Ranking Seahawks position groups by greatest need

The Seahawks have been a playoff team for most of the last decade. But which position groups need the greatest help for 2020?

The Seahawks went 11-5 in 2019 and exceeded expectations to some degree. But Seattle will be expected to be good again in 2020, even though they have teams in their own division that are improving and have Super Bowl dreams of their own. But how good are Seattle’s position groups currently?

Here are is a ranking of each unit by degree on need from most to least.

Number one: Defensive line

The Seahawks have a bunch of free agents on their defensive line this offseason, including Jadeveon Clowney, Jarran Reed and Quinton Jefferson. But the line wasn’t very good in 2019 so changes should be made. The biggest question is, of course, who is playing the four spot Seattle has on their line in 2020? And can they get better pressure on the quarterback?

Number two: Offensive line

The line on the offensive side has kind of the same issue as the one on defense: There will be a bit of turnover. Germain Ifedi, George Fant and Mike Iupati are all free agents. And center Justin Britt is coming off of an ACL injury that ended his 2019 season in week 8. Plus, Duane Brown will be 35 years old when the season starts and D.J. Fluker wasn’t great this past season.

Number three: Running back

The Seahawks like to run the ball still. We saw late in the year that if they don’t have good backs capable of making yards on their own, the offense fails. Sure, Chris Carson should be able to come back before week one of 2020, but after him, the unit remains a mystery. Rashaad Penny is trying to overcome an ACL injury and C.J. Prosise is a free agent. Will Marshawn Lynch return? Could Travis Homer be a decent third down back? There are a lot of questions.

Number four: Secondary

Seattle has two good players in the current secondary lineup: Shaquill Griffin and free safety Quandre Diggs. Assuming both those guys can be good again and stay healthy, great. But strong safety Bradley McDougald needs another good safety beside him to be very good. If Diggs goes down, McDougald isn’t as good. Opposite Griffin, Tre Flowers was not good in 2019 and if he doesn’t improve in 2020, quarterbacks will pick on him and the Seahawks defense all season. And who is going to play nickel?

Number five: Linebacker

There is a big jump here between the secondary issues and the issues with any other group beyond number four. While Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright aren’t exactly young anymore, they aren’t old either and both are good. The biggest question is if Seattle chooses to go back to a base defense with three linebackers. If they do, it could be Cody Barton that steps in for free agent Mychal Kendricks and Seattle lets Kendricks walk.

Number six: Tight ends/receivers

The Seahawks still need to find a good third option at wideout, but otherwise this is potentially a loaded group. Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf will be the number one and two receivers and tight end will have Will Dissly (should be back by week one of 2020 after overcoming an Achilles injury in 2019) and Greg Olsen and Jacob Hollister.

Number seven: Quarterback

This has nothing to do with the awesomeness that is Russell Wilson. This is more about who backs up Wilson. Wilson hasn’t missed a game since he played for the French colonials back in 1738 when he was throwing to a young Native American chief-to-be named Pontiac. But if Wilson does miss a game, who replaces him because the Seahawks currently do not have a backup quarterback on the roster.

Number eight: Special teams

Punter Michael Dickson, kicker Jason Myers and long snapper Tyler Ott are under contract through 2395. Special teams is set for the next century. But hopefully, Myers will be a bit better in 2020 than he was in 2019.