John Schneider has come under fire for some of his moves in the past few seasons, and rightly so. No one can dispute that his two biggest deals have completely turned the fortunes of the Seattle Seahawks around in 2024.
I don't have to go too far back to find an example of one of Schneider's decisions that didn't pan out for Seattle. This year alone saw the Hawks trade cornerback Michael Jackson to the Panthers for linebacker Michael Barrett. Jackson has played about as well for Carolina as he did for Seattle. That is, he's been good at times, and not so good in other games. But he's started every game. Barrett wound up on the Hawks practice squad and was released less than two weeks later.
The day after Schneider traded Jackson for Barrett, the Seahawks traded Darrell Taylor to the Bears for a sixth-round pick. Three days later, Seattle traded a sixth-round pick to Jacksonville for linebacker Trevis Gipson. Gipson has somehow managed to be even less productive than Taylor. He's played only 75 snaps between defense and special teams and has been inactive since the Giants game.
The Seattle Seahawks would be grounded without Leonard Williams and Ernest Jones
So John Schneider hasn't exactly hit the lottery with every one of his moves this year. That doesn't even take into account the two biggest failures of 2024. Those would be the moves that brought linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker to Seattle. Of course, Mike Macdonald wanted both, as he expected them to be better in coverage than the incumbent linebackers, Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks.
Unfortunately, they were both so poor against the run that the Seahawks had to make more moves. As Richard Sherman rightly pointed out - even if he was a bit off on the details - replacing their two inside linebackers with Baker and Dodson was a waste of time. And in the NFL, time equals games, not money.
The timing of Dodson's release still strikes me as crazy. They cut him after the trade deadline, so they got zero return. If you could get a sixth-round pick for Darrell Taylor, you could have definitely gotten something for Dodson. He must have been told he was getting benched for Tyrice Knight and demanded a trade. Compare that to Rayshawn Jenkins, who's balling to the best of his ability as the third safety with the ascendence of Coby Bryant.
John Schneider did get someone pretty good for Baker, though. Pretty good, as in a game-changing talent. Anyone can see that Ernest Jones IV has been the best Seahawks in-season addition this year. Week 14 was the first time he hadn't led (or tied) the Hawks in tackles since he arrived for the Bills game. He was too busy dropping back into coverage and nabbing his first interception of the game, I guess.
Jones has been instrumental in the turnaround of the Seahawks defense this season. But Schneider's other brilliant mid-season move from 2023 has been just as important this year. That would be the addition of Leonard Williams. Hmmm.. I wonder if Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network still thinks re-signing Williams was the Hawks' worst contract decision this year? The comment that Dexter Lawrence is a far superior interior presence is comically wrong.
Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits | Pressures | Batted P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lawrence | 44 | 8 | 9.0 | 16 | 18 | 0 |
Williams | 42 | 12 | 7.0 | 20 | 22 | 2 |
Now, does that look like Lawrence is a "far superior interior presence" to you? Oh, and there's that little matter of a historic pick-six as well. Leonard Williams has been the Seahawks' best defensive lineman since he arrived in Seattle, and has only upped his game this year.
Schneider (and Macdonald) made a few moves this season that didn't pan out. However, they recognized there were issues with the team and took action. I want to emphasize that there were issues with how the team played overall. It isn't an indictment of any individual, but how they meshed with the defense as a unit. Both Ernest Jones IV and Leonard Williams have truly elevated the Seahawks as a team.