The Seattle Seahawks are coming off a rollercoaster of a 2023 season, which was quickly followed by the most shocking offseason move in franchise history. The dismissal of Pete Carroll as the team’s head coach and the ongoing search to replace him is enough to make any fan feel dizzy and befuddle any analyst. For now, all we can do is keep track of the candidates and try to project what roster changes need to come no matter who the next head coach winds up being.
In that spirit, let’s examine the team’s five-biggest roster needs going into the 2024 NFL season.
5
Quarterback
Geno Smith should continue to start for Seattle in 2024. However, that cannot stop them from picking a QB in the upcoming draft, which features a deep class at the game’s most important position. Green Bay’s obscene long-term success with drafting QBs before they need a new starter should be all the evidence you need that it’s worth the investment. General manager John Schneier of course came from Green Bay and we expect him to follow suit now that personnel decisions are his alone. Even though there are several spots that are much thinner around this roster, keeping the QB pantry well-stocked has to be part of the plan this offseason – especially since Drew Lock is a good bet to leave in free agency.
4
Guard
Guards may be the most dispensable players on the field in the modern NFL. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be a liability for your offense if you start a truly poor tandem. Just ask Geno Smith, who’s been the victim of an agonizing number of interior pressures over the last two seasons. Seattle should go into this offseason looking to totally revamp their rotation inside, beginning with letting Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes walk and drafting two new potential starters to compete with Anthony Bradford and a presumably re-signed McClendon Curtis.
3
Interior defensive line
Assuming they also re-sign Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed returns, Seattle has two good interior starters and a wild-card in Dre’Mont Jones, whose cap number makes his future far from certain. Unfortunately, even a strong trio on paper isn’t good enough when your primary competition is the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle’s bar for this group simply has to be higher or they’re not going to win the NFC West again anytime soon. Much as we adore Devon Witherspoon and his game, there’s still some merit to the argument that they should have taken Jalen Carter based on relative positional value. Witherspoon is a superior defender, but the Seahawks still need to add another serious playmaker at iDL.
2
Edge
Edge is another position where the deck is stacked against Seattle in a bad way. With the highly-underrated Uchenna Nwosu returning from injury and rising star Boye Mafe at the top of the rotation, they have a well above-average starting duo on the edge but a lot of question marks below that on the depth chart. Even if Derick Hall does the Sophomore leap and Darrell Taylor re-signs and takes a massive step forward, it probably won’t be enough to catch up with the Niners. Whatever else happens this offseason, the Seahawks have to seriously consider using their No. 16 overall pick on the best edge defender available.
1
Offensive tackle
This situation is an incredible bummer, but it’s better not to ignore it. Right now it appears that the Seahawks having landed two solid long-term starters at the tackle positions in one draft class may have been too good to be true. With Charles Cross having regressed at left tackle in 2023 and Abe Lucas missing two thirds of the season with a chronic knee issue – although it appears he just had surgery on it – Seattle’s OT situation is far from settled. One idea we like is moving one or both of them inside and starting over at tackle – using as much draft capital and cap room as they can afford to fix the pass protection issues that were largely responsible for spoiling what should have been a top-five passing unit. We’d prefer another swing at New England’s giant right tackle Trent Brown in free agency and then drafting somebody who can at least compete with Cross on the blindside.
