Three Seattle Seahawks that cannot be counted on in 2023

Seahawks cannot count on edge rusher Darrell Taylor

Darrell Taylor is a weird player. We learned in 2022 that he is horrible against the run. He is a pure edge rusher and when he is matched up against offensive tackles one-on-one Taylor is going to lose ground. This means Taylor is a one-dimensional player who is capable of disrupting an opponent’s passing game, but he also hasn’t shown he can perfect the pass-rushing moves he has.

The biggest issue with Taylor, though, is he is extremely inconsistent. In 2021, Taylor had 4 sacks in his first five games. Taylor then didn’t have a sack in the next four games he played. After Week 8, Taylor had just 5 quarterback hits in nine games. In 2022, Taylor had 3 sacks in the first eight games he played and just 4 QB hits. So between Week 9 of 2021 through Week 10 of 2022 – a span of 17 games, or the equivalent of an NFL season – Taylor had 5.5 sacks and 9 quarterback hits.

Those numbers aren’t completely awful, but for a player who is seemingly capable of doing only one thing – rushing the passer – Taylor needs to be better and far more consistent. And Taylor is capable of great things as a pass rusher. If one combines the first five games of 2021 and the last six games of 2022 (11 total games), Taylor’s numbers are this: 10.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, and 8 tackles-for-loss.

The reason the Seahawks can’t count on Taylor in 2023 is the team simply can’t know which Darrell Taylor is going to show up. Taylor needs to be consistently good and not be a player that ends up with 8 sacks but almost all of those come in six games. Taylor needs to be good for 17 games.