Three players Seahawks can least afford to lose other than Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner

Bradley McDougald, free/strong safety

McDougald was signed to a relative bargain of a contract before the 2017 season. He wasn’t expected to be a starter day one as at the time Seattle still had Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. But Chancellor missed the last seven games of 2017 and McDougald replaced him and did really well. McDougald was actually better in coverage than Chancellor.

The real strength for McDougald and what makes him irreplaceable for Seattle in 2019 is his versatility. McDougald can either play free or strong safety. He prefers strong safety and wants to play in the box more this season. This would mean McDougald would be available to help stop the run a bit more and Seattle struggled doing that last year.

McDougald is also the only real proven veteran in the back of the secondary too. No matter if he plays free or strong safety, he will playing beside really young players. Those players will rely on McDougald for communication and leadership. McDougald helped do that last season too, after the Seahawks lost Thomas for the year in week four.

Seattle doesn’t necessarily need McDougald to play at a Pro Bowl level, though obviously that would be nice. They simply need him to be on the field every game and play well and be a good teacher to players like rookie Marquise Blair.