Few NFL teams have done better during the last two offseasons than the Seattle Seahawks.
Last year they took a massive risk by trading away franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, a move that could have upended the front office if it hadn’t gone well. Well, not only did Seattle get out of the Russell Wilson game at the exact right time, they found a ready-made replacement in Geno Smith, who performed at a top-10 level in 2022. For an encore, they put together the best draft class any team has had since the Seahawks landed Wilson, Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin back in 2012.
Now they’ve done it again.
By re-signing Smith to a mid-market deal they got a great bargain at the game’s most important position – a value better than any signing in free agency this year. They followed that up with what appears to be another strong draft class, or at least one that’s gotten glowing reviews so far.
For their trouble, Pro Football Focus has given Seattle an A grade for their offseason moves this year.
“They struck the balance between rewarding and retaining Smith but also not overcommitting to a player who could easily regress hard in the future… but the real magic happened in the draft. With their top two picks, the Seahawks drafted the consensus No. 1 cornerback and No. 1 receiver in Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, respectively. Running back Zach Charbonnet in the second round raised eyebrows given they already have Kenneth Walker III, but now the team has one of the best backfields in football.”
This is all exciting stuff. However, all the high grades in the world won’t account to anything if Seattle doesn’t improve defensively. By bringing back Bobby Wagner they addressed their greatest weakness and by adding Devon Witherspoon they should have one of the game’s best boundary cornerback combinations.
The x-factor will be two-fold: first, the totally-remodeled defensive line has to perform far better than last year’s version. The Seahawks had arguably the worst run defense in the NFL and they weren’t much better rushing the QB, either.
More punch up front will go a long way, but the real changes may need to be schematic in nature. Clint Hurtt will have to find the right way to use his new personnel in the trenches and get Jamal Adams going at a 2020 pass-rushing level once again. If he can do that, we may soon see this team back in the Super Bowl contender conversation.
