3 Seattle Seahawks who deserve a better team around them in 2024
- Two secondary players can help the team win
- The key position doesn't need a change in 2024
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks finished 9-8 but missed the playoffs. The Seahawks were also 9-8 in 2022. But was Seattle better this year? Former head coach Pete Carroll said on his radio show on Seattle Sports 710 AM last week that he thought the Seahawks were better this year, but they weren't and this is one reason Carroll is no longer the coach.
I still think Seattle can do better, though. The run defense was awful and needs to be fixed. Or attempted to be fixed because Seattle thought they did that after the 2022 season and the fix did not take.
But the three players that follow were good enough to be on a team with a better record. All three will be back in 2024. With a little more help, they could lead the Seahawks to a better record and a playoff spot in 2024.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon
There were times this season when only Witherspoon and Bobby Wagner seemed to have a clue as to what Seattle's defensive scheme was or how to tackle. Witherspoon was not afraid to come up and hit a quarterback, running back, or receiver hard. In fact, he seemed to relish the opportunity to do so. Once he was a little too aggressive and drew a penalty for unnecessary roughness after picking up a receiver and tossing him to the ground.
But watching Witherspoon was refreshing in a season when many Seahawks, especially Riq Woolen for much of the year, seemed to make business decisions and seemed soft in terms of tackling. But Witherspoon didn't just impress with his ability to wallop people even though he is not the biggest of players. Witherspoon was versatile enough to shut down opposing receivers while also at other times being called upon to blitz opposing quarterbacks.
The rookie would be helped in future seasons if the Seahawks would remake much of their secondary with players who have the energy of Witherspoon. Aggressiveness is a good thing in football and Seattle seemed afraid of that this year. Plus, if Seattle can find a way to stop the run better and force teams to throw, Witherspoon will have more chances to create turnovers by intercepting passes. Witherspoon will likely be great in the future and the rest of the defense needs to learn to be as good as he is.