Seattle Seahawks fans should give a lot of thanks for how well Ty Okada played when he had to fill in for the team during the run to a championship. The truth is, though, when the games became even more meaningful and the presumed starters were back, Okada took a seat on the bench during defensive reps.
He played just 19 in the postseason, and 17 of those came during a blowout of the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. He played because the game wasn't close. Had it remained so, Julian Love and Coby Bryant would have been in the game, not Okada.
The safety did start 11 games in 2025, and he was good, but he did what a backup is expected to do: Take over for the starter and play something akin to the form the starter would have. None of that means Okada should be the starter moving forward. That might be the 2026 second-round draft pick, Bud Clark.
Seattle Seahawks second-round pick Bud Clark might be Ty Okada's replacement
Part of the latter is important. The Seahawks liked Clark so much that they took him relatively high in the draft, and the move makes sense. At TCU, Clark was the ultimate ball-hawk with 15 interceptions in his college career, and with elite coverage skills overall. The only reason he fell to round two might be that he weighs 190 pounds instead of 210 pounds.
The concern is that Clark might not hold up well to NFL-type punishment, as he is going to try to tackle bigger and stronger players, and his risk of getting injured might be higher than that of a player who weighs more. What is forgotten is that Clark was taught well at TCU, and that should help him acclimate more quickly to the league.
He did miss games in three of his years in college due to injury, however, and that likely dropped him on some teams' draft boards. Not Seattle's.
And for good reason. Head coach Mike Macdonald is a safety whisperer with the Seahawks, and he was in a previous NFL life with the Baltimore Ravens. He helped transform Kyle Hamilton into a First-Team All-Pro, and he made Nick Emmanwori into a vital part of an already great defense when Emmanwori was a rookie in 2025.
Bud Clark's energy, which is a lot like the kind Devon Witherspoon has, and his football IQ are going to get him on the field sooner than later. That might even mean as a starter opposite Julian Love in Week 1. If that is the case, Ty Okada, a valuable backup who might not be a long-term starter, could be sitting on the bench once again when the defense is on the field.
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