Is Seahawks’ defense built up front or in secondary?

The Seattle Seahawks have no shortage of star potential in their secondary.

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It all starts with second-year cornerback Devon Witherspoon. The former No. 5 overall pick showcased his wide-ranging skill set with a spectacular rookie campaign last year, totaling 16 pass breakups, three sacks and eight tackles for loss on his way to a Pro Bowl selection.

Third-year cornerback Riq Woolen had a similarly impressive rookie season in 2022, when he burst onto the scene with six interceptions and 16 pass breakups in a Pro Bowl campaign. He took a slight step back last year, but looks primed to rebound this fall after drawing rave reviews for his performance in last week’s joint practices with the Tennessee Titans.

There’s also sixth-year safety Julian Love, who was a Pro Bowler last year after totaling four interceptions, 10 pass breakups and two forced fumbles in his first season with Seattle.

That secondary talent was on display last week in Nashville, where the Seahawks’ defense reportedly got the best of the Titans in a pair of joint practices. CBS and NFL Network analyst Charles Davis was on hand for both practices and left very impressed by the back end of Seattle’s defense.

“My impression of them is that they are a back-to-front defense,” Davis said Monday during an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “The back is going to push everything forward and be the energy, be the juice, be the motor. Not that you’re not going to get stuff out of the front or the middle. That’s not what I’m saying.

“But that back with Riq, Witherspoon, Love – I just thought that they challenged everything that happened out there and were aggressive. … Everything that Tennessee got, they had to earn in terms of throwing the football.”

Brock and Salk’s reaction

Later in Monday’s show, co-host Mike Salk asked former NFL quarterback Brock Huard if he agreed with Davis’ assessment that the Seahawks have a back-to-front defense.

Huard said it might feel like Seattle’s defense is centered on the back end, given the immense talent and commanding presence both Witherspoon and Woolen possess. However, in the long run, Huard said he thinks new head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense will be built up front.

After all, during Macdonald’s success-filled run as the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator, one of his calling cards was the ability to expertly mix his fronts and pressures to attack opposing offenses with an ever-shifting array of looks. And he appears to have a solid core of defensive linemen and edge rushers to do that with in Seattle, highlighted by Leonard Williams, Dre’Mont Jones, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Jarran Reed and rookie first-round pick Byron Murphy II.

“Spoon is the straw for the drink,” Huard said. “He’s gonna stir it all. Dude is a live wire and then some. Woolen has got a skill set, as far as humans on this earth playing football, very few have. (Few players) can accelerate and decelerate the way that he can at that size. … So I feel like maybe the highest upside are those two (young cornerbacks) – that if they do reach their ceiling, (they) could be the best duo in all the NFL.

“But I would still say, for me, this thing over the long haul is gonna be built with your front – as all the elite NFL defenses always are. You can shut people down (in the secondary), but if your front and your foundation ain’t right and you can’t stop the run and you don’t impact the passer and you don’t harass and get after it, … that (secondary) is not gonna be good enough. So I think the feeling is there on the back end, but this thing is still very much built up front first.”

Salk agreed with the philosophy that the best defenses are built in the trenches.

“I think you know me and how many times I’ve said the secondary is important, but you’ve gotta be built up front on defense,” Salk said. “The ability to impact the game with your front seven – and especially that front four or five – is just so darn important in today’s game.”

Hear the full conversation with Charles Davis at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock Huard and Mike Salk react to what Davis said at this link or in the audio player near the bottom of this story.

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