If the Seattle Seahawks could magically pluck one pending free agent from the defending division champion Los Angeles Rams, it would almost certainly be Alaric Jackson. Massive 26-year-old left tackles on the rise don’t come along every day. Jackson is a west-coast version of Philly’s Jordan Mailata – perhaps without the singing voice.
But there is no chance the Seahawks will sign Jackson. His price tag will be very high, and left tackle is the one spot on the offensive line where the Hawks feel reasonably confident. The best-case scenario for Seattle is that some other team, perhaps in the AFC, steals Jackson away, forcing the Rams to rethink their approach to the offensive line.
That doesn’t mean there are not still some UFAs Seattle could poach from LA, simultaneously improving themselves and hurting a division rival they are chasing. Los Angeles had 8-10 players who figured prominently in 2024 and will become free agents in March. None are as obviously impactful as Jackson, but a receiver like Tyler Johnson or a versatile defender like Michael Hoecht might be attractive in navy blue and action green.
Seattle Seahawks could steal these Los Angeles Rams defensive linemen in free agency
But of all of the Rams’ pending free agents, the one who makes the most sense in a Seahawks' jersey is Bobby Brown III, the enormous 24-year-old defensive tackle from Texas A&M. Brown was a fourth-round pick in 2021. After serving as a rotational player his first two years, he became a first-teamer in 2023, starting 39 games over the last two years.
I don’t know if Mike Macdonald is intent on recreating the same defense he had in Baltimore now that he is in charge of the Seahawks. However, if he wants to employ similar strategies, he is in need of a nose tackle. And though he has big men along his defensive front, he does not currently have a true nose tackle.
It’s a difficult position. Effective nose tackles rarely put up big numbers. Their primary job is to tie up blockers in the middle of the offensive line which allows for linebackers and edge players to make tackles. They clog the middle on running plays and collapse the pocket on passing plays. It is a brutal position because, on many plays, a nose tackle is taking on more than 600 pounds worth of offensive lineman.
Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy are physically-gifted enough to play this role but you do not want them to do it. They are talented enough to make plays behind the line if they can face one-on-one blocking. That’s what Bobby Brown can help ensure.
In 2023, Macdonald’s defensive front in Baltimore was very difficult to handle. He had Nnamdi Madubuike, Broderick Washington, and Brent Urban rotating at defensive end in a base 3-4. Those are all enormous men – each over 300 pounds. But none was particularly suited to line up over center.
For that role, he had two even larger men – Michael Pierce and Travis Jones. Together, Pierce and Jones carried almost 700 pounds. Due to the physical demands of the position, they shared snaps. Much of what Macdonald was able to do on defense began with his nose tackles’ ability to tie up the middle of the line. Playing alongside or behind Pierce and Jones, Madubuike, Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, and Kyle Hamilton all had All-Pro seasons.
Right now, the Seahawks do not have linebackers as dynamic as Smith and Queen. They do not have a safety in the same class as Kyle Hamilton, though Devon Witherspoon might be able to play a similar role. In Murphy, they have a versatile defensive lineman who could grow into the equal of Madubuike, and in Leonard Williams, they have a lineman who is already better. Each of them – indeed, every player on defense – improves if Seattle locks down the middle of the line.
Bobby Brown is not going to be an All-Pro. He’s not Aaron Donald. He’s not Kobie Turner. The Rams have an outstanding defensive line filled with young playmakers, and though they may want to re-sign Brown, he is not likely to be a major priority.
But maybe there’s a reason why rookies like Jared Verse and Braden Fiske were so good in 2024. Why did Turner continue to play at a high level despite losing Donald next to him? Why Christian Rozeboom had the most tackles of his career and why Hoecht stayed productive despite moving into a support role? Maybe some of that had to do with Bobby Brown in the middle. I’d like to see if he could have a similar impact on Seattle’s defense in 2025.