The Seattle Seahawks won't look the same in 2024 as they have since 2010. No longer will Pete Carroll roam the sidelines, chewing his game, and winning the vast majority of his games. Seattle will hopefully keep winning, of course, but it will be jarring not seeing Carroll coaching the team.
Seattle hired Mike Macdonald this offseason to replace Carroll. Carroll was the oldest coach in the NFL by the end of his time in Seattle, and Macdonald will come in as the youngest. Both are defensive-minded coaches, but Macdonald should be able to get his team to be more focused.
Seattle will also have several new starters, especially defensively. Gone is future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner and 2024 free agent signee Tyrel Dodson is expected to take his place. But who are some winners and losers among the players this offseason?
Winner: Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III
Walker was ill-used under former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and the trend was only getting worse. In 2023, Walker started 15 games, four more than in 2022, but he saw seven fewer touches. The running back might be a bit too boom-or-bust at times, but he also can change the outcome of a game in about three plays. He is also a solid receiver with a catch rate of 77.8 percent over his first two years.
In other words, Walker needs the ball more and not less. Under Waldron, Seattle's seeming need to throw more was trending upward as well. After passing the ball the 13th-most times, per percentage, in the NFL in 2022, Seattle threw the ball the fifth-most in 2023. The issue was Waldron did not have the ability or creativity to know how to pass the ball and also scheme his receivers open.
What would have helped is if Waldron had used his running backs more. He simply abandoned the run many times in close games, especially early in the second half. Walker has game-breaking speed and has proven he can score from anywhere on the field. In 2024, new OC Ryan Grubb will probably not only use Walker more but he will probably put Walker in situations the running back has not seen during his time in the NFL. That should help the player and the overall offense.
Loser: Guard Anthony Bradford
Anthony Bradford was a 2023 draft pick who finished with 10 starts after early-season starter Phil Haynes was injured. Haynes did come back later in the year but as neither Bradford nor Haynes were consistently very good, right guard remained a mess for the entire season. Pro Football Focus gave Bradford a pass-block grade of 38.9 for the season which was among the ten-worst in the league. His run-block grade was not much better.
The moves the Seahawks made this offseason also should not make Bradford feel safe about his long-term prospects. Seattle chose Christian Haynes in the third round of the 2024 draft and Haynes already looks like an upgrade over Bradford.
The team also chose Sataoa Laumea who most recently played tackle in college but will play guard in the league. He might start as a left guard but there is no reason to think he could also play right guard in a pinch and be higher than Bradford on the depth chart.
Winner: DL Leonard Williams
Williams was acquired midway through the 2023 season and he was very good for the rest of the season. As bad as Seattle's defense was through the last two-thirds of 2023, one might wonder how much worse they would have been without Williams. In 10 games for Seattle, Williams had 4 sacks, 32 total pressures, and 21 run stuffs. He is only 30 years old so his production should not drop off in 2024.
Seattle also made a point to target him early in free agency. Instead of immediately chasing players from other teams, general manager John Schneider signed two of Seattle's own free agents first. One was tight end Noah Fant (who could also have been a "winner" on this list) and the other was Williams. The defensive lineman's deal will pay him as much as $64.5 million over three years, $43.85 million of that is guaranteed.
Loser: QB Geno Smith
To be sure, Geno Smith is not a "loser." He bided his time as a backup for the greater part of a decade and once he got his chance to start for Seattle in 2022, he played well. Though he gets disrespected quite a bit, Smith led the NFL in completion percentage in 2022 and the NFC in touchdown passes, and last year he led the league in both game-winning drives and fourth quarter comebacks. Smith still cannot feel too comfortable in 2024 and beyond.
Seattle traded for quarterback Sam Howell this offseason. Howell was the starter for the Washington Commanders last year and had 21 touchdown passes (as well as a bad 21 interceptions), but he played behind a porous offensive line that allowed teams to sack Howell 65 times. Howell is 10 years younger than Smith and the much cheaper option beyond 2024.
Should Smith not play as well in 2024, the team could decide to move on from him next offseason. That would save Seattle $25 million. Howell would be the starter at just over a million dollars in 2025 and Seattle could take a quarterback in next year's draft.
Winner: WR DK Metcalf
New OC Grubb has a proven record of knowing how to get his receivers into great situations. This should translate to more catches, more yards, and more touchdowns for Metcalf beginning in 2024. The receiver has never played under an offensive coordinator who will use Metcalf in quite the way Grubb will and in all kinds of routes and alignments.
Grubb did have some excellent receivers at Washington, and a couple of them might have been better pure route-runners than Metcalf is, but none had Metcalf's blend of size, speed, and strength. The expectation should be that Metcalf gets close to 100 catches and 15 touchdowns in 2024. Unless he suffers an injury, Grubb should put Metcalf in a position to have his best season in the league.