4 biggest remaining Seahawks needs after first wave of free agency

The Seattle Seahawks are going to look very different next season. The coaching staff almost completely changed over with only Karl Scott returning. Many position groups will have different starters as well, including the entire linebacker group. Plus, this is all before the 2024 NFL draft.

Is Seattle a better team in 2024? No one knows. 12s hope that is the case, of course, but so many new players, such as Tyrel Dodson, could be boom or bust.

Seattle still has needs to address as well. Thankfully, none of these have anything to do with the quarterback position or edge rusher. But here are four needs that general manager John Schneider still needs to find answers to and help first-year head coach Mike Macdonald.

Ranking Seahawks' biggest remaining needs

4. A third safety

Seattle made wholesale changes at safety this offseason. They released Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams due to poor 2023 performance and huge cap hits. Seattle saved about $17 million by releasing them. But Seattle also needed talent back in return for Diggs and Adams. At least, Seattle still had 2023 Pro Bowler Julian Love on the roster.

Seattle brought in Rayshawn Jenkins who is a veteran with lots of starting experience. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has never fallen in love with Jenkins, but hopefully, he is a good fit in Mike Macdonald's defense. The Seahawks also brought in K'Von Wallace who is a solid tackler but not a guy who should be a starter. Macdonald likes going with a bunch of three safety sets so Seattle might need to draft the safety who gets the third-most reps after Love and Jenkins.

3. A third tight end

Seattle brought back Noah Fant which might be a bit surprising. Fant might have spent all of his career in which he either had a good quarterback to work with or more targets. In the last two years with Seattle, Fant lacked targets. He could have signed elsewhere in free agency with the hopes he would be involved much more heavily in the offense. Clearly, John Schneider sold Fant on the idea that new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is going to get him the ball more.

But Seattle also lost Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson in free agency. While the Seahawks did sign Pharaoh Brown, he is more of a blocker than receiver. Seattle is likely going to draft a tight end, but that should not come in the first round, so one might wonder what kind of immediate quality the team will find in the draft.

2. A young linebacker

Seattle wiped clean all of its proven veteran linebackers this offseason as Jordyn Brooks, Bobby Wagner, and Devin Bush left in free agency. This left Seattle with Jon Rhattigan who is a solid special teamer but has never had to get many snaps on defense. Thankfully, Seattle signed Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson in free agency but both are more hopes that they will be very good with Seattle than known commodities. Both Baker and Dodson are only on one-year deals.

The Seahawks will probably have to draft a linebacker relatively early in the draft. If John Schneider can work some trade magic and get Seattle a second-round pick back, maybe that is where Seattle finds a long-term starter at linebacker. Choosing a linebacker in the first round would seem silly based on the team's biggest need, though.

1. Interior offensive line

As it stands currently, the offensive line is an atrocious mess. Only left tackle Charles Cross can be counted on to stay healthy and be good. Right tackle Abraham Lucas has a knee issue and might never stay healthy. At least, Seattle signed depth at Lucas's spot when they added George Fant. But between the tackles is anyone's guess.

Center might belong to second-year Olu Oluwatimi, who played sparingly as a rookie. Right guard could be Anthony Bradford who was terrible in pass protection in 2023. Left guard would be played by Tremayne Anchrum, Jr. who only has one start in his career and was one of the lowest-graded guards in terms of run-blocking in the NFL this past season, according to Pro Football Focus. This is one reason so many mock drafts have Seattle choosing Washington's Troy Fautanu in the first round.