving a 63.7 PFF grade in 17 starts on the left side and Lucas receiving a 68.5 PFF grade in 16 starts on the right side. 

Both remained starters in 2023, but injuries limited Lucas to six mediocre starts (53.1 PFF grade), while Cross missed three games of his own, though he did take a step forward with a 67.6 PFF grade. In their absence, Stone Forsythe (8 starts), Jake Curhan (4 starts), and Jason Peters (2 starts) all struggled, with PFF grades of 58.2, 55.7, and 53.9 respectively. Both Cross and Lucas should remain starters in 2024, and Lucas has bounce back potential if healthy, while Cross has a chance to take another step forward in his third season in the league, but the Seahawks also improved their depth by signing veteran George Fant, who could theoretically push Lucas for his starting job if he continues struggling this season.

Fant is an experienced starter, with 73 starts in eight seasons in the league, while finishing above 60 on PFF in all but two of those seasons, with two seasons above 70, but he’s now going into his age 32 season and has been mediocre with PFF grades of 48.4 and 63.5 on snap counts of 516 and 915 over the past two seasons, so his best days are probably behind him. He’s not bad depth to have and it wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade over the backup tackles the Seahawks had last season, but he could struggle if forced to start for an extended period of time. Stone Forsythe also remains, but the 2021 6th round pick has been mediocre across 633 career snaps and would likely need multiple injuries ahead of him on the depth chart to see action, while Jake Curhan and Jason Peters were not brought back this off-season.

The Seahawks also got mediocre play from the interior of their offensive line last season, as five players made starts at the three interior spots and all finished below 60 on PFF. When you include their issues at tackle, the Seahawks had ten players make starts on the offensive line last season and only Charles Cross finished above 60 on PFF. The Seahawks weren’t a bad run blocking offensive line last season, ranking 15th on PFF in team run blocking grade, but they struggled mightily in pass protection, ranking 28th on PFF in team pass blocking grade. 

Left guard Damien Lewis, 59.6 PFF grade in 16 starts, right guard Phil Haynes, 52.0 PFF grade in 8 starts, and center Evan Brown, 55.5 PFF grade in 16 starts, all weren’t retained this off-season, but the players the Seahawks replaced this with this off-season aren’t really upgrades. Veteran guard Laken Tomlinson is probably the biggest addition they made. In his prime, he was a solid starter, finishing above 60 on PFF in five straight seasons from 2017-2021, including career best PFF grades of 78.8 and 75.9 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, but he has fallen to 56.8 and 55.0 in two seasons since and now heads into his age 32 season, so his best days are almost definitely behind him and he could easily continue struggling. 

Tomlinson is at least experienced, with 138 starts in nine seasons in the league, and is probably locked into a starting job, due to the lack of a better option. The Seahawks also used a third round pick on Christian Haynes and he will likely compete with 2023 4th round pick Anthony Bradford for the right guard job. Bradford was underwhelming as a rookie with a 51.7 PFF grade in 10 starts, but Haynes could struggle through growing pains as a rookie and wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade. It’s possible Bradford could be better in his second season in the league and he’s probably the favorite for the starting job, but there’s a good chance right guard is a position of weakness regardless.

At center, the Seahawks signed ex-Browns backup Nick Harris to compete with 2023 5th round pick Olu Oluwatimi, who struggled with a 53.1 PFF grade on 128 rookie year snaps. Harris isn’t necessarily a better option though, as the 2020 5th round pick has been mediocre across just 522 career snaps. Oluwatimi could take a step forward in his second season in the league, but it’s likely that center will also be a position of weakness in 2024. The Seahawks should have better health at tackle this season, but they are still weak on the interior of the offensive line and this should remain a below average offensive line overall.

Grade: C+

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Seahawks had eight picks in the top-75 between the 2022 and 2023 drafts due to Russell Wilson trade and five of those picks were used on offense, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, running backs Kenneth Walker, and Zach Charbonnet, and offensive tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. The Seahawks also used two of those picks on edge defenders, taking Boye Mafe in the second round in 2022 and Derick Hall in the second round in 2023.

The Mafe selection has worked out well. He was decent in a rotational role as a rookie with a 65.8 PFF grade on 423 snaps and then took a big step forward in his second season in the league in 2023, playing 808 snaps, receiving a 73.9 PFF grade, and totaling 9 sacks, 7 hits, and a 13.1% pressure rate as a pass rusher. He’s a one-year wonder in terms of playing at that level, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he regressed a little bit in 2024, but he came into the league with a lot of upside, so he could easily continue being an above average starter and he could also improve further. Derick Hall, on the other hand, has not panned out yet, struggling mightily with a 44.4 PFF grade as a rookie, playing terribly against the run and managing just a 8.0% pressure rate as a pass rusher. 

Hall still has plenty of time to improve, but he would need to improve in a big way to even be a decent rotational player in 2024, so he could easily continue struggling. Another former second round pick, Darrell Taylor, also struggled at the edge defender position for the Seahawks last season, with 50.9 PFF grade across 522 snaps, but he is already going into his 5th season in the league and his age 27 season and he’s consistently struggled throughout his career, finishing below 60 on PFF in every season, struggling mightily against the run and managing just 21.5 sacks, 16 hits, and a 9.9% pressure rate in 49 career games, so he’s running out of time to improve and will likely continue struggling in 2024.

