3 Seattle Seahawks are poised for breakout seasons in 2022
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks are going to have to rely on some players to step up in 2022 and have more production than they ever have before for Seattle to exceed expectations.
Russell Wilson is gone so Seattle doesn’t have the same security blanket it has for the last 10 years to pull out crazy come-from-behind victories. Maybe whoever the quarterback is for Seattle this coming year will be more Wilson-like than most foresee but that certainly won’t be the expectation.
But who might become stars for Seattle this year and possibly even help lead the team to the postseason? Maybe these three.
3 Seahawks that could easily exceed expectations in 2022
Cody Barton
It’s Cody Barton’s world now. After sitting – rightfully so – behind Bobby Wagner for three years, Barton will definitely be the full-time starter in 2022. Wagner was, of course, released this offseason and then signed with the Los Angeles Rams. Barton isn’t as good as Wagner but he is younger and has good speed and should be able to resemble Wagner in many ways.
He is going to rack up tackles. The question with Barton is what else he can do? In very limited play in 2021, Barton looked like he couple potentially help with the pass rush more than Wagner was able to do the last couple of seasons. In 189 defensive snaps last year, Barton had 2 quarterback hits. In 1,128 snaps, Wagner had 3.
Barton was a third-round choice in 2019 for a reason: He can potentially be very good. And this year he will have every opportunity to prove he is worth re-signing next offseason and earn a sizable new deal. If I was a betting person, I would put money on Barton being excellent in 2022.