The Seahawks finished the year 9-7, barely missed the playoffs and then had a max exodus of epic proportion. Suddenly Pete Carroll went from a genius to a maligned figure in the NFL landscape. The most radical change of opinion on a coach I have ever seen. Then Richard Sherman was cut, Michael Bennett was traded and suddenly the legion of boom was no more. The Seahawks front office should indeed be sleepless in Seattle, I would be shocked if everyone in the front office and coaching staff keeps their jobs this year.
What do they have to bet on? Russell Wilson, one of the best QB’s in the leauge. Wilson continues to improve year after year and last year was one of his best. He single handedly dragged Seattle to nine wins. 34 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. You could make a super compelling case for Wilson to be the MVP of the leauge last year, he was certainly the MVP of his team. He will need to repeat that again this year if the Seahawks want a chance of being over 500.
Wilson won’t have much help. The Seahawks receiving core lost talented target Paul Richardson to the Redskins and talented receiving tight ends Luke Wilson and Jimmy Graham. The best receiver in this core is now Doug Baldwin, that obviously isn’t a bad thing. Baldwin is one of the most underrated receivers in the leauge and being the primary target of Wilson has it’s advantages. For example 991 yards and 8 touchdowns last year. He will have even less competition for targets this year. Tyler Lockett disappeared at points during last season and seemed to regress in his third season. Jaron Brown is a bandage for Paul Richardson who had only 447 yards and four touchdowns last year. It’s worth noting though that Brown had his best season when Carson Palmer was throwing to him in his prime in Arizona, perhaps Wilson can turn him into a productive season once again.
The constant in Seattle is a concern on the o line which was the worst in the leauge last year. Duane Brown is there best offensive linemen acquired last year from the Texans. However he didn’t preform well in the second half of the season, the Seahawks hope a coaching change and a new rotation of linemen will gel this time around. Watch for George Fant to potentially grab a starting tackle spot as the Seahawks have heavily invested in him this offseason and seem to believe he can succeed.
The Seattle backfield is a bit convoluted right now. Chris Carson should be the day one starting back with the flashes he showed last year but by the end of the year it will most likely be first round pick Rashaad Penny. The problem will be finding holes to run through though. If the Seahawks could develop even a semblance of a run game though the offense could really take off.
Unfortunately the problem this year will be defense. The Seahawks lose there best pass rusher in Michael Bennett to the Eagles and there best corner in Richard Sherman to the Niners. Frank Clark will have to make a major jump as he now becomes the most proven pass rusher on the line. However the Seahawks retain Bobby Wagner one of the best linebackers if not the best middle linebacker in the leauge. Shaquill Griffin and Byron Maxwell will need to step up in the secondary and it’s unclear if Earl Thomas will be on the roster week one. Kam Chancellor retiring adds another interesting wrench into the mix as the Seahawks lack depth at safety.
There are two ways of looking at this roster. If you look at it believing Pete Carroll maximizes talent and Russell Wilson maximizes offense you could see this as a wild card team. If you don’t believe that this is a five-win team at best. I lean toward the latter though I wouldn’t be surprised if the Seahawks are a contender in there division yet again.
Ceiling: 9-7
Floor: I could honestly see this team winning only 2 games there schedule is insanely tough.
Record prediction: 5-11