The Seahawks also have veteran Uchenna Nwosu, who they should get a healthier season out of, after he was limited to 283 snaps in 6 games last season. Nwosu was decent with a 68.5 PFF grade in his limited action last season and had PFF grades of 64.3 and 72.6 on snap counts of 781 and 904 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, so he has plenty of bounce back potential in 2024 if he’s healthy, only going into his age 28 season. He had also only missed three games with injury in his first five seasons in the league prior to last season, so he’s not an injury prone player.

Nwosu was a reserve for most of his first three seasons in the league, but he has finished above 60 on PFF in all six seasons in the league, holding up against the run and totaling 26.5 sacks, 52 hits, and a 12.3% pressure rate in 85 career games, with 16.5 sacks, 31 hits, and a 11.6% pressure rate in 40 games over the past three seasons since becoming a full-time starter. Assuming he’s healthy, which he should, I would expect a similar level of play from him this season. He and Mafe should be a solid starting duo, but top reserves Derick Hall and Darrell Taylor are likely to continue struggling, which hurts the overall grade of this position group.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

With so many high selections between the 2022 and 2023 draft, the Seahawks could afford to part ways with a high pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and they did so by trading their second round choice to the Giants for interior defender Leonard Williams in the middle of the 2023 season. Williams was in the final year of his contract and the Seahawks had to give him a 3-year, 64.5 million dollar deal to keep him long-term, so the total investment the Seahawks made in him was very significant, but he the type of player you can build a position group around, so the decision to pay that price for him made sense.

Originally the 6th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Williams has lived up to the billing, surpassing 70 on PFF in all nine seasons in the league, playing equally well against the run and as a pass rusher, while totaling 43.5 sacks, 140 hits, and a 10.1% pressure rate in 142 career games. He’s also been very durable, missing just six games in his career, despite playing 51.9 snaps per game and 818 snaps per season. In 2023, he played 884 snaps and had a 76.2 PFF grade, while totaling 5.5 sacks, 11 hits, and a 10.8% pressure rate. The one concern is he’s now going into his age 30 season and could start to decline soon, but he’s starting from such a high base point that, even if he does start to decline this season, he should remain an above average every down player and it’s possible he doesn’t decline at all. 

In addition to trading away their second round pick for Williams, the Seahawks also used their first round pick this year on another interior defender, Byron Murphy, who should be an effective rotational player in year one, even if he struggles through some growing pains. Veterans Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed also remain and will continue playing roles, although, with Williams going into his first full season in Seattle and Murphy being added, it’s hard to see them matching last year’s snap counts, when Jones played 762 snaps and Reed played 809 snaps.

Jones signed a 3-year, 51.53 million dollar deal with the Seahawks last off-season, so it’s very likely he’ll see a higher snap count than Reed, who is on a 2-year, 9 million dollar deal. Jones isn’t much of a run defender and was probably overpaid last off-season, but he does have 26.5 sacks, 26 hits, and a 9.6% pressure rate in 73 career games, including 4.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate last season, so he’s at least a useful pass rusher and should continue playing the vast majority of sub package snaps for the Seahawks. Still only in his age 27 season, I would expect more of the same from Jones in 2024, below average run defense, but above average pass rush.

Reed, on the other hand, is going into his age 32 season, another reason why I would expect him to be behind Jones in the pecking order this season. He’s also never been much more than a snap eater in his career, averaging 677 snaps per season in eight seasons in the league and 44.4 snaps per game in 122 career games, but never exceeding a 66.8 PFF grade for a season from PFF, with three seasons below 60. He’s a well-rounded player, with decent run defense and 34 sacks, 68 hits, and a 7.5% pressure rate in his career, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him decline significant this season and, even if he doesn’t, I would expect him to be anything more than a decent rotational player.

The Seahawks also added another veteran, Johnathan Hankins, to the mix this off-season, but he’s also going into his age 32 season and I wouldn’t expect him to be anything more than a deep reserve, given that he was signed for close to the veteran’s minimum and given all of the other options the Seahawks have at the position. In his prime, Hankins was a good run defender who could also get to the quarterback at a decent rate, surpassing a 60 grade overall on PFF in each of his first eight seasons in the league from 2013-2020, including four seasons over 70, but he’s clearly past his prime, with PFF grades of 46.9, 46.0, and 51.8 on snap counts of 568, 235, and 350 respectively over the past three seasons. He won’t see many snaps this season, if he even makes the final roster, in an overall deep position group.

Grade: B+

Linebackers

Off ball linebacker Bobby Wagner was one of the Seahawks’ best defensive players last season, with a 82.4 PFF grade across 1,170 snaps, but he wasn’t brought back this off-season. In fact, the Seahawks completely retooled their linebacking corps this off-season, letting Jordyn Brooks (802 snaps) and Devin Bush (251 snaps) also leave in free agency this off-season. Wagner will be tough to replace, but Brooks and Bush struggled with PFF grades of 57.3 and 57.5 respectively and the Seahawks added a promising option in Tyrel Dodson and a reliable option in Jerome Baker.

Dodson went undrafted in 2019 and only played 471 mediocre snaps in his first four seasons in the league prior to last season, but he broke out in a big way with a 89.5 PFF grade in 550 snaps as an injury replacement last season, excelling in coverage and against the run. He’s never been a season-long every down linebacker and he’s a complete one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season, but he’s only in his age 26 season and comes to the Seahawks with a lot of upside, though also a lot of downside, if he regresses back to his pre-2023 form or can’t translate last season’s performance into a season-long every down role.

