Final defensive grades for the Seahawks in 2019

Secondary

Well, goodness. What a weird group to grade. Shaquill Griffin wasn’t perfect but was much better than in 2018 and wound up being the 10th highest graded cornerback, per Pro Football Focus. He still didn’t have an interception and needs to become a better playmaker in the future.

On the other side, Tre Flowers, after a really good rookie year, wasn’t consistently good. Sure, he had three interceptions but was penalized 9 times which was second-worst in the NFL among cornerbacks. He needs to learn to get his head around on the ball. But Flowers also did not seem to build off his rookie season and if he plays as he did at the end of 2019 into 2020, Seattle might need to start looking for his replacement.

At safety, Quandre Diggs was really good after coming over in a trade midseason. Thankfully, he is under contract through 2021. He will make $5 million each in the next two years, but he should be worth that. Bradley McDougald was better when Diggs was on the field so if McDougald and Diggs can both stay healthy, they should be a decent safety combo.

All the rest of the safeties, though, are huge question marks. Rookie Marquise Blair seemed to play well when given the chance but then the Seahawks sat him fairly quickly. Maybe he was miscommunicating deep? Lano Hill and Tedric Thompson do not need to be on the roster next year.

Grade: C

Overall, Seattle’s defense will look different in 2020. Will Clowney return? What will the Seahawks do with their base defense? Will Tre Flowers be better? If Seattle can get their defense better, they could be a Super Bowl contender. Otherwise, they might not make the playoffs.