Ranking Seahawks free agents by order of who must be re-signed
By Lee Vowell
Ranking 5-1
5. Defensive end Benson Mayowa
Maybe Mayowa didn’t seem overly great this year. But wait, was he not pretty good? He had 6 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, 7 tackles-for-loss in 13 games. Mayowa is not a difference-maker in himself but, as George Orwell wrote, Mayowa is “more equal than others.” As part of a rotation Mayowa will do damage and with the right price should definitely be brought back in 2021.
4. Cornerback Neiko Thorpe
Neiko Thorpe is a fantastic player in the locker room and makes a difference in how players view the team overall. He gives his all for the betterment of the team and every single team ever needs a player like Thorpe. Need more proof? The team made Thorpe a special teams captain in 2020 even though he has never sniffed a Pro Bowl. The Seahawks players respect him and so should you.
3. Linebacker K.J. Wright
This is where things get even more difficult. Seattle’s top three free agents are good players on and off the field. The sad part for Wright is he has made one Pro Bowl. That is an absolute crock. Wright is one of the best linebackers in Seattle history and simply gets overshadowed by his fellow future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner. Wright should be re-signed for his intelligence and his athletic ability and his extremely consistent production.
2. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin
The question about Shaquill Griffin still remains about whether he is a true number one cornerback in the NFL or not. While Griffin did have his best QBR-allowed in 2020 it was still 93.3. Compared that to the Rams Jalen Ramsey who hasn’t had QBR-allowed that high in his career and had a rating of 68.1 this season and one might see the difference between a true number one and simply the best corner on the Seattle team.
Next. Five QBs Seahawks should draft to backup Russell Wilson. dark
1. Running back Chris Carson
No matter if the Seahawks get back to running the ball 45 percent of the time or not they need a very good running back and that is Carson. Does he get injured a bit too much? Yes. But he was completely underused in 2020 when he was able to play and Carson would presumably be a great fit in new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s system.