The start of the 2024 Seattle Seahawks season is only four months away. In fact, the offseason is now more than half over. We are closer to Seattle playing real games again than we are removed from last season.
Seattle has undergone quite a changeover this offseason, too. The coaching staff is new and several starters will be new to the team as well. Seattle's roster was already good enough to be near playoff quality, so maybe the changes will be the nudge the team needs to get back to the postseason.
Many Seahawks veterans need to prove to the new coaching staff they are worthy of starting or getting extensive reps. If the players don't show they can do that then they may not be with the team in 2025. If all the following players have excellent seasons, though, Seattle could be a dangerous postseason team.
Five Seattle Seahawks who need to prove they belong on the team past 2024
Cornerback Riq Woolen
One might wonder if Woolen's overall poor play in 2023 stemmed from him hurting his leg during minicamp before the season. The cornerback was a Pro Bowler in his rookie season of 2022 after all, and he excelled in coverage but also did not seemingly mind putting a hard hit on a ball carrier. That changed last year when Woolen was far less physical in pass coverage and horrible at setting an edge against the run. Many times he clearly did not want to.
That won't be an option if he wants to play under Mike Macdonald. Pete Carroll was a great coach for many years but he was also too lenient both off the field and on it. He might have held his players accountable in the locker room more than in public, but that also did not appear to be true.
Sure, Woolen did get benched late in 2023, but for only one game. This might have been meant to send a message but more than a message needed to be made. Woolen needed to be replaced because he was hurting the team. He has the physical skills to be great, though, and he needs to show the new coaching staff he can be as good as he was in 2022.
Linebacker Tyrel Dodson
Dodson was the top-graded linebacker in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He was elite in run defense and in pass coverage and pretty good in pass rush. But grades can prove to be meaningless, or, at least, a one-year blip. For instance, safety Ryan Neal was graded as a top-five safety for Seattle in 2022, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then was so bad he is now a free agent.
The issue is that Dodson could be this year's version of Neal. Until last season, Dodson had only started a combined five games for the Buffalo Bills in the previous three seasons. Much like Neal, Dodson was good once he got a chance to play consistently, but Neal could not sustain his level. We won't know if Dodson can until well into the 2024 season.
Edge rusher Darrell Taylor
Taylor has 21.5 sacks in three seasons. That seems pretty good, right? There are a lot of proverbial red flags that go along with that, however. For one, even though Taylor played the second-most snaps of his career in 2023, and just 19 fewer snaps than his career high in 2021, he had a career-low in sacks (5.5), quarterback hits (8), and tied for his low in tackles for loss (7). Taylor did not seem motivated that he was going to be a restricted free agent and Seattle might have been interested in signing him to a multi-year deal.
Taylor continued his lack of consistency in terms of pass rush as well. He did not get a sack in his first five games, then got sacks in back-to-back games, went another three games with nothing, then had back-to-back games with sacks, followed by four games of zero. This is the same disappointing trend he has had his entire career.
Yet, what Taylor truly stinks at is run defense. He was the 10th-worst-graded edge rusher overall, per PFF, and seventh-worst-graded in run defense. If he doesn't show Mike Macdonald that he can be more well-rounded in training camp, Taylor might be a roster cut before Week 1.
Running back Zach Charbonnet
Zach Charbonnet had no business being drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft. That is not his fault, of course. He has the talent to be a good running back but Seattle did not need to take a QB for the second straight year in round two. Seattle chose Kenneth Walker III in 2022. To make matters worse former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron decided to pass the ball the fifth-most times per percentage so any potential Charbonnet had was wasted.
This puts more pressure on Charbonnet to greatly improve his production in 2024. He should get his chances, at least. One can assume that new OC Ryan Grubb will run the ball more and that clearly means more opportunities for Walker and Charbonnet. Charbonnet did average 4.3 yards per carry and caught 33 passes so he likely can be good. But he needs to make a huge impact in 2024 for Seattle not to think he was a huge second-round mistake in 2023.
Quarterback Geno Smith
Obviously, the player with the most to prove in 2024 for the Seahawks is quarterback Geno Smith. He has not been a bad quarterback but he has two years left on his deal and Seattle traded for Sam Howell this offseason. Howell has starting experience and would be by far the least costly option in 2025 should Seattle turn to him to start and release Smith. I am not saying this should happen, only that financially it would make sense.
Should Smith turn out to have a fantastic 2024, though, he should return in 2025. Howell would still be his backup and Seattle could still draft a quarterback in the 2025 draft if they so chose, but why move on from the quality of Smith if he has once again proven himself? If Smith helps Seattle win games, why take a chance on someone else who might not win at the same level? Smith's future is in his own hands as well as the immediate future of the Seahawks as a team.