Dodson probably won’t be as good as Wagner was a year ago, but Baker should be better than Brooks and Bush were. A 6-year veteran, Baker has averaged 887 snaps per season and has exceeded 60 on PFF in four of six seasons in the league, including three straight and PFF grades of 78.0 and 66.6 on snap counts of 1,010 and 713 in his last two seasons. Only in his age 28 season, Baker should at least be a capable every down option, with the upside to be an above average every down option if he can come close to matching his career best year in 2022.

Depth behind Dodson and Baker is a bit of a concern and would be a big concern if either Dodson or Baker missed significant time with injuries. Tyrice Knight was a 4th round pick in this year’s draft, but is probably too raw to make a positive impact in a significant role in year one, while their other options Drake Thomas and Jon Rhattigan are both recent undrafted free agents with little experience, with Thomas being a 2023 undrafted free agent who played 5 snaps as a rookie and Rhattigan being a 2021 undrafted free agent who played the first 21 snaps of his career in 2023. Dodson and Baker have a good chance to be a solid starting duo, but Dodson comes with a lot of downside, in addition to a lot of upside, and their depth behind those top-2 linebackers is very questionable. 

Grade: B

Secondary

I’ve mentioned seven of the eight players the Seahawks took in the top-75 picks between 2022 and 2023. The final one I haven’t mentioned yet is probably their best, cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Selected 5th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft with a pick that was originally Denver’s following their terrible 2022 season, Witherspoon lived up to the hype and then some as a rookie, with a 84.1 PFF grade across 883 snaps in 14 games. Development is not always linear, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Witherspoon regressed a little in 2023, but he also could continue playing at a similar, if not better level and he looks well on his way towards developing into one of the best cornerbacks in the league for years to come.

Witherspoon will start opposite Tariq Woolen, who wasn’t a premium draft pick, but who was a steal of a 5th round pick in 2022. Woolen has received PFF grades of 71.6 and 67.1 over his first two seasons in the league, while starting 32 of the 33 games he has played. He excels in coverage, with PFF coverage grades of 77.8 and 75.0, but struggles with run defense and tackling, with run defense grades of 47.8 and 37.3 from PFF, while missing 25 tackles across the two seasons combined. Still only in his age 25 season, Woolen should remain an above average cornerback for years to come and he has the upside to be even better if he can improve his tackling and run defense.

The third cornerback job will probably go to Tre Brown or Michael Jackson, who essentially split the role last season, seeing 603 snaps and 474 snaps respectively. Brown, a 4th round pick in 2021, was decent with a 62.8 PFF grade, after playing just 276 nondescript snaps in his first two seasons in the league, but he could struggle in a more expanded role. Jackson, meanwhile, was much better with a 77.0 PFF grade, but the 2019 5th round pick wasn’t nearly as good in a bigger role in 2022, with a 60.2 PFF grade on 1,082 snaps, and prior to 2022, he played just 30 snaps in three seasons in the league. Neither are bad options, but both could be overmatched playing in an expanded role, so it’s possible the Seahawks continue to have them split snaps in 2024.

Veteran safety Quandre Diggs was the weak point of this secondary last season, with a 55.1 PFF grade across 1,155 snaps, as was fellow veteran Jamal Adams was to a lesser extent, with a 54.9 PFF grade across 518 snaps, but the Seahawks cut both of them this off-season, getting out of non-guaranteed salaries of 11 million and 16.5 million respectively in the process. To replace them, the Seahawks gave a 2-year, 12 million dollar deal to another veteran, Rayshawn Jenkins, who could be an upgrade, if only by default. Jenkins has started all 79 games he’s played over the past five seasons, but he’s finished below 60 in two of those five seasons, while only maxing out at 68.9 in 2020. Over the past two seasons, he has mediocre PFF grades of 57.3 and 60.9 and now he heads into his age 30 season. 

Jenkins will probably be marginal at best with the Seahawks this year, but that would at least somewhat be an upgrade over Diggs and Adams. Jenkins will start next to another veteran Julian Love, who had a 72.8 PFF grade across 937 snaps last season. A 4th round pick in 2019, Love took a few years to develop, but he has developed into an above average starter, also posting a 70.0 PFF grade on 1,006 snaps in 2022, and he’s still only in his age 26 season, so he should remain an above average starter for years to come, with the upside for more if he continues developing.

The top backup safety job will likely go to either Coby Bryant or K’Von Wallace. Bryant was a 4th round pick in 2022, struggled with a 58.9 PFF grade across 757 snaps as a cornerback in his rookie season, converted to safety last season, and then struggled even more, with a 34.0 PFF grade across 147 snaps. He could theoretically have upside in his second season at his new position, but he has a long way to go to even be a capable backup and he would likely continue struggling in 2024, so he’s an underwhelming option. 

Wallace, meanwhile, is a 2020 4th round pick who has been middling at best across 1,361 snaps (19 starts) in four seasons in the league, but is probably the better option by default. Overall, this is a solid secondary, led by a young, talented cornerback duo of Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen, as well as an above average safety in Julian Love, but this group does have some concerns outside of those three talented players.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

A year ago, the Seahawks were a middling team with above average offensive performance and below average defensive performance. This season, their offense could continue being above average, unless quarterback Geno Smith regresses as he goes into his mid 30s, but their defense has a good chance to be better, as they are more talented than their results a year ago suggested and are getting a new scheme under bright young defensive end Mike McDonald. This team also has plenty of young talent on both sides of the ball that could take a step forward in 2024. The NFC is getting better though, so even if the Seahawks are better, that won’t guarantee them a post-season spot.

