The Seattle Seahawks are counting on having a great defense in future seasons, beginning in 2025. The unit was the main reason the team contended for the Super Bowl in the mid-2010s. The offense was efficient, but the defense was scary. General manager John Schneider wants to get back to that.
That is based on his moves this offseason—or, maybe, his lack of moves. Instead of letting players such as linebacker Ernest Jones IV and defensive tackle Jarran Reed leave in free agency, Schneider re-signed them. He did the same thing with veteran Johnathan Hankins.
Why break up a good thing? After all, a defense that had struggled mightily in recent seasons became a top-10 unit under Mike Macdonald in his first season as the team's head coach. Familiarity should be a great thing, as the players will better understand what Macdonald wants in year two.
Boye Mafe needs to have a better second-half of the season for the Seahawks in 2025
One player the Seahawks have been waiting for to break out completely is edge rusher Boye Mafe. He is athletically gifted with speed and size, and he often begins seasons by being very disruptive. Then, in the second half of any given year, he fades.
Is this a conditioning problem or something where he cannot adjust to what offenses are against him? In the last eight games of 2023, Mafe had only two sacks (both came in the same game) after having seven in his first eight games.
The edge rusher began 2024 with a sack in each of his first three games. In his last ten games, he had only two sacks. He is obviously capable of excellence, but not sustained excellence.
Still, in a recent article by Bleacher Report, Mafe was named as the Seahawks' best-kept secret. B/R points out that Mafe has had 15 sacks combined over the last two seasons and is also good against the run. This is all true, but as you can see above, it is misleading.
Mafe could finally have a season where he gets 10 sacks, which could be in 2025. But Seattle's best-kept secret might also be gone after this coming season. Mafe will be a free agent next offseason. If he gets to seven sacks this coming season, some team will want to pay him. Seattle might not, though, depending on when those sacks come.
If Mafe has nine sacks in 2025, but seven of those come before Week 10, the team might not want to pay top-dollar to a young player who regresses consistently in the back end of seasons. Of course, if Mafe has 12 sacks and nearly half of those come after Week 10, the Seahawks must re-sign him to a big contract.