Three Seahawks who could be the team's comeback player of the year

One of the reasons the Seattle Seahawks' 2023 season did not meet expectations was that some of the players who were seen as key young players did not grow from one year to the next. This might have been due to poor play or simply being underused. For instance, running back Kenneth Walker III seemed to be less explosive compared to his rookie season, but he also touched the ball less.

Was the seeming lack of development a player issue or a coaching problem? 12s should learn the answer this season. Seattle has a new coaching staff so if players do not get much better then the player would be the problem.

If the issue was a coaching one, however, the Seahawks could easily exceed what is expected of them this year. They could also be helped by several players rounding back into form. Three players with good chances to have bounce-back seasons are as follows.

These three Seahawks could be the team's comeback player of the year

Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu

Nwosu might be the most classic example of any kind of comeback player of the year. He suffered an injury in Week 7 of 2023 and couldn't play the rest of the season. He was off to another solid start, even if his sack total was trending worse than the 9.5 he got in 2022. There was also no coincidence that Seattle's run defense turned to rubbish without Nwosu.

This is where the edge rusher might make the biggest difference in his return. The Seahawks should be able to dial up pressure in Mike Macdonald's system, but players have to be willing to set a hard edge against the run. Darrell Taylor got a lot of Nwosu's snaps after the Week 7 injury and Taylor has always been awful against the run.

Of course, being good against the run is great but will not get the notice that chasing down quarterbacks does. Nwosu could easily get more than 10 sacks this season and 60 total pressures. He has the ability and should be an excellent fit in Macdonald's scheme. He could make the Pro Bowl for the first time.

Cornerback Riq Woolen

Woolen played in 16 games last season, but he hurt his knee in OTAs last year and did not seem to be the same as he was as a rookie. In 2022, Woolen made the Pro Bowl and tied for the league-lead in interceptions with six. He also did not mind throwing his 6'4" frame into ball carriers. The second coming of Richard Sherman appeared to be Woolen's potential.

After the knee issue, he seemed to play scared. He failed in run support and his coverage numbers, while not awful, were far worse than the previous year. His quarterback rating allowed grew by 30 points and he had just two picks compared to his previous six. Even worse, after missing 7.4 percent of his tackle attempts in 2022, he missed 14.5 percent last year.

This offseason, Woolen looks to have bulked up and added upper-body mass. This should help him hold up against the run and be more physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage. His job isn't safe as the Seahawks drafted two cornerbacks this year, but Woolen seems to know he needs to do better and is preparing to be good again.

Right tackle Abe Lucas

Lucas had a solid rookie season but then a knee issue flared up last year and he missed a large chunk of the season. After Week 1, the right tackle did not play again until Week 13. He then missed Week 18 because of his injury. He is only 25 years old, but dealing with a knee problem so early in his career certainly doesn't imply he will be good for many years into the future.

Lucas had offseason knee surgery to try to correct his issue, but there is no guarantee it will. He is capable of greatness - he out-performed the higher-drafted Charles Cross when both were in their first seasons in 2022 - but availability to play is a talent too. Lucas has not yet shown he has that ability.

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