Why Seahawks safety Jamal Adams will have his best season in 2022

Jamal Adams has been with the Seahawks for the last two seasons and they could not have gone more differently. 2022 will be the year it all comes together.

In 2020, Adams set NFL records for sacks by a defensive back with 9.5. He also had 14 quarterback hits. But former defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. tinkered with the defense before the 2021 season and the new design reduced Adams to a coverage safety and didn’t allow Adams to be anywhere near his best.

In 2021, Adams’ numbers fell to zero sacks and 2 quarterback hits. Adams also had just 4 tackles for loss. The TFL and sacks were career lows for Adams. The player hadn’t suddenly become much worse; The coaching of the defense let him down.

Jamal Adams will have his best season with the Seahawks in 2022

Adams needs to be used in aggressive ways. The Seahawks made excuses that teams were changing their alignments when they thought Adams might be blitzing. But this seems like a stretch. Adams had 6.5 sacks in 2019 with the Jets so teams didn’t suddenly realize Adams could chase down their quarterbacks. This was known before Adams came to Seattle.

The only true reason it would seem for Adams huge step back in production is that Norton lacked the imagination and coaching ability to get the best out of the safety and how to use Adams’ considerable gifts to make the defense better overall.

But that will change in 2022. Seattle’s defensive coaching staff has been revamped in the best way for Adams. Clint Hurtt will become the new defensive coordinator and he has promised the defense will no longer sit back and allow opposing quarterbacks the time to throw receivers open over the middle.

Beyond Hurtt, however, Sean Desai was added to the coaching staff this offseason as Associate Head Coach/Defense. Desai has a history of getting great things out of the secondaries he has coached and also has produced attacking defenses that scheme well in blitzes.

This is why Jamal Adams will have his best overall season in the NFL. He will be coached better on how to cover and put himself in the correct positions to defend passes. But he will also be hidden in schemes that allow him to pressure quarterbacks and be more aggressive in run support.

Adams might not reach 9.5 sacks but he should get to 7 while also intercepting a couple of passes. But he should also get back to double-digits in tackles for loss (he had at least 9 from 2017 through 2020). He is a unique player who needs to be used in unique ways and he finally has a coaching staff with the Seahawks that will put him in the best positions to succeed.