The biggest splash the Seattle Seahawks made in early free agency was re-signing defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Williams was almost a must to bring back as Seattle had used a second-round pick on him during the 2023 season to trade for Williams. He was very good for the team in the second half of this past season.
Seattle also re-signed tight end Noah Fant who should be a great fit in new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's scheme. Fant could easily have his best season in the league. That is the hope anyway.
But the hope many 12s might have had that Seattle would be aggressive in free agency this offseason has been dashed. There are still a number of quality players available that would help Seattle next season. Here are three of those players.
Seattle Seahawks should go after safety Kamren Curl
Kamren Curl is the safety answer to former Seattle running back Chris Carson only Curl stays healthier. Both players far outplayed their draft status as both were seventh-round picks. Carson became an instant starter in Seattle and his bullish running style helped set the tone for what Seattle tried (and mostly failed) to do offensively, though any failure was not the fault of Carson. Washington's defense underperformed in 2023 but none of that should be blamed on Curl.
The 25-year-old safety is able to play either free or strong safety and does both well. He has an understanding of what tackling angles to take and he can also play the deep end of the field. He is not going to create as many turnovers as Quandre Diggs did for the Seahawks but Curl is an upgrade over Diggs because of his youth and overall ability.
Signing Curl might cost the team as much as $11 million per season, but if Seattle inks Curl to a three-or-four-year deal, he will definitely be worth the money. Plus, pairing Curl with Love could give Seattle one of the most consistently good safety duos in the league.
Seattle should chase linebacker Tyrel Dodson
Dodson is ready for a jump in responsibilities. He finally got a chance to start a number of games (10) with the Buffalo Bills and he proved with more reps that he would be an even better player. But for the rest of the league, Dodson likely isn't going to have a chance to start for the Bills in 2024. This means his re-signing with his former team should not be a priority.
IN 2023, while playing on just 51 percent of the Bills snaps, he had 2.5 sacks and 74 tackles including 8 tackles for loss. But he truly excels at two things that Seattle needs upgrades over from 2023. He is fantastic in coverage and he played fantastically against the run.
In fact, he did both of those aspects so well that that led Dodson to be graded as the best linebacker in the NFL in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Seattle also should love two other things about Dodson. One is that he will only be 26 years old during next season and he also has not done so much in the league that he is going to be an expensive signing. His next contract might only pay him around $4 million per season and that is something the Seahawks can easily afford.
Seahawks should sign guard Kevin Zeitler
Zeitler might be old for an interior offensive lineman, but he is still very good. Mike Macdonald also will know exactly what Zeitler is capable of because Macdonald has been the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens for the last two seasons and Zeitler has been with the Ravens for the last three. But make no mistake that since he began his career in 2012, Zeitler has never had a bad season.
In 2023, Pro Football Focus graded him as the 15th-best guard in the league. His overall grade was 69.3 which was one of the lower marks of his career. The reason I point that out is that even though 2023 was not Zeitler's best, it was still very good compared to the rest of the NFL. There is no reason to believe that Zeitler would suddenly be bad in 2024 when he never has been.
He also stays healthy as since 2015, he has only missed five games and no more than two in any season. His first Pro Bowl year was this past season so maybe he is finally getting the respect around the league that he deserves. He is a good run-blocker, but he is elite in terms of pass-blocking and most of the pressure Seahawks quarterbacks faced in 2023 came from the middle of the offensive line. Zeitler would fix that.
Because of his age, Zeitler should not be overly expensive. Many projections have him getting a contract for around $7 million per season. He is more at home as a right guard, but Seattle could sign Zeitler and potentially draft Troy Fautanu in the first round of April's draft and Seattle's offensive line would be much better than it has in more than a decade.