2024 Seahawks Draft preview: Top 5 storylines on defense

The Seahawks will have a new-look defense under Mike Macdonald. How will they approach this year’s draft?

We’re less than a week out from the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. The Seattle Seahawks have a whole lot of question marks pertaining to both sides of the ball as we enter the first season of the Mike Macdonald era. In the lead-up to the draft, we’ll take a look at the top stories and questions we’ll presumably have answered next Thursday-Saturday. Today, we’ll focus in on the (still) rebuilding defense.

5.) How early will they go at linebacker?

It’s not a matter of if, but when the Seahawks will stock up on inside linebacker. Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker were the free agent plays, but the rest of the depth chart consists of Patrick O’Connell, Drake Thomas, and Jon Rhattigan. Regardless of how great Mike Macdonald and his coaching staff could be, you need great talent to win championships. Dodson and Baker are on one-year contracts and everyone else listed has been rooted to special teams.

On paper, this is not a strong linebacker class. No one is projected to go in the first round, and we might not see many taken in the second. Junior Colson is a logical fit given previous ties to Mike Macdonald at the University of Michigan. Along with NC State’s Payton Wilson, Colson is most likely going to be a second-round option…not that this affects the Seahawks right now.

North Carolina’s Cedric Gray, Texas’ Jaylan Ford, Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace, Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr (that’ll make you feel old), Ohio State’s Tommy Eichenberg, and Mississippi State’s Nathaniel Watson are all likely Day 3 options scattered throughout the 4th-7th rounds.

4.) What about safety?

Same question, similar situation. Rayshawn Jenkins is on a two-year deal and he’ll be 31 when the 2025 season begins. Julian Love is much younger but he’s on an expiring contract. The depth below those two consists of veteran K’Von Wallace, Jerrick Reed II, Coby Bryant, Ty Okada, and Jonathan Sutherland.

Seattle was fortunate to have struck gold with Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in 2010, such that this wasn’t a draft need for years. Then they both left, and the Seahawks acquired established players like Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams through draft capital. You could say that both trades were necessitated through some… less than stellar years drafting safeties in any round:

One of the possible first-round solutions is Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, who was a cornerback in college and is almost destined to be a first-round pick based off of his stellar play at the position. However, he’s being looked at as a possible corner-to-safety convert or a corner/safety hybrid with his versatility. DeJean has shown excellent ball skills, sound tackling (particularly in run support), and as a bonus he’s a dangerous punt returner. Seattle has already had a pre-draft official visit with him.

Some Day 2/early Day 3 options include Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin, Washington State’s Jaden Hicks, Georgia’s Javon Bullard, Utah’s Cole Bishop, Miami’s Kameron Kinchens, and Wake Forest’s Malik Mustapha. Much like linebacker, don’t expect many (or any) natural safeties (so not DeJean) to be taken in Round 1.

3.) Will they corner the market for a corner again?

As noted earlier this month, Seattle’s only corners under contract through 2025 are Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon. The Seahawks have historically not invested a whole lot of early-round draft capital at the position, only for Witherspoon to change that tendency in 2023.

Tre Brown was solid without being spectacular as an outside corner, Mike Jackson Sr is serviceable depth and a former starter, and Artie Burns has become depth after not really panning out as a starter on other teams. If the Seahawks are thinking long-term, they may be eying another cornerback alongside Witherspoon and Woolen (who himself had some rough stretches of play in 2023).

The aforementioned DeJean is a top option at No. 16, as is Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell. I’d be shocked if the Seahawks picked a cornerback early again, but I anticipate some Day 3 investment not too dissimilar to what we’ve historically seen over the years.

2.) An interior redesign on the horizon?

The Seahawks gave up their second-round pick for Leonard Williams and re-signed him to a big contract. Dre’Mont Jones was a major free agent splash in 2023, and unless he really turns things around this season he might be the worst contract on the roster.

Seattle has been steadfast in not drafting blue-chip defensive tackles, of which there aren’t exactly many in this year’s class. Byron Murphy II (Texas) and Johnny Newton (Illinois) are the premier prospects, of which I’ve mocked Newton to the Seahawks already. A little lower in the pecking order gets you Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro, Florida State’s Braden Fiske, Ohio State’s Michael Hall Jr, and Oregon’s Brandon Dorlus. I guess T’Vondre Sweat (Texas) could be on there but his stock may tumble after his recent DUI arrest.

My want of a blue-chip DT is all about finding gifted interior pass rushers, not run-stuffing nose tackles. The Seahawks can get cheap run-stuffers late in the draft or in free agency (which they’ve already done). In today’s NFL, you need either a monster edge rusher like Myles Garrett or T.J. Watt or Nick Bosa, or a standout pass-rushing interior lineman. You know where those pass-rushing interior linemen are found? Early.

I’m much more concerned about the Seahawks not generating enough pressure on the inside than I am about stopping the run, which is an important part of defense but not nearly as important as stopping the pass. I will shout until I’m blue in the face that the Seahawks’ top priority this offseason on defense should be improving their performance against the pass, which was more ruinous than how they fared against the run.

Will the Seahawks look to bolster their depth by going for Murphy or Newton? And if so, who’s losing snaps? Will the rookies be limited in their playing time? Is Mike Morris going to factor at all? What will Dre’Mont’s role be moving forward? Is Jarran Reed staying at nose tackle? I suspect the Seahawks are going to be tinkering a bit more with their defensive front before the season starts. I’m supportive of more bodies (read: more talent) to keep everyone fresh and not be overly reliant on the likes of Williams, Jones, and Reed. Having a dangerous interior rusher (or two!) could open things up on the edges, speaking of which…

1.) How do the Seahawks feel about their edge rushers?

Seattle has spent second-round picks on Darrell Taylor, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall in three of the last four drafts. They’ve been looking for high-quality edge rushers early and often, with mixed results. Mafe made a substantially second-year leap, which is what must be required out of Derick Hall, who didn’t record a sack and had one of the worst pass rush win rates in the NFL. You know who was worse than Hall? Darrell Taylor. Only 18 pressures in 292 pass rushing snaps is terrible. He’s never had a win rate higher than 8.6% over three seasons, which means he’s good at getting sacks and mediocre-to-bad at generating consistent pressure.

Uchenna Nwosu quietly was not great at consistently pressuring the quarterback last season before his injury, but at least he had above-average performance in 2022 that justified his contract extension. I believe we’ll see him back at his best in 2024.

Florida State’s Jared Verse, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, Alabama’s Dallas Turner, and Penn State’s Chop Robinson are among the early options who will be in the vicinity of the Seahawks’ first-round pick. Turner may go sooner than No. 16, but everyone else should be around in the mid-first. If the Seahawks go with an edge rusher with their top pick (or even an acquired second-rounder), that sends a clear message about how they feel about their current group of players, and I think it would be warranted.