The Seattle Seahawks are under new management, and these three players are the most likely to make the biggest improvements under Mike Macdonald's guidance. I expect the entire defense to improve, but the biggest jumps will come here.
Seattle added former Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde as their new defensive coordinator in something of a surprising move. He coached Atlanta's outside linebackers in 2020. They didn't exactly remind anyone of Uchenna Nwosu, at least according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Combined, the EDGE defenders racked up just 11 sacks; they did have 64 hurries, though. The 2023 Seahawks edge rushers totaled 17 sacks and 79 hurries, and that's with Nwosu out for 11 games.
Durde's success story lies in his work with Dallas from 2021 through last season. Again with Pro Football Focus as a source, the Cowboys were rated seventh in pass rush in 2021, then second in both 2022 and 2023. They ranked fourth in pressures per dropbacks in 2020, then first in 2022, then dropped to 16th last year. Overall it's a solid body of work.
Since Macdonald will be calling the plays anyway, Durde's impact, at least initially, will be to incorporate the best of the Cowboys' line concepts with the Ravens. Combined, I expect the two to create a huge boost to the Hawks' defense, and especially to the following three players.
The Seattle Seahawks will see a sophomore surge from Mike Morris
Defensive lineman Mike Morris never got a chance to show what he could do in his rookie season in Seattle. Injured after just 26 defensive snaps in Week 1, Morris missed the rest of the season. There are a few important things to note here. With a defensive line featuring Dre'mont Jones, Jarran Reed, and Mario Edwards, the Seahawks still gave a rookie 26 snaps in the season opener. That shows their confidence in the 6'6" 295 former Wolverine. It's also important to note that Morris registered three tackles in the game, the same as Jones and Reed, despite having almost half the snaps.
To say that Morris was excited about the hire of Macdonald would be quite an understatement. Macdonald was the Wolverines' defensive coordinator in 202, Morris's junior year. Macdonald certainly knows what Morris brings to the field, just as Morris knows the intensity and work ethic Macdonald demands of his players. I expected Morris to work his way into the starting lineup in 2023. Well, better late than never.
Riq Woolen will reclaim his place among the league's elite
It's fair to say that no player on the Seahawks had a more puzzling season than Riq Woolen. So, I'll say it: no one had a - yeah, you know. Woolen dropped 40 percent of the letters in his first name at the season's start and saw a similar drop in his production. In truth, Woolen didn't have as severe a drop as one would think at first glance. Yes, his interceptions dropped a lot, from six in 2022 to just two last year. He dropped three other potential picks, so at least he was in a position to make plays,
Depending on your source material, Riq Woolen improved some aspects of his game last year. Again, this points to the not-so-exact assignment of statistics in the NFL. According to PFF (subscription required, natch), Woolen allowed five TDs in 2022 and 3 last year. Not so fast, says pro-football-reference.
According to their stats, Riq allowed just 3 scores in 2022 and 4 in 2023. The free site saw him with a much better rookie season, and it wasn't close. PFR assigned Woolen a spectacular passer rating allowed of just 48.7 in 2022, then 79.8 last year. PFF gave him a much more pedestrian 72.1 as a rookie and 82.3 in 2023. Both sites agree that his tackling saw a big decline, as any 12 could tell you.
Regardless of how much his play declined, there's no doubt that his game did suffer in 2022. I'm sure that he wishes he could have a re-do of 2023. He played with much less aggression last year. As we've heard from Mike Macdonald, that is not going to be acceptable in 2024. With a full offseason after his 2023 minicamp injury, we can expect number 27 to bounce back with his best year yet.
Expect Boye Mafe to reach another level in 2024
I don't mind saying - again - that I was on the Boye Mafe freight train very early last year. Okay, so I was off a bit. I predicted Mafe would hit double digits in sacks, and he "only" had nine. He also set the all-time Seahawks record with a sack in seven straight games.
He added eight hurries and another eight QB hits for a total of 25 pressures, per pro-football-reference. Pretty solid, until you check his stats on PFF (the paywall guys), who list Mafe with 58 pressures. One of these totals is wrong, and probably both. Regardless, Mafe took a big jump forward last year.
I expect him to take just as big a leap forward in 2024. One reason for that - one very big reason - will be the return of Uchenna Nwosu. The Hawks co-leader in sacks in 2022 played just six games last year and the defense most definitely felt his absence. With Nwosu out, no one picked up the slack, and Mafe had just four sacks in his final 11 games. With the return of number 10, Mafe won't see the double-teams he did in the second half of the season.
That doesn't even touch on the fact that Mafe will now be coached by the guy who led the Ravens to a league-leading 60 sacks. His coordinator will be the man who coached sack machine Micah Parsons. The surprise shouldn't be that Boye Mafe will step up his game this year. It would be shocking if he didn't take another leap forward in 2024. It will be one exciting year in Seattle.