Last year around this time most projections had the Seahawks winning five or maybe six games at most during the 2022 season. History proved them wrong. Perhaps taking a lesson from last offseason, this year most of the projections for this team are far more positive. The most-recent analyses are generally projecting Seattle to go somewhere between 9-8 and 11-6 during the regular season and earn a Wild Card spot.
Today we can add another voice to that range in the choir. Nate Davis at USA TODAY has Seattle going 10-7, finishing just one game behind the 49ers in the NFC West. Here’s what he had to say about the Seahawks and their season to come.
“Rejuvenated on both sides of the ball thanks to the draft bounty brought from last year’s trade of QB Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll’s team is very much starting to resemble the one that won a Super Bowl a decade ago – what with the makings of a loaded secondary, deep D-line, LB Bobby Wagner (again) lording over the defense, a running game that should pound relentlessly and a quarterback (Geno Smith now) who keeps things moving with a minimum of mistakes … at least based on the 32-year-old’s 2022 breakout. And, with first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba joining WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the passing game should be far more formidable than Seattle’s 2013 forebears. The 49ers have very little margin for error with the Seahawks seemingly on a steep ascent…”
That’s some quality red meat for a fanbase that has more reason to be excited about this particular team than any since 2015.
Whether they actually get there or not will likely hinge on two factors: both on the inside at the line of scrimmage. First, they’ll need their guards and whoever starts at center to take better care of Geno Smith than Austin Blythe and company did late last year. On the other side, stouter run defense and better interior pass rushing would go a long way towards improving the team’s prospects. If both interior units step up and the key pieces stay healthy, a deep playoff run is certainly not out of the question.
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