In an absolute masterpiece by general manager John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks leadership group, the 12s have a new head coach in Mike Macdonald.
In his first head coaching search of his Seattle Seahawks career, Schneider brilliantly maneuvered and outplayed numerous franchises. Schneider had a choice of a potential Josh McDaniels 2.0 in Ben Johnson or the defensive-minded pick for the man who was truly the biggest star of this potential coaching class. Of course, Schneider chose the defensive-minded choice and was likely the best pick.
While the results on the field will be all that matters, you have to stand up and give a bravo to John Schneider. When Seattle needed him most, he stepped up and walked away with the ultimate prize of this coaching carousel. This could eventually be a Hall of Fame type of hire that gets Schneider into Canton one day.
As for Mike Macdonald, you can make a strong case that he chose arguably the most desirable job on the market. A defensive wizard in Baltimore, Macdonald inherits a roster that has won 9 games the past two seasons, has had back-to-back strong drafts, future cap flexibility, and a ton of good players, even if they are light on blue chips.
These four Seattle Seahawks could be even better under Mike Macdonald
Before Macdonald took the reins in Baltimore, the Ravens' defense was struggling and lacked blue-chip talent. Fast forward to now, and Macdonald was able to bring out the best in his role players into good players, and good players into great players, leading to a historical defense that honestly should be playing in Las Vegas next week.
Instead, it's Seattle’s fortune that Macdonald will lead the franchise into a new era. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, but with a new regime comes a new opportunity. Today, we're going to look at the four players that will benefit the most from Macdonald becoming the Seahawks' new head coach.
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No. 1 - Cornerback Devon Witherspoon
Arguably the most talented player on the Seahawks roster resides on the defensive side of the ball and was an absolute star in his rookie season in Seattle. While the 2023 Seahawks defense was an absolute failure and disappointment, Devon Witherspoon was the lone bright spot. While I expect Will Anderson Jr to take home the Rookie of the Year award, it's pretty clear that Spoon was the most impressive rookie this year.
A future lockdown corner, Witherspoon proved to be a destructive force against the run and attacking the passer when being blitzed. As his career grows, expect Witherspoon poon to naturally progress into an All-Pro caliber safety in the back half of his career. Witherspoon is a legitimate blue-chip talent and will succeed whoever is his coach, but what if you pair him with the Sean McVay of defensive coaches?
Macdonald’s 2023 Ravens generated the most pressures in the league since 2006, and he's a master at creating simple but effective blitz packages. I think there's a path where Witherspoon is a combo of a shutdown corner mixed with some of what makes Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton special.
Don't be surprised to see ‘Spoon get 5 interceptions and 5 sacks next season. For a micro fraction of the price, Witherspoon may end up being the dynamic star that Seattle thought of, traded for, and paid for in Jamal Adams when they acquired him in 2020. I fully expect him to be a legitimate defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2024.
No. 2 - Cornerback Riq Woolen
Take everything I just said about what Devon Witherspoon was last year, and copy and paste it into what I believed Riq Woolen to be after his dominant 2022 rookie season. While this season overall is viewed as a sophomore slump, I think there's still reason to be really excited going forward with Woolen.
Yes, his physicality and tackling in 2023 were borderline embarrassing. A lot of that falls onto him, but we all saw he wasn't the only guy that was lacking in that area this season. One thing that has never lacked during Macdonald’s coaching career and environment when he's been around Baltimore and the University of Michigan, is that the toughness on those teams has never been questioned.
Macdonald will bring toughness to Seattle and there's a strong likelihood that he can tap into the almost supernatural physical gifts that Woolen possesses, turning him into an all-around defender next season. While the physicality was lacking, Woolen still provided plus coverage in the secondary for Seattle. He only gave up 3 touchdowns and 391 yards on 71 targets, while defending 11 passes and snagging 2 INTs. It wasn't the flashy 6 INTs and touchdowns from his rookie season, but he was still a borderline #1 corner on a contender in his second season.
If the Seahawks' defense makes a leap under Macdonald in 2024, Woolen will have likely made another leap and created a dynamic duo with Witherspoon as arguably the best secondary in the NFC.
No. 3 - Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu
The star pass rusher of the surprise 2022 overachieving Seahawks, this season Nwosu never got a real chance to lift off. In the first five games of the 2023 season, Nwosu was once again a consistently good player, totaling 2 sacks, and 4 tackles for loss, and 6 QB hits before a pectoral injury against Arizona ended his season.
On top of his pass-rushing stats, Nwosu was an absolute anchor on his side of the defense at stopping the run. When on the field, the Seahawks had a top-10 rush defense. Without him for the final 12 games, that unit became one of the worst in the league. You can make a strong argument that the run defense was the difference in whether this team made the playoffs or ended up where they are today.
Nwosu has been bordering on being a star in his two seasons in Seattle. Mike Macdonald was able to turn back the clock and turn back the clock on Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy, turning them each into 9-sack guys. Imagine what he could do with Nwosu.
Nwosu is due $7.8 million next season, before his contract balloons to over $21 million in 2025. It's important to Seattle that they get Nwosu healthy, and unlock all that talent he possesses. Continuing to be an anchor in the run game, and pushing past the single digits for sacks feels like a must in 2024, if the Seahawks want to get back to the playoffs.
No. 4 - Defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones
Almost exactly along the same lines as Uchenna Nwosu, Dre'Mont Jones is in a make-or-break year and needs Macdonald’s help.
Dre Jones was the largest defensive free agent addition in the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era, signing a 3-year and $51 million dollar deal. Making $10 million last year, Jones was somewhat of a disappointment. He tallied just 4.5 sacks in 17 games (he had 6.5 in 13 games last year) and struggled to push past his 2022 numbers in terms of QB hits and tackles for losses. The eye test matches as well, as it is difficult to remember any game-changing plays, or game-wrecking ability we were told he had in his arsenal.
Like a lot of these talented guys on defense, we are about to find out if that was on the players, or on the coaching. The expectations I have for Nwosu with Macdonald, should be almost identical to what Macdonald could do with Jones.
Championship teams are won by winning the trenches. If Seattle is going to run an $18-plus million cap hit with Jones this season, he needs to play like a red-chip Pro Bowl-caliber player.
Bonus player - Mike Morris
One of the guys that is most excited about the addition of Mike Macdonald is defensive lineman Mike Morris. Morris was a former Michigan Wolverine who learned under Macdonald’s tutelage in his one season as the defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2021. The 6'6", 295 lbs rookie was injured and missed the majority of his first season in Seattle. Reunited with Macdonald, look out for Morris to burst onto the scene in 2024, and become more than just a role player with a new defensive wizard of the Emerald City.