Beginnings are such delicate times, but despite a shaky loss in their first game of the season the Seattle Seahawks are thriving. After four weeks, Seattle sits at 3-1 and looks like a legit top-10 team in the NFL. Our most recent batch of power rankings put them at No. 9.
Now that the sample sizes are large enough to be trustworthy, we can definitively say that we know a whole lot more about these Seahawks right now than we did one month ago. Here are seven things we now know about this Seattle team that we didn’t when the season started.
Geno Smith is officially not a one-hit wonder
Never that there was any doubt, Geno Smith has proven that his Comeback Player of the Year performance last season was no fluke. Smith’s important numbers are still top-10 level for the most part and in some ways he’s even better. Most importantly, his interception rate has dropped significantly from last season (1.9% to 0.8%). If that trend continues and collectively the Seahawks pile on an already impressive turnover differential this could very well be THE dark horse team in this year’s NFC playoffs.
Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet could both be special
The future is also bright for Seattle’s run game – and beyond just this season. While the blocking and the numbers haven’t quite been there consistently as of yet, on film second-year running back Ken Walker is faster, more explosive and more patient than last season, raising his ceiling significantly. Heading into this week, Walker led the league in forced missed tackles on runs. Meanwhile, in limited action rookie Zach Charbonnet has proven both powerful and efficient, averaging five yards per carry while flashing some Marshawn Lynch-like qualities.
Nobody but Beast Mode gets a second contract from Pete Carroll and John Schneider at this position, but for the next few years these two should keep the run game going strong – or at least until they draft someone higher.
The tight ends are still integral offensively
Heading into the season we expected the Sehawks to embrace a lot more three-receiver sets on offense. That would have gone in conjunction for a serious role for rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. So far that hasn’t happened. JSN has only been targeted 20 times, with most of them coming near the line of scrimmage. Eventually that will change and JSN will get a larger slice of the pie over time.
For now, the tight ends remain a big part of the passing game in Shane Waldron’s scheme. Noah Fant has finally surpassed Will Dissly as the No. 1 option here, posting 160 yards on 10 catches so far. Meanwhile, Dissly has 52 yards on five receptions (in three games) and Colby Parkinson his chipped in another 87 yards on six catches. The same as last year, all three are performing above average both as receivers and blockers.
There are a lot of mouths to feed on this roster, but hopefully Waldron can find a way to keep the tight ends involved even as they integrate JSN.
The offensive line is far better than expected
They don’t give MVP awards to assistant coaches, but if they did Andy Dickerson would be the clear frontrunner for the Seahawks. Across the board, the team has a lot of players and several units that are playing better than expected, but none of them moreso than their young offensive line.
Left tackle Charles Cross (toe) and right tackle Abe Lucas (knee) have been out with injuries the last few weeks, but Stone Forsythe and to a lesser extent Jake Curhan have been able to hold the fort down at the tackle spots. Inside, backups have had to step up too, with rookie center Olu Oluwatimi pitching a shutout in pass protection last week against the Giants iDL featuring Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams. Rookie right guard Anthony Bradford has flashed some run-blocking prowess, as well.
Overall, this is looking like a pretty respectable and deep unit. Good assistants are tough to hold onto in this league, but the Seahawks should be going out of their way to keep Dickerson around as long as they can.
Seattle's run defense has completely reversed
Last season run defense was this team’s greatest weakness, accounting for several losses in close games. This year it’s been a totally different story – as the script has literally reversed itself.
Thanks in part to schematic changes by defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt as well as efforts from Jarran Reed, Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks, this team has gone from having the third-worst run defense in the NFL to the third-best. That’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment and another credit to Pete Carroll’s staff.
The pass rush is red hot now after a slow start
Ask us and the real issue last season was a lack of a pass rush. Despite some decent but misleading sack numbers as a team, the Seahawks rarely got consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks last year, allowing mediocre quarterbacks to carve up their zones and beat them in games that Seattle rightfully should have won.
The first two weeks of the season was more of the same, as Seattle got virtually no pressure on Matt Stafford and not much more against Jared Goff. However, against the Panthers and the Giants the pass rush absolutely exploded in production. Going into the bye week the Seahawks lead the league in sacks and total pressures.
Fans can’t expect things to always be like they’ve been in Weeks 3-4, but if they can manage to maintain a high level of pressure the ceiling for this team could be the sky.
This is the best young team in the entire NFL
The biggest reason to be incredibly bullish about these Seahawks is how good they are despite being one of the youngest teams in the league. While the Rams, the Packers and a handful of other teams technically have younger rosters by average age – this group is the only one in the bunch that could likely make a deep playoff run.
Pete Carroll’s bonanza of riches at cornerback is the best example of their combination of remarkable talent, skill and youth. With time to develop, the combination of second-year corner Riq Woolen and rookie Devon Witherspoon could easily become the top cornerback duo in the NFL.
The Seahawks are also relatively young and loaded at wide receiver, offensive tackle and on the edge – all critical positions in the modern game. Four games is admittedly not much to go on in the grand scheme of things, but it doesn’t take much imagination to envision this team going all the way in the next few years.
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