Seahawks might need Marquise Blair at safety sooner rather than later

The Seahawks have a pair of good safeties in Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. But Marquise Blair might need to replace one of them soon. In another article today we talked about how Quandre Diggs is a free agent after this season and he wants to get paid like the good safety he is.

12s already know, and likely are fretting, about Jamal Adams entering the final year of his current contract. Adams will definitely get paid a lot of money starting in 2022. A player with Adams’ skills to both rush the passer at never-before-seen levels by a defensive back and also play solid coverage when healthy is a high-end need for almost every NFL team.

Diggs, too, is very good with a career-high 5 interceptions in 2020 and making his first Pro Bowl and is just 28 years old. But will Seattle have the money to re-sign both Diggs and Adams and should they?

Seahawks need to make Marquise Blair a full-time safety

Marquise Blair also deserves his chance to start at safety. In limited time in his rookie season, the former second-round Seahawks draft pick (2019), Blair was at his best the more he played. Blair started three games, forced two fumbles along with 32 tackles and a pass defended. But he only played on 22 percent of defensive snaps.

In a week 8 start against the Falcons, Blair was in on 11 tackles, showed toughness and speed and forced a fumble. While there were some issues with scheme (as with nearly any rookie), Blair did enough, I think, to show he could be a solid starter in the NFL.

Last season, Seattle added Adams and already had Diggs so that duo was going to be set. Blair, however, did so well in preseason when he got the chance to be slot corner that he was set to hold down the spot starting in week one. Against the Falcons in 2020, Blair was in on 7 tackles and forced another fumble.

Then he tore his ACL in week two and missed the rest of the year and likely isn’t yet 100 percent healthy. Ugo Amadi took over at nickelback and was pretty good by the end of the year. This leaves Blair without a position heading into 2021.

Blair needs to be moved back to safety and back up there. He can back up either spot, though he is more Adams than Diggs. But assuming Seattle doesn’t want to pay one of their starting safeties after 2021 (if there is one it’s probably Diggs), then Blair should be a starter in 2022 and he will be a very good one.