Prediction: 8-9, 2nd in NFC West

Quarterback

Last off-season, the Seahawks traded franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos after a decade in Seattle, seeming to signal the start of a full rebuild, with the Seahawks receiving first and second round picks in each of the next two years from Denver, as well as a trio of players, including young quarterback Drew Lock. It seemed likely that Lock, a former second round pick who was up and down throughout his stint as a starter with the Broncos (79.3 QB rating), would be given a chance to prove himself with the rebuilding Seahawks and, if he failed, the Seahawks would likely be in position to take one of the top quarterback prospects in the draft.

That was probably the Seahawks’ plan as well, but Lock struggled mightily throughout training camp and the pre-season, while long-time veteran backup Geno Smith impressed, giving the Seahawks no choice but to give the job to the veteran. From a team building strategy standpoint, it didn’t seem to be a good fit. Smith had been with the team for a couple seasons and had impressed in limited action (102.7 QB rating on 100 pass attempts), but he struggled in his previous stint as a starter with the Jets in 2013 and 2014 (74.2 QB rating in 29 starts), he was on the wrong side of 30 and, even if he could be a decent stopgap quarterback, it seemed unlikely he would be their long-term franchise quarterback and didn’t seem to fit the timeframe of a seemingly rebuilding Jets team. Smith also seemed to have a lower floor than Lock, which would reduce the Seahawks chances of getting a high draft pick. 

It seemed likely that Smith would only start for a stint until he struggled and then the young Drew Lock would get his chance. Instead, what happened was one of the biggest surprises in recent memory. In his first extended chance at a starting job since 2014, Smith broke out with 69.8% completion, 7.49 YPA, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while receiving a 79.8 grade from PFF and leading the supposedly rebuilding Seahawks to a wild card berth in their first season without Wilson. Lock, meanwhile, didn’t throw a pass all season, with Smith starting all 17 games. 

Despite that, the Seahawks still ended up with a top draft pick, getting back the 5th overall pick from the Broncos, who struggled mightily in Russell Wilson’s first season with the team. Smith was a free agent this off-season and, with him going into his age 33 season, there was some thought that the Seahawks might still try to take a quarterback early in the draft, rather than paying significant money to keep the veteran after just one good season. However, the Seahawks were able to work out a team friendly deal with Smith, worth 75 million over 3 years total, but just 27.3 million fully guaranteed, all in the first year, meaning the Seahawks aren’t tied to him beyond this season if he regresses. 

That structure left the door open for the Seahawks to still use the #5 overall pick on a top quarterback, who would sit a year behind Smith and then take over as a cheaper, higher upside option in 2024 and beyond, but the top-3 quarterbacks all went off the board in the top-4 picks ahead of the Seahawks and it’s unclear if the Seahawks would have even wanted to take one if one had slipped to 5. Smith now will likely remain the starter for the next two seasons, barring a significant regression in 2023. I wouldn’t expect him to be as good this season as he was a year ago and he seemed to regress down the stretch last season, with a 96.0 QB rating and a 66.8 PFF grade in his final 9 starts, as opposed to 107.2 and 88.4 in his first 8, but I wouldn’t expect him to suddenly regress back to being a backup caliber quarterback either and he has a good chance to remain at least a solid starter. 

The Seahawks also brought back Drew Lock as a free agent on a 1-year, 4 million dollar deal and he will remain the backup quarterback. Lock has yet to establish himself as a starter in this league, but he’s only in his age 27 season and you could do a lot worse than him as a backup. Maybe someday he’ll do what Geno Smith did, going from a second round pick to a failed starter to a long-time backup to a late career breakout a few years from now. For now, this is Geno Smith’s job, barring injury, but Smith is good insurance to have and at a reasonable price. This is a pretty good quarterback room, even if Smith is unlikely to be quite as good again this year as he was a year ago.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

Geno Smith’s surprise season was part of the reason for the Seahawks being significantly better than expected in 2022, but the Seahawks also got a lot of contributions out of their rookie class, which was a big part of their success as well. With the 9th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft that they got as part of the Wilson trade, the Seahawks selected offensive tackle Charles Cross and then later selected another offensive tackle Abraham Lucas in the third round, giving them much needed help at a position where they previously didn’t have a starter caliber player. 

Neither Cross nor Lucas were spectacular as a rookie, with PFF grades of 63.7 and 68.5 respectively, but they made 17 starts and 16 starts at left tackle and right tackle respectively and, for rookies, they did an impressive job solidifying the position. That’s especially important for the Seahawks because their top tackles behind them last season were Stone Forsythe, a 2021 6th round pick who had a 37.0 grade on 122 snaps in the first real action of his career last season, and Jake Curhan, who played just 34 snaps last season, after receiving a 54.0 PFF grade on 405 snaps as an undrafted rookie in 2021. Those remain their best swing tackle options for 2023, so the Seahawks will once again need Cross and Lucas to stay healthy. Both have the upside to take a step forward in year two, especially Cross, who was a top-10 pick for a reason.

