Predicting how the Seahawks can reach their ceiling in 2022

We had a feeling, didn’t we? When you trade the greatest quarterback in Seahawks franchise history, most in the national media expect the team was going to take a step back.

Those that had watched Seattle for the past few years were in two camps: Pro-Wilson or pro-Pete. Those that believed in Russ thought Seattle would fall apart without him and that the Seahawks were holding him back.

The Pete believers may have assumed that Seattle would never get back to their dominant ways without making the moves needed to return to having a dominant defense, demoralizing run game, and a quarterback that complimented those other two aspects.

It was hard to envision a future where the Seahawks returned to these ways and kept Russ (and his eventual mega-contract) in the picture.

What is the ceiling for the 2022 Seahawks?

Ownership made the decision to keep the leadership structure of Pete Carroll and John Schneider, trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. It is a decision that will impact the Seahawks for the next decade, good or bad.

With the world seemingly against Seattle, there was a chance we’d see a competitive season out of Seattle, but a 9-8 and a playoff appearance? If this was the beginning of a rebuild, the future’s looking bright.

With the majority of the roster (minus Wilson of course) returning, there was some hope that Seattle could get back to their winning ways. It was only two seasons ago that the majority of this squad were 12-4 and had won the NFC West.

This hope was realized in a shocking week 1 Monday Night victory over Russell Wilson’s Broncos. The crowd showered Wilson with boos before the defense showered him with sacks. The new look Seahawks defense dominated the first half by sacking Wilson 3 times and an interception. The decision by the new defensive coordinator to make Jamal Adams more of a hybrid than a strict strong safety allowed Adams to get back to what he does best, causing havoc.