4 major positives from the Seattle Seahawks 2024 offseason so far

The Seattle Seahawks have seen a major overhaul in the organization this offseason. Gone is former head coach Pete Carroll and in is rookie head coach Mike Macdonald. John Schneider was promoted to President of Football Operations as well as staying as the general manager.

The roster will look quite different as well. No more Bobby Wagner, for instance. Safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs were also released by the team.

Seattle will have new starters at safety, linebacker, and the offensive line. This is not a new team, of course, but newer fans might see it that way. Overall, however, the team should be better. These are four huge positives for the Seahawks from this offseason.

A full overhaul of the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff is a good thing

Pete Carroll was a fantastic head coach. The record he built over 14 seasons is inarguably the best in franchise history and would be the envy of most other teams in the NFL. He might never coach again and if he does not, he should be remembered fondly. But every coach has a shelf-life and they know it. Carroll's was longer than most.

The team simply needed new quality direction, especially defensively. Carroll seemed incapable of adjusting to what offenses were doing to Seattle anymore. New head coach Mike Macdonald should almost immediately fix many of the Seahawks' defensive issues, especially linebacker coverage (more on that in just a minute). But the plan - and hope - is that new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will get the best out of all his offensive weapons and not simply focus on the wide receivers which is what former OC Shane Waldron appeared to do.

Re-signing defensive lineman Leonard Williams was needed

There are potential drawbacks to re-signing Williams, of course. He is 30 years old now and could have diminishing returns by the end of his new three-year deal. But any predictions that he will get worse are just guesses because Williams' history says he will stay healthy and productive. Other than missing five games in 2022, Williams has not missed any other games because of injury. He also played in 18 games (one more than other players because of when he was traded to Seattle midseason in 2023) so health should not be a concern.

Williams was also productive after coming to Seattle. In 10 games, he had 4 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and 9 tackles for loss. Seattle's defense was atrocious last season, but imagine how much worse they would have been without him. Plus, there is likely no player ready to be better than Williams in the first two rounds of the NFL draft and Seattle gave up a second-round pick in 2024 to get Williams from the New York Giants.

12s can forget about the poor linebacker coverage

2023 starters Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks, though they were good in other facets, were terrible in coverage. This might be the players' faults or more likely simply poor coaching and scheme. While Wagner should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and nearly immediately be placed in the Seahawks' Ring of Honor, he was never great in coverage even during the other eras of Seattle football, so he was unlikely to be better in 2024.

Pass coverage among Seattle's linebackers should be much better this coming season because of two things. One is Mike Macdonald's scheme requires his linebackers to be good in that area and he knows how to get players to perform well in that aspect. The second reason is that the Seahawks signed Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker as free agents and both are good in coverage. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dodson was third-best in the NFL in 2023 with his coverage grade and Baker was 18th-best.

The trade for Sam Howell could turn into a huge win

While Seattle, for all intents and purposes, gave up a third-round choice for Howell, who was a fifth-round choice in 2022, the Seahawks added a quarterback with a year of starting experience and decent productivity while playing behind an offensive line that was seemingly made of Swiss cheese. Plus, Howell is not even expected to be the starter in 2024. This will allow him to learn Ryan Grubb's system for an entire season.

There is no downside to adding Howell. He will make at most $1.1 million over two seasons and that is very inexpensive. Howell could even take over for Geno Smith in 2025 if Seattle chooses a quarterback next year than in 2024 and the team releases Smith (saving $25 million) and inserts Howell as the starter allowing the 2025 draftee to sit for a season. Or Howell could develop into a long-term starter but he wouldn't immediately be overpaid.

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