Spearheaded by a new coaching staff implementing a new scheme, the Seattle Seahawks underwent dramatic personnel transformations on defense this offseason, including losing linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Quandre Diggs and replacing them with Tyrel Dodson and Rayshawn Jenkins.
But while Seattle will be breaking in new starters at inside linebacker, safety, and potentially along the defensive line and at cornerback, general manager John Schneider stuck with status quo off the edge with all four primary outside linebackers returning in 2024 and no noteworthy additions. Among the players set to return, the team will happily welcome back veteran starter Uchenna Nwosu, who landed on injured reserve last October with a season-ending pectoral injury.
Just two years removed from a breakout 9.5 sack campaign and on the heels of signing a massive contract extension, the Seahawks missed Nwosu’s presence dearly, particularly against the run where the team plunged from a top-five unit to 31st by the end of the season. As a first-time head coach, Mike Macdonald was thrilled to see the veteran back in action during OTAs and minicamp without restrictions alongside a returning cast including Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, and Derick Hall.
“It’s great to see them out there working and communicating,” Macdonald said after an OTA practice in late May. “We’re working through how we’re going to structure the pass rush and who is playing what spot and what shakes down and what makes sense and what hits and all those things. This is a great time of year to sharpen the sword so to speak and understand, build the foundation, platform to the jumping off point when we come back in the fall.”
From Week 1 until the season finale in Arizona, consistency stood out as a significant issue for Seattle’s edge defender group a year ago. For his part, Nwosu only produced a pair of sacks and six quarterback hits in six games before suffering his injury, while Mafe cooled off significantly after setting a new franchise record with a sack in seven straight games, recording just two sacks in the final eight regular season games.
In reserve roles, Taylor registered just 5.5 sacks, his lowest total in three seasons with the Seahawks. Providing little punch in the pass rushing department, Hall didn’t record a sack as a rookie, though he did nearly hit 40 combined tackles and contributed three tackles for loss. Both players struggled mightily setting the edge against the run, especially when called upon to take on bigger roles after Nwosu went down, earning dismal 45.2 and 32.7 grades from Pro Football Focus respectively.
Based on the lack of changes and opting for continuity, Macdonald and his staff clearly have confidence they can coax better production from Nwosu and company in a different system. Additionally, the Seahawks look ready to deploy versatile defender Dre’Mont Jones more frequently off the edge with the goal of maximizing on his disruptive capabilities and further bolstering the group, which would be a major difference maker at the position if it works out as planned.
“I think his skill set lends to trying to play a little matchup ball with him or setting another guy up,” Macdonald said of Jones. “He can do a lot of things. We’ve talked about it, but we’re really excited about Dre’Mont.”
In part five of our annual training camp preview, will the arrival of Macdonald and return of Nwosu prove to be catalysts for much-improved play from Seattle’s edge group? Here’s a deep dive into the position group looking back at last season, exploring what’s new for 2024, an interesting stat, and the key question that must be answered.
Though his pass-rushing numbers weren’t quite on par with his 2022 season, Nwosu posted a solid 14.4 percent pressure rate and remained rock solid defending the run before his season abruptly ended in Week 7. In six games played, he totaled four tackles for loss and also forced a pair of fumbles, helping Seattle start the year off on a strong note with a top-five defense in rushing yards allowed, yards per carry allowed, and fewest 10-plus yard runs.
On the opposite side, Mafe exploded onto the scene after a quiet rookie season, starting a historic sack streak in a win over Carolina in Week 3 that spanned seven games. Even with his sack numbers cooling off in the second half, he still nearly hit double digits for the first time in his career while racking up 16 quarterback hits and six swatted passes, emerging as one of the NFC’s best young edge rushers.
Unfortunately, Taylor and Hall didn’t offer near as many contributions as hoped. In the pass rushing department, neither player finished in top 90 among qualified edge defenders in pass rush win rate, including Taylor ranking a dismal 108th. They also ranked outside the top 50 in run stop rate and struggled to maintain the edge on a consistent basis, playing key roles in opponents rushing all over the Seahawks in the final two months of the season.
Seattle didn’t make any substantial moves to improve its edge rush group in free agency or the draft, banking on Nwosu’s return to health and big leaps from Mafe, Taylor, and Hall in a new defense. Macdonald does look poised to slide Jones around more, making him a significant part of the rotation both off the edge and in the interior as a 3-tech defensive tackle, which could impact playing time for Taylor and Hall. The team also added former All-Big 12 linebacker Nelson Ceaser, who led the conference in sacks last year and could be a viable threat to push for a roster spot as an undrafted rookie.
In 11 games without Nwosu, the Seahawks gave up a staggering 166 rushing yards per game, five yards per carry, and 18 rushing touchdowns, ranking dead last in the NFL in that span in all three categories.
Do the Seahawks have enough depth off the edge for Macdonald’s system?
Losing one player shouldn’t have the negative ripple effects to completely destroy a run defense, but that’s exactly what happened when Nwosu went down last October, as the Seahawks didn’t have quality enough depth to withstand his absence. As has been the case throughout his up-and-down career, opponents game planned to run right at Taylor with great success, capitalizing on his inability to set a firm edge or consistently finish tackles. Hall wasn’t much better, battling rookie growing pains facing off against NFL blockers and regularly moving himself out of the play.
Going into a new season, Seattle could be facing a similar dilemma, as an injury to Nwosu or Mafe would put them in the same precarious circumstances. With that said, Jones played more than 80 percent of his snaps off the edge after Week 10 last season and saw an uptick in pressure rate and overall productivity, suggesting he can make a positive difference with more playing them there on a regular basis. As former second-round picks, the organization remains optimistic Taylor and Hall can perform better if put into better positions to succeed schematically.
Either way, depth will remain the biggest question mark for this group until Taylor and/or Hall takes a major step forward developing as all-around edge defenders. If neither of those players can answer the call when camp opens, a player such as Ceaser may have a prime opportunity to try to play himself onto the roster with Macdonald and his staff hoping to avoid the pitfall that doomed the Seahawks at outside linebacker a year ago.
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Publish date : 2024-07-13 18:15:00
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