Which Seattle Seahawks players need to put together a monster offseason in hopes of improved fortunes under Mike Macdonald in 2024?
As difficult as it may be to believe, Seattle begins voluntary workouts for the 2024 season on April 8. Sure, there has been no draft yet and Seattle will add players to the team, but at least with workouts beginning, we get our first taste of what 2024 could be like. At least, in a very limited way.
Several players on the roster still need to prove themselves to the new coaching staff. That could be a good thing, too. Instead of Pete Carroll leading the team for a 15th season, Mike Macdonald takes over with a new scheme. Players cannot be safe in their positions and this could lead to a new energy on the team.
Some of the players who need to show Macdonald they can be good are as follows. Some have been good before, but some never have. Maybe Macdonald can mold them into becoming dangerous.
Riq Woolen - Seahawks CB
Where did you go in 2023, Mr. Woolen? After a Pro Bowl in his rookie season of 2022 when Woolen was not only fantastic in coverage, tied the league lead with 6 interceptions, and was a ferocious tackler, he was injured during minicamp last offseason, required surgery, and was never quite the same. At times, Woolen appeared to be playing with fear of getting hurt again and this is something that can end a player's career.
But Woolen did seem to be tackling a bit better later in the season, but he still could not set a hard edge against the run so teams would simply run wide and eat up yards. This offseason, Woolen needs to add upper body muscle so he can be stronger against the run. If his coverage improves a bit over 2023 (back to a 2022 level) but he still won't support the run game, new head coach Mike Macdonald is not going to trust to play him much.
Woolen is capable of being a Pro Bowler, obviously, and he and Devon Witherspoon could form one of the better cornerback duos in the league. But Woolen simply cannot repeat his 2023 performance.
Dre'Mont Jones - Seahawks DL
Jones was either far overvalued by general manager John Schneider in 2023 free agency, got poor coaching, or was a bad fit on the defense last year. No matter what the issue was, he was not anywhere near as good as Schneider hoped when he signed the defensive line to a three-year deal with a maximum of $51 million. But Jones flashed disruptive ability near the end of 2023 when he was moved back to more of a defensive end than defensive tackle spot.
This offseason, Jones needs to dedicate himself to learning Macdonald's scheme and preparing for any situation in 2024. His problem is not one of lack of athletic ability but applying that ability to the scheme. Jones has been a good player in the league but not overly explosive so one might ask if he is simply not capable of being so or if he has not had the right direction in coaching yet.
He has twice reached a career-high of 6.5 sacks and has twice reached 20 pressures. But he is so consistently just below being very good that he probably could take another step toward greatness. He clearly was underused and ill-served with the Seahawks in 2023 as former head coach Pete Carroll and former defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt did not know how to use him.
If Jones shows up to all the minicamps and training camp mentally prepared to have a great season, he likely will. Macdonald is going to streamline the defensive communications so every player understands what they are doing and why they are doing it. Jones could come close to double-digit sacks for the first time in 2024.
Darrell Taylor - Seahawks edge
Taylor was good in short bursts in the first two years he played. As a rookie in 2020, he was injured and did not play. But between 2021 and 2022, he had a combined 16 sacks and 26 quarterback hits. While he never developed an arsenal of pass-rush moves, his raw speed was enough to get home at times. The issue was he was extremely inconsistent and seemed unwilling or incapable of accepting coaching to get better.
This offseason, Taylor was an unrestricted free agent and Seattle could have let him walk after his production fell in 2023 even though after edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu was injured in Week 7 Taylor became much more important. The edge rusher could not step up to meet new responsibilities, though, and he continued to be poor against the run and a bad tackler.
Taylor has good size but he could also afford to bulk up and gain upper-body mass. He also needs to prove he is able to understand what coaching he is given and repeat that from snap to snap and game to game. Getting 8 sacks is fine as long as there is consistent pressure when sacks aren't made; Taylor has shown zero consistency.
The hope is that Macdonald can get the magic to unlock for Taylor. The Seahawks kept Taylor for a reason and that reason could be that Macdonald sees excellence in Taylor. If the edge rusher can become more well-rounded, he has the physical skills to be a Pro Bowler for several seasons.
Dee Eskridge - Seahawks WR
2024 could very well be Eskridge's last in Seattle or the new beginning of a long career. Through 2023, the second-round choice in 2021 has done almost nothing. He has been injured quite a bit, or inefficient, or both. Seattle did not really need a receiver when they chose Eskridge as they already had Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf and the Seahawks only had three picks in the 2021 draft. But choosing Eskridge now seems like a massive bust.
He has caught literally half of his targets and even then his numbers do not add up to much. He has 17 catches for just 122 yards (a horrendously bad 7.2 yards per catch) and his lone touchdown came in his rookie season. Eskridge also has never played in more than 10 games in any one season and only showed in four in 2023. And yet, Seattle did not choose to release him this offseason even though he costs more to keep on the team than to let go.
This means someone - John Schneider or Mike Macdonald - still believes in Eskridge's ability to be productive at some point. To be fair, he flashed the ability to return kicks this past season, and since the NFL has changed its kickoff rule in hopes of more explosive plays happening in that aspect perhaps the only reason the Seahawks brought back Eskridge was because he can return a kickoff or five productively.