The Seattle Seahawks took some big steps toward winning it all again this year. Unfortunately, these players didn’t exactly stand out in the offseason. Sure, they can still turn it around, but they did little to show more than potential leading up to Week 1.
Defending an NFL championship is never an easy task. It’s only been done nine times over the course of 60 games. Sorry, make that LX games. You know how picky the league is about these things. Anyway, our beloved Seahawks have their work cut out for them. It doesn’t help that they play in the toughest division, with both the Rams and Niners posting 12 wins last year.
John Schneider had what appears to be another great draft this year. Sadly, one of the top prizes is already out for the season. Safety Bud Clark looked every bit as versatile (and dangerous) as Nick Emmanwori, so losing him is a major blow.
These three Seattle Seahawks failed to deliver on the early buzz
But when one door closes, another one opens. Hopefully, it’s still in your house. For now, it looks like a few Seahawks failed to step up this offseason and offered more promise than results
Guard Beau Stephens
Yes, he’s still a rookie, and he could very well be one of those guys who just doesn’t turn it on until game day. The Seahawks moved up to nab him in the fourth round of the draft, so there were some big expectations for him.
It’s been well chronicled that Anthony Bradford has just as big a target on his back from fans and media as from opposing D-lines. To be fair to the big man, he played significantly better in the second half of the season. I mean, besides the dang Rams games.
But Stephens hasn’t shown nearly enough to supplant Bradford so far. While several media sites have him listed as a backup behind either Bradford or phenom Grey Zabel, the Seahawks’ official depth chart lists him third, behind Bryce Cabeldue and Christian Haynes. That’s hardly the buzz the 12s expected. As I'm dogging him here, of course that means he'll be starting by Week 9.
Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett
Entering his third season in Seattle, Pritchett was expected to take some giant steps this offseason. The Seahawks let former starter Tariq Woolen go, so Pritchett is the logical next man up. As inconsistent and at times baffling as Riq the Freak could be, he did break up 12 passes last year, tied for the team lead with Josh Jobe. Woolen’s 817 snaps need to be replaced.
While Woolen wasn’t stellar with a Pro Football Focus grade (subscription required) of 61.2, Pritchett graded out at just 56.2. Pritchett showed so little, in fact, that Seattle brought in the oft-injured Trevon Diggs and Terrion Arnold, who may miss most of the season as he starts off on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.
Seattle even traded with the Chargers for 2026 rookie corner Avery Smith. Hardly a vote of confidence in Pritchett. He really needs to prove he deserves his roster spot this season
Kicker Jason Myers
Let me address a few concerns before I proceed. No, I am not secretly a writer for Raising Zona here to troll the 12s. And no, I’m really not concerned about Myers moving forward this season. But you can’t say the man had a good preseason.
Mr. Reliable was anything but that leading into his 12th year in the league. He only made two of five field goal attempts, and even missed half of his extra point kicks. Reportedly, there’s nothing physically wrong, and he’s had the same team (holder/punter extraordinaire Michael Dickson and long snapper Chris Stoll) on all of his kicks.
There is, of course, a huge difference between Myers and the first two players. The Seahawks kicker is coming off one of the best seasons in history, as he set a record for points scored (206). He converted 85 percent of his field goal attempts and nailed every extra point kick. He was arguably the true MVP of the Seahawks' Super Bowl win as well, making five field goals, also an NFL record.
The buzz that he should be replaced can't be taken seriously. But his struggles do have to be taken seriously. After converting every field goal in 2020, Myers missed six of his 23 attempts the following year. I wholeheartedly believe he’ll bounce back once the games count, but I think we’d all breathe easier if he’d made that 52-yarder in Kansas City last week.
So far this offseason, the fizz has fizzled for these players. I’m confident the last will bounce back; the firstup their games two, let’s hope they can pick up their games. Because as of now, they’re not living up to either the 12s' expectations or the Seahawks’ needs.
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