The Seahawks lost a pair of starters from last year’s offensive line this off-season, center Austin Blythe (1,041 snaps) and right guard Gabe Jackson (667 snaps), but they were the Seahawks’ two worst offensive linemen a year ago, with PFF grades of 51.9 and 55.0 respectively, so they won’t really be missed. At center, the Seahawks’ replacement will actually likely be a significant upgrade, with Evan Brown coming over from the Lions on a 1-year, 2.25 million dollar deal that should prove to be a good value. 

Brown went undrafted in 2018 and never started a game until 2021, but he started 12 games that season as an injury fill-in for center Frank Ragnow and received a 66.8 grade. In 2022, Brown went back to the bench to start the season when Ragnow returned, but Brown ended up getting a shot to start at right guard when the Lions couldn’t find a consistent starter at that position and Brown finished the season with a 64.8 PFF grade in 12 starts, 11 of which came at right guard. With the Seahawks, he’ll move back to center, which is probably his best position, but he has the versatility to kick to guard if needed and, regardless of where he plays, he should remain at least a capable starter.

At right guard, the Seahawks will be promoting backup Phil Haynes to replace Gabe Jackson, re-signing the younger Haynes on a 1-year, 4 million dollar deal and letting the aging Jackson walk as a free agent, ahead of his age 32 season. Jackson was already a liability last season, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Haynes was actually even worse. A 4th round pick in 2019, Haynes has played just 622 career snaps (5 starts), 485 of which came last season, when he received a 57.1 PFF grade, rotating with the struggling Jackson down the stretch and starting three games as well. 

Haynes has never been close to a season long starter and he’s struggled even as a reserve, so he figures to be a liability, but the Seahawks don’t really have another option. They took LSU’s Anthony Bradford in the 4th round, but he would likely struggle as a rookie, as would 5th round rookie Olusegun Oluwatimi out of Michigan, a center who could move Evan Brown to guard if they wanted to go that route. Most likely, the rookies will be depth options in year one and the Seahawks figure to have one big hole on the offensive line regardless of how they line them up.

Damien Lewis is the final starter on this offensive line, entering his 4th season as the starting left guard, a job he has had since his rookie season in 2020, despite only being a 3rd round pick. Lewis impressed right away, ranking 16th among guards with a 70.2 PFF grade in 16 starts as a rookie and, while that slipped to a 57.1 PFF grade in 13 starts in an injury plagued second season in the league, he bounced back to 71.8 PFF grade in 16 starts in 2022, 13th best among guards, and, still only going into his age 26 season, he looks like he’ll be an above average starter for years to come, barring injuries. This isn’t a bad offensive line, but they don’t have any true stars, they have a big weakness at right guard, and their depth is very suspect.

Grade: B

Running Backs

Another key rookie for the Seahawks last season was running back Kenneth Walker, a second round pick who finished his rookie season with 1,050 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on 228 carries (4.61 YPC), making him one of the leading candidates for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Despite Walker’s impressive performance, the Seahawks opted to use another second round pick in this year’s draft, one of the two they had after getting an extra from the Russell WIlson trade, on another running back, UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet. 

It’s a surprising move at first glance, but the Seahawks have always loved to run the ball, so adding another running back helps in that respect and Walker and Charbonnet figure to keep each other fresh. However, Charbonnet’s addition could also signal the Seahawks continuing to move in a more pass heavy direction, with Charbonnet by far being the better pass catching option of the two, with 61 catches in his final two seasons in college, while Walker had just 19 collegiate catches in his entire career and averaged just 0.67 yards per route run as a rookie. 

The Seahawks already passed more last season with Geno Smith (573 times) than they ever did with Russell Wilson and adding a running back who can catch passes in addition to running the ball, a rarity of the Russell Wilson era, could be a sign that the Seahawks are continuing to head in that direction offensively. On top of that, Walker was not as effective at keeping this offense on schedule last season as you’d expect based on his yardage and his per carry average, as Walker actually ranked 2nd worst in the NFL among eligible running backs with a just 42% carry success rate. 

Much of Walker’s production came on 17 carries of 15 yards or more, which resulted in 45.8% of his rushing yards, the 2nd highest percentage of yardage from 15+ yard runs in the league among running backs, which is concerning because long runs tend to be much less predictive year-to-year than carry success rate does. Outside of those 17 long runs, Walker averaged just 2.70 yards per carry last season and regularly struggled to keep this offense on schedule. Having Charbonnet to rotate with Walker, provide a change of pace, and to catch passes out of the backfield will help this offense. This is a solid backfield duo.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

Another sign the Seahawks are moving in a more pass heavy direction is the addition of Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba with the 20th overall pick. Smith-Njigba could have ultimately been drafted as a long-term replacement for Tyler Lockett, but Lockett is only going into his age 31 season and he’s coming off of a thousand yard season (84/1033/9) so, in the short-term Smith-Njigba gives the Seahawks a trio of wide receivers unlike any they had in the Russell Wilson era, with DK Metcalf also coming off of a thousand yard season (90/1048/6) alongside Lockett.

For Metcalf and Lockett, it was their second season with both surpassing 1000 yards receiving in the past three seasons, with the duo just narrowly missing in 2021 when Metcalf finished at 75/967/12. Overall, Lockett has surpassed 1000 yards in four straight seasons and 900 yards in five straight seasons, while missing just two games over that stretch, while Metcalf has surpassed 900 yards receiving in all four seasons in the league, with an average slash line of 77/1055/9 per season and zero missed games. In terms of yards per route run, Metcalf has averaged 1.88 for his 4-year career, while Lockett has averaged 1.97 over the past 5 seasons combined. Metcalf should remain a high level receiver for years to come, still only going into his age 26 season and, while he could start to decline this season, Lockett could still remain an above average starter even at less than his best.

