The Seattle Seahawks are 3-1 heading into Week 6. The team has a depth of talent at running back, wide receiver, and at cornerback. But while the defensive line has been very good against the run, the unit is also thin so one key injury could be extremely disruptive.
The NFL trade deadline is on October 31. Teams will have most of half a season to decide whether they are going to be winners or losers this year. Some of those teams might be looking to rebuild.
While Seattle, or most any other team, would have to create cap room if trading for the players that follow, as cap space is malleable, the Seahawks could make room somehow. So assuming that, if Seattle was going to trade for a player or two, who should they go after? Maybe one of the three that follows.
Seattle could try to get Danielle Hunter from the Minnesota Vikings
I still think Seattle needs defensive line help. The run defense has clearly been better and Jarran Reed, for one, is supplying some very good interior pass rush. But Seattle's defensive line is still really thin, especially at guys who can get to opposing quarterbacks. Rookie Cam Young seems promising, but he's also much more of a run-stopper at this point. Mario Edwards has been good this year but over the course of his career, he has been better against the run than the pass.
It feels like Hunter has been around for about 30 years, but he is still almost 29 years old (he turns 29 on October 29). This year he already has 6 sacks and a league-leading 9 tackles for loss. He's on pace to overall have one of his best seasons (if not the best) and Minnesota might be in sell-now mode soon. That doesn't mean sell-out, though, so the Vikings are going to want something good in return.
Minnesota has a huge issue at cornerback currently. They have no CBs graded higher than 39, per PFF, and the second-highest is 69. They aren't good. But Seattle has a decent amount of corners. The Seahawks aren't going to trade Riq Woolen or Devon Witherspoon, of course, but maybe moving Tre Brown to Minnesota along with a second-round pick could be enough? Hunter is a free agent after this year so no NFL is likely to offer Minnesota too much simply because there's a chance they could sign Hunter next offseason.
Seattle Seahawks could trade with the New York Giants for Leonard Williams
Williams is still only 29 years old and while he hasn't produced the kind of raw sack numbers in the last couple of seasons, he is still very capable of supplying interior pass rush. Through five games, Williams has 11 total pressures, including 7 hurries. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has given him a pass-rushing grade of 90.0 so far this year which is elite.
Plus, Williams is much more than a pass rusher. The 6'5" and 300-pound defensive tackle, who is also capable of playing nose guard, graded well in run defense in 2022 and every season prior as well. In 2020, PFF gave Williams an elite run defense grade of 82.6. Last season, Williams had 33 total QB pressures as well as 23 run stuffs. He can play both the run and the pass.
Williams takes a slightly overperforming Seahawks 2023 defensive line from something pretty good and moves them into something pretty great. When healthy, Seattle's secondary is elite. Riq Woolen hasn't even been able to show how good he will be this year due to getting hurt, but Devon Witherspoon is now rounding into the kind of player that Seattle thought they would get with the number 5 overall choice in 2023.
The reason I point Woolen and Witherspoon out is that no secondary is going to reach maximum excellence if they do not have a successful pass rush in front of them. Seattle did get 11 sacks in Week 4 against the New York Giants but the Giants stink! Seattle hasn't proven it can have a consistently good pass rush yet, but Williams will help fix that concern as well as helping against the run.
So what would Seattle have to give up to get Williams? Possibly left guard Damien Lewis and a relatively high draft pick. I like Lewis and don't want to give him up, but Seattle can happily get by with sliding Evan Brown over to left guard and having Olu Oluwatimi play center. Oluwatimi is the future at center either way.
Seattle could try to pry Montez Sweat from Washington Commanders
Washington is in a tough spot. they aren't terrible but they also are nowhere as good as the Philadelphia Eagles or Dallas Cowboys and where the Commanders are good - the defensive line - they actually have a glut of talent that can't all play at one time. There is a decent chance that Washington either moves Sweat or Chase Young before the trade deadline because they are going to have to pay one of those guys after 2023 but likely can't afford to pay both.
Sweat has 4.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss so far in 2023. In three of his four seasons prior to this year, he had 7 sacks or more and in 2022 he had 28 quarterback hits. And he stays healthy as he has only missed a handful of games in one season (2021). Sweat has plus-grades from PFF in all categories from 2020 on so he will help greatly against the run or pass.
Because Sweat could walk after this year, the asking price in return for him in a trade can't be too high because another team is unlikely to pay it. Why would a team give up a chunk of its future for a player they might be able to sign after this season anyway? And if Washington is unwilling to tip its hand on which player, Sweat or Young, that it might be willing to part with, the Seahawks could call about both.
Young is a better pass rusher than a run defender, however. He already has 27 quarterback pressures in 2023, third-most in the NFL, but only has 3 tackles for loss. One would think that number would be higher from an extremely active defensive end. So of the two, Sweat would be the better pick-up for Seattle, but the Seahawks would be better with Young or Sweat.