The Seahawks might have made the playoffs in 2022 but they almost snuck in at the end thanks to the Detroit Lions. While it's easy to feel good about what Seattle did last season as they exceeded expectations to a great degree, it may also be easy to overlook reality. That is, Seattle started 6-3 and then finished the season, including the one playoff game, by going 3-6. At one point, Seattle lost five of six games.
My point in this is that while Seattle should be expected to make a run at the postseason in 2023, we can't assume the team will make the playoffs. Seattle has a tougher schedule this coming season and will face the teams from the NFC East and AFC North. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), those two divisions are two of the three toughest in the league in 2023.
I recently wrote about how Seattle definitely has concerns going into the season, but let me have a more positive take here. Why? Because, for one, the roster has a bunch of talent. Here are three other reasons the Seahawks will make the playoffs in 2023.
Reason for Seahawks making the playoffs No. 1: The defense will be much better
I get that there are still concerns about Seattle's defense, especially the run defense. No, the Seahawks did not take a defensive tackle high in the 2023 NFL draft, but they still got Cam Young in the fourth round. Young is already bigger than expected, and he appears ready to step in and take reps in Week 1. Sandwiched between Jarran Reed and Dre'Mont Jones is only going to help him and the entire defense.
But Seattle is deeper at other positions now. The team added another edge rusher in the second round, Derick Hall, and the team had a first-round grade on him. Seattle also took cornerback Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick in the draft and he should be a Week 1 starter and a good one.
But the Seahawks should be more dynamic at inside linebacker and that should be the good to the defense. Bobby Wagner might not get 6 sacks like he did with the Rams in 2022 (a career high), but he should be able to make the correct defensive play calls and get people in the right positions. Plus, he and free agent signee Devin Bush are great tacklers and that should fix a huge issue Seattle had last season.
Reason for Seahawks making the playoffs No. 2: Geno Smith has more weapons
It seems many pundits are expecting Geno Smith to regress in 2023. There are reasons for this. One is that Smith in the second half of 2022 wasn't as good as he was in the first half. But this could be that there were a few games where Smith simply had no top-end running backs to help take the pressure off of him. One other thing that people point out is that Smith simply hasn't shown he can be consistently good, but let's let him prove or disprove that theory on the field in 2023 before we judge.
The fact is, though, that Smith will have more weapons at his disposal this season. The Seahawks still have DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Kenneth Walker III, of course, but adding to that mix are two rookies, receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and running back Zach Charbonnet. The great thing about Smith-Njigba and Charbonnet is they should just supply high-quality depth instead of having to be The Man to start their careers.
But besides the rookies, Smith and the offense do still have Metcalf and Lockett and Walker. Plus, the tight end group was good last year and Noah Fant might be due for a breakout season in what is a contract season for him. Covering three good receivers is tough enough on a defense, but adding Fant as a threat might make is nearly impossible to consistently shut down the Seattle offense.
But to wrap all the pieces up together, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is entering his third season on the job. He was better in year two than in 2021 and should be better in year three. With all the weapons Waldron has at his disposal, the Seahawks offense might be good enough to outscore teams even if the defense struggles at times.
Reason for Seahawks making the playoffs No. 3: Pete Carroll gets the best from young teams
There can be an argument made that the "older" teams get the more they might tune out Pete Carroll. This happens with most coaches that have held a job for a decade or more. Richard Sherman seemed to complain about hearing the same stories Carroll always told. Therefore, maybe the buy-in wasn't as great from Sherman and Earl Thomas in 2017 as it was in 2012.
But Carroll has an energy that is just different from most head coaches, let alone those around 70 years old. Players need to be able to feed off of his postivity. But Carroll is also a great teacher, especially with the secondary, and having young guys learning from him works well. The Legion of Boom was great because of their talent, but also because they had Carroll as a mentor.
Now, Carroll has Tariq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon to work with. Heck, Michael Jackson might be 27 years old, but he was better last year than in previous seasons because he had better teachers in Carroll and DB coach Karl Scott. In terms of NFL football knowledge, Jackson was like having a young player.
Seattle certainly has key veterans like Bobby Wagner and Geno Smith, but the team is laden with rookies and second-year players and Carroll always gets more success than expected from young teams. He was a great coach at USC, for instance, simply because young guys want to be coached and Carroll knows how to coach them. Seattle might not be ready to truly contend until 2024, but they wil be better in 2023 because Pete Carroll is the head coach.