The addition of Smith-Njigba to take targets away (Metcalf had 141, Lockett had 117, and no other Seahawks wide receiver had more than 42 last season) will make it tougher for Metcalf and Lockett to both surpass 1000 yards receiving again, especially with Lockett aging, but the rookie’s addition will make this group better overall, even if Lockett declines somewhat. The Seahawks also still have 2021 2nd round pick Dee Eskridge, but he’s played just 354 snaps in two seasons in the league, while averaging just 0.61 yards per route run, and the addition of Smith-Njigba will force Eskridge into a reserve role, barring injury ahead of him on the depth chart.

Tight ends also figure to remain a part of this offense, even if they don’t see as many targets as a year ago with Smith-Njigba and Charbonnet being added. The Seahawks are bringing back their top-3 tight ends, Noah Fant (659 snaps), Will Dissly (567 snaps), and Colby Parkinson (441 snaps), from a year ago and all are likely to continue seeing playing time, after all three averaged decent yards per route run averages, 1.39, 1.37, and 1.56 respectively. 

Fant and Dissly have career averages of 1.52 and 1.49 yards per route run in 4 seasons and 5 seasons in the league respectively and should continue being around that number in 2023, while Parkinson saw minimal playing time in his first two seasons in the league (238 snaps) prior to last season, but was a 2020 4th round pick and could still continue playing at a similar level in 2023 as he did a year ago. With Smith-Njigba added as a #3 receiver and Zach Charbonnet added as a pass catching back, this is an even better receiving corps than a year ago, even with Tyler Lockett possibly on the decline.

Grade: A-

Interior Defenders

While the Seahawks offense was solid last season, ranking 14th in offensive DVOA, their defense had more room for improvement, finishing 21st. As part of their attempt at improving defensively, the Seahawks decided to overhaul their interior defender position group. Shelby Harris (560 snaps), Al Woods (374 snaps), and Quinton Jefferson (566 snaps) were all released, saving a total of almost 17 million, while free agent Poona Ford (642 snaps) was allowed to sign with the Bills on just a 1-year, 2.25 million dollar deal. Woods was a solid base package run stopper, while Jefferson, Harris, and Ford combined for a 9.0% pressure rate, so they weren’t a bad group of players and the Seahawks aren’t necessarily better without them.

In their place, the Seahawks signed Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed to contracts of 3 years, 51.53 million and 2 years, 9 million respectively and used 4th and 5th round picks on Mississippi State’s Cameron Young and Michigan’s Michael Morris. Jones and Reed figure to start while Young and Morris figure to compete for reserve roles with holdover Bryan Mone (271 snaps) and another free agent acquisition Mario Edwards, a journeyman who signed for just 152.5 guaranteed. Jones is the big addition, costing the Seahawks about the same amount annually as they saved from releasing all three of the aforementioned interior defenders, but it’s hard to justify him being worth that, especially when you consider he costs as much as three useful players would have.

A 2019 3rd round pick, Jones has been an effective pass rusher in his career, with 22 sacks, 19 hits, and a 9.5% pressure rate in 56 career games, including 6.5 sacks, 5 hits, and a 10.0% pressure rate last season, while playing a career high 715 total snaps, but he has struggled against the run for most of his career, finishing below 60 on PFF in run defense grade in three of four seasons in the league. Jones is still only going into his age 26 season and should remain an effective pass rusher for several more seasons, but his run defense is no guarantee to ever improve and, in fact, he’s coming off of a career worst 41.8 run defense grade just last season, so he could easily continue being a liability in that aspect, and an expensive one at that.

Jarran Reed, on the other hand, is much cheaper and a much better value. He’s not quite as good of a pass rusher, but he’s a similar player to Dre’Mont Jones, mostly struggling against the run in his career, but totaling 24 sacks, 51 hits, and a 7.5% pressure rate in 76 games over the past five seasons combined, including 2.5 sacks, 12 hits, and a 8.4% pressure rate last season. Reed is now going into his age 31 season and will likely start to decline soon, which is why he was so much cheaper than Jones in free agency, but he could remain a useful starting interior defender for at least another season, even if he’s not quite as good of a pass rusher as he’s been in the past.

Jones and Reed aren’t a bad starting duo and they figure to get plenty of interior pass rush, but they also both figure to struggle against the run and their depth is very suspect at the position after their off-season makeover. The rookies Young and Morris would likely struggle in significant roles as in year one, while veteran Mario Edwards and Bryan Mone would both be underwhelming options. Edwards has been in the league for eight seasons and has played pretty well at times, but he has averaged just 321 snaps played per season in his career and he is coming off of back-to-back seasons of PFF grades below 60 (50.4 and 56.0), while Mone is a 2019 undrafted free agent who has never surpassed 271 snaps played in a season and who has finished below 60 on PFF in three of four seasons in the league. This isn’t a bad position group, but it definitely has problems. 

Grade: C+

Edge Defenders

At the edge defender position, the big addition is second round pick Derick Hall out of Auburn. Hall will effectively take the place of middling departed veteran Bruce Irvin (60.2 PFF grade on 402 snaps in 11 games last season) in the rotation and Hall is one of three edge defenders drafted in the second round recently by the Seahawks, along with Darrell Taylor (2020) and Boye Mafe (2022). All three of them will have rotational roles, along with veteran Uchenna Nwosu, who led this group with 904 snaps played (9th most in the NFL among edge defenders) and a 72.6 PFF grade a year ago, while totaling 9.5 sacks, 16 hits, and a 14.2% pressure rate.

