4 Down Territory: Seattle Seahawks should be bold and dream big in 2023

2nd Down: Seahawks defense does enough

This defense is unlikely to carry the team. Yet, with a high-octane offense helping them out, Pete Carroll's defense will be opportunistic and will do enough to help the Seahawks improve in 2023.

Just like most fans, I am very concerned about the interior defensive line of this squad. Prized free agent acquisitions Dre'Mont Jones and Jaran Reed looked decent in the preseason, and they should improve the run defense from last year, but the lack of depth and star power there is concerning. 

Other than. That position, I absolutely love the moves the team made on the defensive side of the ball. The return of Bobby Wagner will likely shave 2-3 points a game off just in his leadership, stopping the run ability, and making sure others are in the right spot they need to be. Between Devin Bush, and the return of Jordyn Brooks, the linebacker group will no longer draw the ire of almost all Seahawks fans.

The two additions that I'm most intrigued by are Julian Love and the return of Jamal Adams. Love was a very good swiss army knife for a New York Giants team that went to the Divisional round last year. I expect him to step in and play mostly safety while spotting a bit in the slot. With him creating an athletic ball-hawking duo alongside Qandre Diggs, this will allow Jamal Adams to finally reach his potential as an outside linebacker.

The Jamal Adams era has been defined by injuries and a lack of big plays as a pass defender, but people forget how incredible of a pass rusher Adams was in 2020 when he broke the DB sack record. Adams is a disruptive force that has to be put in the right environment to be great. If healthy, you can add Adams to a nice group of pass rushers that could see Seattle finish top ten in pressure rate and sacks, which usually equals turnovers.

Prediction: Seattle will have a top-15 defense and will finish in the top 10 in both sacks and turnovers.