Admittedly, the quickest way to improve the Seattle Seahawks defense might simply be to replace the defensive coordinator or maybe the head coach. I like Pete Carroll, but his defenses have had the same poor tendencies for many seasons now. That includes poor coverage over the middle of the field and awful third-down defense.
Coaching changes aside, Seattle should also be aggressive in free agency. But instead of overpaying for a player such as defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones who was a risk because he had been good but not yet great, general manager John Schneider should go after players who have proven they are already great. This would be a different approach for Seattle to take, but in the 2024 offseason, a different approach is needed to make the team better in futures years.
Seattle also has several different ways they could open up more cap room. The Seahawks only have $4,535,973 in cap room this coming offseason, 10th-least in the league. But releasing safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, plus re-working the deal of Will Dissly, could open up as much as $22 million. Here are five players Seattle should chase in free agency.
Seahawks should try to sign safety Kyle Dugger
Dugger plays a lot like Jamal Adams in that he can be used as a safety/linebacker role, but unlike Adams, Dugger stays healthy and productive. Dugger has multiple interceptions in each of the past three seasons and can also attack the line of scrimmage. While he certainly is no liability in coverage (especially when covering tight ends and bigger slot receivers), Dugger really excels in run defense. As we all know, the Seahawks are a mess against the run and not all of this problem falls on the defensive line.
Dugger is also just 27 years old so he and Julian Love could fully take over for Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs in 2024 and be the safety duo for the next few years. Very likely, adding Dugger and teaming him with Love would immediately help with the communication on the back end of the Seahawks defense and also greatly improve the run defense.
There is a chance that the New England Patriots franchise tag Dugger, though 2023 has not been his best overall year. New England also doesn't like to franchise players as long as Bill Belichick has been with the Patriots. Of course, Belichick could be leaving after this season.
Seahawks should bring in linebacker Lavonte David
Let us assume that Seattle re-signs Bobby Wagner to something like $7 million, but Jordyn Brooks walks in free agency (though I hope that does not happen). That would leave Seattle with only one proven linebacker in 2024 and an aging one at that. Wagner will be 34 years old next season. Why sign David who will also be 34 years old next year, too?
The answer is easy. While Wagner and David are not long-term solutions at linebacker for Seattle, the pairing would form one of the best off-ball linebacker duos in the league. Maybe that only happens for one season, but at least Seattle will have zero concerns about that position group in 2024.
Plus, David is one of the best coverage linebackers ever, along with being great against the run, so he would singularly remedy a problem the Seahawks have had for years: Poor linebacker coverage. David will likely stick with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but wherever he signs he is not going to be expensive.
Seattle should go after edge rusher Danielle Hunter
Hunter is a versatile edge rusher who could also play some defensive end if needed. That means he could play in either a 3-4 or 4-3 front and be highly successful. As the Seahawks like to change up their fronts a bit, though they have gone more with a 4-3 of late, Hunter could be a three-down impactful player no matter what scheme Seattle is trying to run.
Hunter is also a metronome of pass rush consistency. He has double-digit sacks every season he has been healthy since 2018. He also mostly stays healthy as he has not missed a game since 2016 except the 10 he missed in 2021. Hunter also has a league-leading 21 tackles for loss this year. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Hunter is projected to get a contract of three years and $65 million. That's a lot, but Hunter has proven to be worth it.
Seahawks should chase defensive lineman Justin Madubuike
Madubuike is a beast against the pass and has 13 sacks this year from his defensive tackle spot. He also has a ridiculous 32 quarterback hits and a very good 12 tackles for loss. His QB hits number is 23 better than his next-best year and his number of sacks is 7.5 better than his second-best. Can Madubuike replicate his 2023 season for several years to come?
Still just 26 years old. Pro Football Focus does not expect the Baltimore Ravens to franchise tag Madubuike as they may not be able to afford that long-term. Instead, PFF thinks Madubuike will get a massive deal for four years and $92 million. That might be too rich for Seattle, but again, the Seahawks should be able to make quite a bit of room with some roster decisions this coming offseason.
Seattle needs to sign edge rusher Jonathan Greenard
Greenard chose the right time to have a career year as he is having by far the best season. He has 12.5 sacks, 48 total pressures, 15 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback hits. Those numbers are much better than every other season in Greenard's four year in the league. So the question might be is he truly as good as he has shown in 2023 or he did he simply get better because the Houston Texans hired DeMeco Ryans as head coach and Ryans knew best how to use Greenard.
But while the 26-year-old Greenard can pressure quarterbacks, he is also fantastic against the run. His 9.3 percent run-stop rate ranks eighth among all edge rushers. Even if Greenard steps back to 8 sacks next year (he had 8 in 2021 as well), he can help greatly at helping the Seahawks be better against the run moving forward. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) projects Greenard's next deal as being three years for $47.25 million with $31.75 million guaranteed.