The Seattle Seahawks, like every NFL team, are in the middle ground between the first volatile wave of free agency and the 2024 NFL draft. This means this is a time of both reflection and prediction for 12s. Seattle fans can give their opinion on how the team did in free agency while predicting what they might do in the draft.
The current roster for Seattle has some excellent talent, such as Devon Witherspoon, and then position groups that no one can be sure how good they are. For instance, Seattle signed two new linebackers but how good they will collectively be next season is unknown. Unknowns in football are not fun.
But while the Seahawks' roster is also not fully formed. The team currently has seven picks in the 2024 draft, but most are from the fourth round onward. Unless things change, general manager John Schneider is going to hit some proverbial home runs late in the draft. The draft strategy is among four huge questions remaining for Seattle this offseason.
What is the plan for the Seattle Seahawks offensive line?
A better question might be, Is there a plan for the offensive line? But that would be cynical and of course, there is a plan. The way the line is designed currently might not make for winning football. The tackles are decent (even if George Fant plays more at right tackle than Abe Lucas does), but the rest is largely unknown. 12s can probably guess that Olu Oluwatimi will start at center and Anthony Bradford would start at left guard, but would they start because they are worthy of starting or simply because that is the best Seattle can do?
John Schneider said what many might think is a scary comment on his show on Seattle Sports a couple of weeks ago when he said guards "get over-drafted at that position and, in my opinion, they get overpaid." The problem is that while Seattle has been mostly successful since Schneider became Seattle's general manager in 2010, the offensive line has rarely been among the best in the league.
Does Schneider think that offensive lines do not have to be elite to win at a high level? That would seem silly, surely. Tackles might be more important than guards overall as teams should be able to protect better from the interior of the line than the outside, but talented guards are still needed. Hopefully, Seattle will choose a guard fairly high in the 2024 draft, though based on what Schneider said, that seems unlikely.
Is the team currently built for a postseason run next year?
Speaking of a potentially bad offensive line, there should be a question (without an open and honest answer) to Schneider and Mike Macdonald about whether they truly believe that the current roster is capable of winning enough games to make the playoffs in 2024. And once there, can the team compete well enough to make a deep run? Or is next season more of a feeling-out process with the coaching staff to prepare for a very good 2025?
As the roster currently looks, the Seahawks' offensive skill players are a good group. The receivers might be elite with DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet should be a productive duo at running back. Tight end Noah Fant could have his best season in the NFL under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. But the O-line could be bad enough to keep the offense from reaching its maximum potential.
The defense should be better simply because Macdonald is in charge. But the unit might need time to gel as the starting linebackers will be new to Seattle and only Julian Love remains at safety from 2023. A lack of communication, simply because the players are not used to playing together, could hurt the team early in the season.
Or Macdonald might be a good enough defensive coach where he can elevate all the players in that group and be able to streamline his scheme so much that players react intuitively instead of having to think before they act. Seattle's offense, even with an iffy offensive line, should be good enough to put up enough points to win, and a better defense should mean more victories next season.
Is Sam Howell truly a long-term option at quarterback?
This question could be answered in two different ways. One is if the Seahawks take a quarterback high in the 2024 draft that likely means that Schneider thinks Howell is a potential starter, at least for one season. Why Howell instead of Geno Smith? Because both quarterbacks are signed through 2025 but Howell is the much cheaper option. If Seattle takes a quarterback in 2024 (which seems unlikely and somewhat illogical) then releasing Smith prior to 2025 would save the team $25 million and Howell could start in the rookie's season season or serve as backup.
But Howell will have to prove he can quickly grasp Ryan Grubb's offense in training camp as well. The former North Carolina Tar Heel has a reputation for being extremely coachable, and he also seems like a humble guy. But while he might be easy to work with for a coach that does not mean he can quickly and fully implement the scheme. He did throw 21 touchdowns in 2023, but he also threw 21 interceptions so his decision-making might be, at times, questionable.
But Grubb might also be the best overall coach Howell will have had in the NFL. The new OC might be able to fully get the proverbial light bulb to turn on for Howell so that he is a very productive quarterback. If that is the case and the Seahawks do not draft a quarterback in 2024, Howell could still be the starter in 2025 and beyond.
Seattle would then release Smith, save lots of money, start Howell, and find an inexpensive backup. That is at least the best case for Howell, if not Smith, and maybe not Seattle. It's still a possibility, however.
What is Seattle's draft strategy?
This is one of the most exciting offseasons for 12s. While many will always cherish Pete Carroll for all the success and positivity he brought to the team, he also had final approval on all roster moves. Without him, John Schneider now has that control. Therefore, Seahawks fans cannot really know how the team will approach the draft.
If Seattle and Schneider continue the same kind of trend they had in free agency then Seattle trading back in the first round would not be a shock. For instance, it became clear that the team's tendency to not be overly aggressive early in free agency rolled over to this offseason which would imply that strategy was not Carroll's but more so Schneider's. Seattle had a history during the 2010s of trading back from the initial pick in the first round of drafts and adding more choices.
If that is what the Seahawks do this year, the thought process makes sense. Seattle has the number 16 pick in the draft but then not another until the third round. Potentially trading back in the first round and adding a second-round selection would seemingly be wise. But then what to do with the picks?
Schneider has said that he likes to go with the best available player no matter the position. That could work this year as well except that Seattle must do something to address the interior of the offensive line. It could be that a player such as Jackson Powers-Johnson is around for Seattle to choose even if they move back. If so, great. Either way, this should be a fun draft to watch for 12s.