5 Seattle Seahawks with unrealistic expectations in 2024

Tyrel Dodson - Seahawks linebacker

Seattle is taking a big chance on Dodson based on how well he did in 2023 after taking over a starting spot midway through the season. The linebacker would still not have played much had the starters for the Bills stayed healthy so Buffalo had a higher value on other players than Dodson. Yes, he received the highest grade for any inside linebacker in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), but that doesn't mean Dodson will be good again in 2024.

Dodson also has to meet the standards of two important matters. One is that he will be the green dot in head coach Mike Macdonald's defense so Dodson will go from backup in Buffalo to a leader on Seattle's defense. He will need to clearly communicate the defensive play-calls for the unit to be successful.

The second part is that Dodson will directly be replacing Bobby Wagner. Wagner was good enough last year to be named Second-Team All-Pro. He is also a future Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the best players in Seahawks history. Dodson will need to play well for 12s not to wish Seattle had just re-signed Wagner.

Mike Macdonald - Seahawks head coach

Just as Dodson is replacing long-term Seahawk Wagner (except for the one season he played for the Los Angeles Rams), Macdonald will be replacing the best head coach in Seahawks history, Pete Carroll. Seattle needed to make a change as Carroll's defensive scheme had gotten stale and he did not appear to know how to fix the issues. Macdonald has shown to be a very good defensive coach with a completely different philosophy than Carroll.

With Carroll, 12s could assume Seattle would win about half its game, or slightly better, every season. Except for 2021 when Seattle went 7-10, Carroll led his teams to winning records every season since 2011. Macdonald inherits the same amount of talent, if not a bit more, than Carroll had when he was asked to step away from coaching, so should Macdonald lead his team to a losing record, many 12s will not be happy.

It takes a bit of time for new systems to be implemented and then for the players to know the scheme so well they play without thinking too much. Macdonald's first year could be bumpy just because of all the transitions that have to take place. The problem is that in pro sports, seats get hot quickly for a coach not doing as well as his predecessor.

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