Nwosu could easily remain the best of the bunch this year. A 2nd round pick by the Chargers in 2018, Nwosu flashed a lot of potential early in his career, only playing 984 snaps total in his first three seasons in the league, but receiving grades of 68.4, 64.7, and 73.2 from PFF in those three seasons, especially excelling as a situational pass rusher, with a 13.7% pressure rate. He wasn’t able to translate that into a larger role in his 4th season in the league in 2021 though, receiving a 64.3 PFF grade on 781 snaps and totaling a 10.0% pressure rate, decent, but unspectacular. That also happened to come in a contract year, limiting Nwosu to a 2-year, 19.055 million dollar deal from the Seahawks in free agency, but he proved to be a good value in the first year of that deal and could easily remain an above average every down player going forward, still only in his age 27 season.

The rest of the bunch, on the other hand, will need to take a step forward this season. Darrell Taylor has 16 sacks, 13 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate in the past two seasons as a pass rusher, after missing his entire rookie season in 2020 with injury, but he has struggled mightily as a run defender and, as a result, has only received overall grades of 57.6 and 58.0 from PFF the past two seasons, on snap counts of 545 snaps and 484 snaps. He’s still relatively young and could still have untapped upside, but in his 4th season in the league and his age 26 season, I would mostly expect more of the same from him in 2023.

Boye Mafe, on the other hand, was the opposite as a rookie, playing well against the run with a 72.6 run defense grade, but managing just a 5.3% pressure rate, while playing just 423 snaps total. He has the upside to be a lot better of a pass rusher in year two and beyond, but it’s not a guarantee that he ever makes good on that. Still, I would expect him to take at least somewhat of a step forward in year two and he will likely see a bigger role as well, possibly at the expense of Nwosu, who could get more regular breaks this season if the rest of the group is better than it was a year ago. The addition of Derick Hall in the draft could also help, but it’s unlikely he’ll have a huge impact as a rookie. There is a lot of upside in this group, but a lot of downside as well, with a lot of inexperience behind Uchenna Nwosu on the depth chart.

Grade: B

Linebackers

In addition to the Russell Wilson trade, another sign the Seahawks were rebuilding was when they released defensive leader Bobby Wagner, a move that happened on the same day as the Wilson trade. Wagner still played at a high level in 2021 with a 71.8 PFF grade in his 10th season with the team, but he was on the wrong side of 30 and owed 16.6 million, so it makes sense the then rebuilding Seahawks moved on from him. However, with the Seahawks unexpectedly not rebuilding, after the emergence of quarterback Geno Smith, Wagner was actually brought back this off-season on a 1-year, 5.5 million dollar deal, after one season with the Rams.

Wagner now heads into his age 33 season, but he’s also coming off one of the best seasons of his career, ranking #1 among off ball linebackers on PFF with a 90.7 PFF grade, while playing 1,079 snaps. He probably won’t be quite as good in 2023, but he’s finished above 70 on PFF in seven straight seasons, including five seasons over 80, with six total seasons over 80 in his 11-year career. Even if he isn’t as good as a year ago and even if he starts to decline noticeably, he should remain at the very least an above average every down linebacker, with the potential to remain one of the best in the league at his position if he continues not showing his age.

Wagner’s return is much needed for the Seahawks, not just because he is still playing at a high level, but because the Seahawks had a big need at the linebacker position. Jordyn Brooks (1,026 snaps) and Cody Barton (894 snaps) were middling at best as their two every down linebackers last season in Wagner’s absence last season and now the latter is no longer with the team, while the former is coming off of a torn ACL suffered in week 17 of last season that could sideline him for the start of the 2023, given how late in last season that he got hurt.

Brooks was selected in the first round in 2020, likely with the idea in mind of him being Wagner’s long-term replacement, and he’s developed into an above average run defender, with run defense grades of 68.6, 74.3, and 65.2 from PFF in three seasons in the league, while starting 33 of a possible 34 games and playing 65.0 snaps per game over the past two seasons. However, he has been horrendous against the pass, with grades of 29.8, 43.4, and 40.7 respectively in coverage. 

Between his coverage struggles and his injury, the Seahawks opted this off-season to decline his 5th year option, which would have guaranteed him 12.722 million for 2024, meaning that Brooks now heads into the final year of his contract this season. If he’s healthy, he should remain an every down player next to Wagner and he’s a former first round pick who is only in his age 26 season, but he’s no guarantee to be any better in coverage than he’s been, especially coming off of a major injury, so the return of Wagner is very welcome to this group.

The Seahawks also added ex-Steeler Devin Bush in free agency on a 1-year, 3.5 million dollar deal. Bush is also a recent first round pick with a significant leg injury in his history. The 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Bush showed potential with a 62.9 PFF grade on 889 snaps as a rookie, but his second season in the league in 2020 ended after 278 snaps in 5 games and he was a shell of himself upon his return in 2021, with a 34.4 PFF grade on 762 snaps. Bush was better in his second season back in 2022, but still only had a 58.8 PFF grade on 659 snaps, still not even back at the level he played at as a rookie, which is why his free agent market was severely limited. 

