Three biggest concerns about the Seattle Seahawks roster ahead of 2023 Week 1
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks position concern No. 1 - Cornerbacks other than Riq Woolen
12s have heard all offseason since drafting Devon Witherspoon at pick number 5 overall in the 2023 NFL draft how deep the Seahawks cornerback unit - heck, even the entire secondary - is in 2023. There is starting talent and quality depth and playmakers all around. In fact, the group is so deep that 2022 starter Michael Jackson might actually lose his job to Tre Brown, right?
Well, let's press the brakes just a bit. While the secondary wasn't the biggest concern of an underwhelming Seahawks defense in 2022, the pass defense also wasn't perfect. But the 2023 cornerback group might not be as good as hoped.
Many didn't recognize that Jackson actually had a good year in 2022 until after the season was over. Why? Because Jackson is fine in coverage, but he doesn't the ball back for his offense. And Jackson was simply bad in the last preseason games yet still might start over Brown to start the season.
Woolen needs to prove again he can be good - nay, better - than he was in his rookie year. He looked bad against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs and while he did have 6 interceptions last year, he had just 2 of them in the last 11 games (and one of those picks came on a pass a running back threw on an attempted pass to the quarterback in Week 10). Is he really as good as he was at the beginning of 2022, or did teams figure him out a bit more late in the year?
Finally, Witherspoon hasn't practiced much at all, and expecting a rookie corner to not get a bunch of reps and still be good at the beginning of his first season seems like foolish thinking. That Seattle plays Cooper Kupp and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 also probably doesn't give you that warm fuzzy feeling. My point is that maybe the cornerbacks are good for Seattle, but they also might be extremely disappointing.