Defensive back now Seattle Seahawks’ No. 1 offseason need

Going into the offseason, wide receiver was considered to the biggest area of need for the Seattle Seahawks. After just over three weeks, perception has already shifted in a completely different direction. As of right now, cornerback is arguably Seattle’s biggest now.

Why the shift in thinking? Part of it is because we have been taking careful look at Chris Matthews, as well as some optimism on the development of Kevin Norwood. While the position still needs a major upgrade, there isn’t that sense of desperation now like there was just after the Super Bowl.

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On the other hand, Seattle’s defensive secondary has taken hit after hit over the past few weeks. First it was the realization that Byron Maxwell was a free agent who wouldn’t be back. Then the injury news started piling up.

Tharold Simon, who looked awful in the playoffs, is recovering from shoulder surgery. It will prevent him from participating in any of the team’s offseason workouts. It will also likely keep him out of training camp and the preseason. That doesn’t give us much hope that he will be vastly improved when 2015 rolls around.

Jeremy Lane just had ACL surgery. He appears headed to the PUP list and won’t be able to play until mid-season. Next year is also the final year of his rookie contract and could be gone as soon as the following season.

All of that precipitated the news that Earl Thomas had major shoulder surgery and may not be back until midseason. So not only do the Seahawks have no cornerbacks to play opposite Richard Sherman, but they also might be missing their safety net that cleans up cornerback mistakes.

Put all of this together, and there’s been a major shift in how Seattle’s offseason is being viewed. Instead of mock drafts linking the Seahawks to wide receivers like Phillip Dorsett or Kevin Smith, there has been a lot more talk about Seattle selecting guys like cornerbacks Marcus Peters or Kevin Johnson.

It is clear that defensive back is now a major concern for Seattle, and something that must be addressed this offseason. We’ll see how they are able to fix this problem over the next couple of months.