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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Tim Weaver

4 key Seahawks players who need to elevate their game in 2024

Seahawks DreMont Jones Charles Cross Riq Woolen Steph Chambers Olu Oluwatimi Seattle Byron Murphy II Nick Harris NFL

The Seattle Seahawks may have a lot of faith in themselves and their abilities. However, the guys who are paid to set the odds don’t seem to think much of what they’re going to do in 2024. According to the early odds for each game this coming season, the Seahawks are only favorites in five of their 17 matchups. That includes being underdogs against the Bears on the road, the Packers at home and in both games against the NFC West rival Cardinals.

Consider us more bullish than the oddsmakers, because our week by week predictions for the 2024 season have them finishing at 9-8. Then again, there’s a reason why we are blogging about the Seahawks and those folks are getting paid by sportsbooks. If Seattle is going to overcome those expectations and finish with a respectable record, the team will need a few key guys to step up.

Here are four Seahawks players who either need to improve some specific part of their game, or work on intangibles like consistency and leadership.

7 takeaways from Seattle’s open OTAs practice on Wednesday

1
LT Charles Cross

The one player Seattle needs to step up most is left tackle Charles Cross, who was a top-10 pick a couple of years ago. While he showed promise his rookie season, Cross did not display much improvement during the 2023 campaign. For example, his overall Pro Football Focus grade only grew from 63.7 in 2022 up to 67.6 this past season and he earned mediocre/average scores in both run blocking and pass protection for the second straight year. On the field Cross needs to start delivering the kind of results that are expected of any player who is a top-10 overall draft pick and step up both significantly both in pass protection and run blocking. The Seahawks could also use Cross becoming more of a leader, especially if their tone-setting right tackle Abe Lucas is going to keep missing time with his knee issue.

2
C Olu Oluwatimi

Cross is far from the only Seattle lineman who needs to deliver in 2024, though. In the middle of the offensive line we will be treated to a competition between former Washington Huskies OL Nick Harris and second-year center Olu Oluwatimi out of Michigan. As a rookie Oluwatimi only appeared in four games, totaling just 128 offensive snaps. During that time on the field he earned high marks for his pass blocking from PFF (75.5) but also a poor grade in run blocking (50.1). Oluwatimi needs to improve that part of the game as well as stepping up as a leader for the offensive line unit. Step one is beating out Harris for the starting center job this summer.

3
DE/OLB Dre'Mont Jones

On the other side of the ball one of many disappointments was how Dre’Mont Jones performed after signing a three-year, $51 million contract last March. Jones was usually sharp as an interior pass rusher during his time with the Broncos, but he didn’t produce much his first year in Seattle. All together Jones totaled 4.5 sacks, 12 QB hits, 20 pressures and his PFF pass rush grade was a career low 65.1. That’s simply not enough for what they’re paying him. Looking ahead, Jones will get an opportunity to make an impact at a different position this year. With Byron Murphy II taking over as a starter inside, Jones will be making the move out to the edge. Jones’ run defense is sufficient but they really need him to cause more damage as a pass rusher to justify keeping him on the roster for another year.

4
CB Riq Woolen

We took it pretty easy on cornerback Riq Woolen last season on account of an incredibly promising rookie year. However, the grace period is now over. Woolen has some remarkable athletic gifts and ball skills to spare, racking up eight interceptions and 27 pass breakups his first two seasons. Unfortunately, Woolen has not performed at a pro level as a tackler, missing nine attempts last year and 14 total. It’s not uncommon for defensive backs to struggle in this department but his 37.3 run defense grade was the worst of any starter for Seattle and bad enough to get him briefly benched. It’s rare that a player changes his nature like this, but Woolen has to show more willingness to put his nose in and make hard tackles in the open field, otherwise, he risks losing his spot as a starter to someone like Nehemiah Pritchett or D.J. James.