Still only in his age 25 season, Bush still has some potential and is not a bad flier on a cheap contract that pays him like a reserve, but he’ll be the 3rd linebacker on this defense, which means he won’t see much action unless Brooks misses time and, even if Bush does get to play in Brooks absence, he could easily continue struggling. The re-addition of Bobby Wagner helps this group significantly and Devin Bush and Jordyn Brooks both have upside if they can stay healthy, but they’ll most likely need Wagner to continue playing at a high level for this to be an above average group, as Bush and Brooks also come with a lot of questions.

Grade: B+

Secondary

With the 5th overall pick they got from the Broncos, after the top-3 quarterbacks all went off the board in the top-4 picks, the Seahawks opted to select Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon. He’ll probably have some growing pains as a rookie, but he has the upside to be a legitimate #1 cornerback long-term and it wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade in year one over Michael Jackson, a former undrafted free agent who started all 17 games for this defense last season (1,082 snaps) and was mediocre with a 60.2 PFF grade, after playing just 30 defensive snaps in his first three seasons in the league prior to last season.

Witherspoon’s addition gives the Seahawks a pair of promising cornerbacks long-term, after 2022 5th round pick Tariq Woolen looked like a diamond in the rough as a rookie, with a 71.6 grade on PFF on 1,135 snaps, including a 77.8 coverage grade that ranked 13th among cornerbacks, another product of last year’s great draft class by the Seahawks. Woolen’s run defense was a problem and only one year isn’t enough to ignore that the entire league let him fall to the 5th round a year ago, so he could struggle for consistency and regress in year two, but he should remain at least a solid starter and has the upside to continue developing and becoming one of the best coverage cornerbacks in the league for years to come.

The Seahawks also added veteran Julian Love in free agency on a 2-year, 12 million dollar deal, while fellow safety Jamal Adams is expected back after injuries limited him to just 15 snaps last season. Backup Ryan Neal played very well in Adams’ absence last season, with a 85.6 PFF grade on 713 snaps, and he wasn’t retained this off-season, so Adams’ return and Love’s addition are kind of a downgrade, but they’re not bad options and the Seahawks still have Quandre Diggs, who was the other starter last season, when he was in the first year of a 3-year, 39 million dollar extension.

All three safeties are starting caliber and, with Diggs and Love having experience on the slot the Seahawks lacking a good slot cornerback behind Witherspoon and Woolen, it’s very likely the Seahawks plan to use three safeties together frequently in sub packages. Diggs is the most reliable of the bunch, with four seasons over 70 on PFF in the past five years, including a 73.4 grade last season, while making all but six starts. He is going into his age 30 season this year, so he could start declining, but he could easily remain an above average starter, even if he’s not quite as good as he was at his best.

Jamal Adams gives the Seahawks a lot of upside, but it’s now been four years since he was at his best. He was the 6th overall pick in 2017 by the Jets and received grades of 68.5, 89.8, and 87.9 from PFF in his first three seasons in the league, leading to the Seahawks trading two first round picks for him and eventually giving him a 4-year, 70.58 million dollar deal, which still to this day makes him the third highest paid safety in the league in terms of average annual value.

However, despite being in the supposed prime of his career, Adams has not been able to play at the same level in Seattle, with PFF grades of 64.2 and 60.1 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, before a 2022 season that was almost completely lost due to injury. Adams is still only in his age 28 season and still has theoretical bounce back potential, but it’s becoming increasingly unlikely he’ll ever bounce all the way back, or even close to it. He should at least be a solid starter if healthy, but that’s a disappointment given the investment the Seahawks made in him.

Julian Love also comes with some upside, as the 2019 4th round pick finished last season with a 70.0 PFF grade on 1,006 snaps and is only heading into his age 25 season, but he comes with downside as well, as last season was his first full season as a starter, after averaging just 581 snaps per season in his first three seasons in the league, during which time his play was pretty inconsistent, even for a reserve. It’s very possible he’s turned a corner and will remain at least a solid starting caliber player, with the upside for more, but, even if he hasn’t, the Seahawks will probably mostly only use him in sub packages anyway, unless Adams or Diggs miss time with injury. His versatility is very valuable to this secondary.

Another rookie cornerback Coby Bryant played 757 snaps as the 3rd corner last season, but he struggled with a 58.9 PFF grade and will likely see a smaller role in year two. The Seahawks also still have Michael Jackson, who wasn’t terrible as a starter last season and is a much better fit as a reserve. With Witherspoon and Love being added and Adams set to return, the Seahawks have a much deeper secondary than a year ago, but the loss of Ryan Neal could prove to be very impactful and, overall, this is a good, not great secondary.

Grade: B+

Conclusion

The Seahawks surprisingly made the post-season last season after a surprising breakout season from Geno Smith. Things are pretty similar on offense this season and their defense looks a little bit better than a year ago, so if Smith can continue playing at the same level, the Seahawks have a good chance to be as good or better than a year ago. That’s a big if though, for a now 10-year veteran who is a one-year wonder and who was not nearly as good down the stretch last season as he was to start the year. I wouldn’t expect him to totally regress back to backup quality, but I wouldn’t expect him to be as good either and, depending on how much he regresses, that could be enough to keep the Seahawks on the outside looking in for a playoff spot, even with the NFC being even weaker than a year ago. I will have a final prediction at the end of the off-season when all previews are completed.

Prediction: 8-9, 2nd in NFC West