Of the four key free agents the Seattle Seahawks lost this offseason, Kenneth Walker III has gotten the most attention by far. The Chicago Bears lost Coby Bryant in the preseason. Riq Woolen has been playing well in Philadelphia, but his team is in freefall. And then there’s Boye Mafe, a player who was often seen as a nice, replaceable piece in Seattle.
How things can change in just one week.
The Seahawks put a temporary halt to the Walker MVP talk by shutting down their former star in his much-anticipated return to Lumen. He’ll be back, not to Lumen, and perhaps not in the MVP discussion. But he’s far too good to let one underwhelming performance against the best defense in football stop him.
We’ve heard a lot about Walker this past week, so let’s check in on a few other former Seahawks to see where they stand as the NFL rolls into November and competition really heats up.
- Boye Mafe continues his Pro Bowl caliber play
- Riq Woolen has his worst game with the Eagles
- DK Metcalf’s changing role
- For Geno Smith, it’s the same old same old
- Colby Parkinson takes advantage of the 13 personnel craze
Boye Mafe continues his Pro Bowl caliber play
The Cincinnati Bengals roared back from a 13-0 halftime deficit to blow past division rival Baltimore 35-13 in Week 7. They are 4-2, a half game out of first place in the very tough AFC North.
Of course, Joe Burrow, JaMarr Chase, and Tee Higgins get most of the run for the Bengals, but the reason they are off to their best start since going to the Super Bowl in 2021 is their improved defense. And Boye Mafe is a major part of that resurgence.
Last year, the Bengals’ defense ranked at or near the bottom in points, yards, and yards-per-play. This year, they are in the top ten in each. Mafe was again outstanding against the Ravens with five tackles and 1.5 sacks. He now has 4.5 sacks for the year, more than he had all last season in Seattle, and is on pace for 13 sacks this year, which would be the best mark of his career.
And he has also been a very sound run defender, which was the Bengals biggest flaw last season. Mafe was always very good in Seattle, even if the sack numbers did not reflect it. This year, he has the numbers to support his excellent play.
Riq Woolen has his worst game with the Eagles
As the Eagles’ offense has imploded, they hoped their defense could keep them competitive. That all came crashing down on Monday night when they lost 38-21 to Dallas on national television. It was eleven points more than they had surrendered in any game this season, and quite frankly, elements of their defense didn’t look like they wanted to be on the field.
You cannot say that about Riq Woolen. He was clearly making an effort. But for the first time this season, the uglier parts of his game were on full display. He was either overly physical – resulting in a key penalty – or else unable to match up with Dallas’ receivers one-on-one. Plenty of cornerbacks will struggle against CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, but Woolen also had trouble with Ryan Flournoy.
As with Kenneth Walker, this was one bad night in what has otherwise been a pretty good season for Riq. Perhaps the biggest question about Seattle’s former star is whether this bad night hurt his trade value. The Eagles are expected to hold a fire sale, and cornerbacks are a high priority.
There has even been talk of a return to the Northwest for Riq. We can only guess right now whether Monday night made a trade more or less likely.
DK Metcalf’s changing role
The Pittsburgh Steelers are riding a tough defense and a resurgent Aaron Rodgers into AFC North contention. They are currently tied with Cleveland for first place in the division. Most prognosticators assumed that if there was to be a Steelers’ renaissance, DK Metcalf would have to be a large part of it. Well – yes and no.
Metcalf far outpaces all of Pittsburgh’s other wide receivers in terms of target share. He has the most catches and most yards. But by every metric, it seems rather obvious that in this Steelers offense, Metcalf has essentially become a possession receiver.
Despite his one big 51-yard catch in the Steelers’ Week 7 win over New Orleans, Metcalf currently has the lowest yards-per-catch of his career and is on pace for his fewest touchdowns. It appears that rookie Germie Bernard is emerging as a Rodgers favorite, and Metcalf’s yards-per-target are the lowest of all the receivers on the team.
For Geno Smith, it’s the same old same old
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. Geno Smith is playing pretty well, but his team is a train wreck. That has been the story of the veteran QB’s career, save for a few glory years as the Seahawks starter back in 2021 and ’22. Excluding his time in Seattle, Geno has a 16-37 record as a starter in the NFL. And things do not look likely to turn around for him this year in New York.
Consider the following numbers. Geno is completing 70% of his throws, the best mark of his career. His touchdown-to-interception ratio stands at five-to-one. And his passer rating is 105. Those are Pro Bowl numbers.
Indeed, they are all better than his numbers during his actual Pro Bowl seasons with Seattle. And still, his Jets stand at 2-5 and are coming off a loss to the previously winless Miami Dolphins. The QB can’t seem to get on the same page with his best receiver, Garrett Wilson, and new offensive coordinator Frank Reich has done little to right the ship.
Colby Parkinson takes advantage of the 13 personnel craze
In his four seasons in Seattle, tight end Colby Parkinson officially started just four games. In his final two seasons, he had become a small, steady part of the offense and he was able to parlay that into a decent three-year deal with Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. His numbers with the Rams aren’t markedly different from those final years in Seattle, but he is on the field a lot more.
That’s due to McVay’s embrace of 13 personnel, an offensive alignment that features three tight ends along with one receiver and one running back. The Rams use that setup more than any other team in the league. With Terrance Ferguson, LA’s best receiving option at tight end, out for the foreseeable future,
Parkinson has found a cozy home alongside Tyler Higbee and Davis Allen in the Rams' tight end-friendly offense. In the Rams’ Week 7 win over Las Vegas, the former Hawk caught five of his six targets for 48 yards, following up on a virtually identical game in Week 6. He may not be a big name, but Parkinson is a steady presence on one of the NFL’s better offenses.
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