Like all NFL general managers, the Seattle Seahawks’ John Schneider may have completed most of his roster building for the upcoming season. But that doesn’t mean he won’t keep tinkering right up until opening kickoff.
There are still a lot of quality players floating around the free agent pool waiting for the right opportunity, as was again on display with Schneider’s recent signing of cornerback Shaquill Griffin.
I have to admit that move did get me dreaming of a free agent frenzy of Shaqs, what with offensive lineman Shaq Mason and edge rusher Shaq Barrett still technically on the market. Schneider could also check out that O’Neal fellow. I know he’s 53, but just imagine what he’d look like bookending Leonard Williams on the D-Line.
Five free agents who could make major contributions to the Seahawks this year
OK, enough of that fantasy. Seattle doesn’t need any more Shaqs. There are a bunch of other players that John Schneider could snap up before training camp, each of whom would create intriguing new storylines throughout the rest of the summer.
Brandon Scherff, Guard
Scherff may well be the best football player still on the free agent market at this time. The fact that he plays right guard – Seattle’s single biggest question mark – makes his signing seem almost too logical to ignore.
There are reasons not to sign Scherff. At 33, his Pro Bowl days are probably in the past. He is coming off an annual salary of about 16 million dollars. Even if he takes a significant pay cut, he will still cost more than any lineman on the team. (At least until a certain left tackle agrees to an extension.)
Schneider would very much like to see one of his many youngsters seize the job and stay on the line for the next ten years. Signing a player like Scherff would indicate how unlikely Seattle’s powers-that-be think such an outcome is.
And if none of those kids – Bradford or Haynes or Laumea or prospect-to-be-named-later – has impressed enough, Schneider has to kick the tires on Scherff. He is significantly better than any of those younger players, and at the very least, he would create a heightened level of competition over the summer.
DJ Chark, WR
In 2019, it appeared that DJ Chark was destined to be one of the league’s elite wideouts. In just his second season, Chark went for more than 1,000 yards and scored eight touchdowns. Then, injuries derailed him.
Since 2019, Chark has played in just fifty games. That means he missed about 40% of the games he was eligible to play in. Teams can no longer look at him as a frontline receiving option.
However, DJ Chark is still just 28 years old and still has that 6’3” frame. He may no longer have the blistering 4.3 speed he showed off early in his career, but he is still fast. Most importantly, he has still shown he is capable of making big plays. In 2022 and 2023, as a part-timer with Detroit and Carolina, Chark caught 65 passes for almost 17 yards per catch and scored eight touchdowns.
That is the kind of production Seattle hopes to see from Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but as we have pointed out, MVS’s catch rate remains worrisome. Chark’s career catch rate of 55% is more than five points better than that of MVS.
Jadeveon Clowney, Edge rusher
Teams never have enough pass rushers. Clowney remains a productive pass rusher who is far from one-dimensional. In many ways, he is similar to DeMarcus Lawrence, one of Schneider’s major free agent acquisitions this offseason.
So why bring in a guy like Clowney, when you already have Lawrence and a wealth of young pass rushers playing on the opposite edge? For one thing, none of those young pass rushers has proven he can thrive for more than a single season.
Whether it is injuries or the difficulties associated with transitioning to a new defensive scheme, something seems to keep derailing Seattle’s young edges. They look dynamite for a while, then they recede.
Or, just look at Mike Macdonald’s former team, which employed Clowney back in 2023, when he managed 9.5 sacks. That was second to Nnamdi Madubuike and a half sack ahead of Kyle Van Noy. And they also had Odafe Oweh. Or look at what Denver is doing with their defense, or what the Rams or the Eagles are doing.
In short, if you think you have enough pass rushers, you’re wrong. If there’s one on the market who you like and can afford, you sign him and let the best prevail in training camp and pre-season.
Arthur Maulet, CB
Like Clowney, Maulet played for Mike Macdonald in Baltimore. And as with edge rushers, you can never have enough cornerbacks. The signing of Shaquill Griffin notwithstanding, Seattle could still use depth in the secondary.
What Maulet would specifically bring to the Hawks is a genuine slot corner. Seattle has players who can play inside. Josh Jobe can play there. Devon Witherspoon can play anywhere. But Maulet has experience in the middle, where things can get wild and out of control at a moment’s notice.
He is a tough, sure tackler, and he would free up the ultra-athletic, versatile players like Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori to freelance a lot more.
As we said about Seattle's young right guard prospects, if one or two of the Seahawks' depth corners start knocking them dead this summer, perhaps you don’t need a veteran like Maulet. But who has done that, or is likely to going forward? That’s why Schneider signed Griffin. And that’s why he could also bring in Maulet.
Deontay Harty, KR/PR
Deontay Harty is 5’6”, 170 pounds, and he has been in the NFL for six years. Does that give you some idea of how tough and elusive he is?
The former star at Assumption University has had a modest career as a pass catcher. But he would not be coming to Seattle to compete for a receiving job. He would be coming to take over as the primary kick and punt returner. In a career that includes more than 100 punt returns, Harty has averaged 10.5 yards per return and scored two touchdowns.
Last year, Dee Williams and Jaelon Darden averaged 7.5 yards for the Hawks.
Steven Sims, one of the free agents brought in this season to compete for the return job, has a career average of 6.2. Harty, who is also a solid kickoff returner, would be an instant upgrade as a returner. And last I checked, there’s no punt returner floating around out there named Shaq.