Three strengths, three question marks for 2024 Seahawks

In less than 24 hours, the Seattle Seahawks will take the field for one of their more anticipated season openers in recent memory.

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When the Seahawks kick off their 2024 campaign against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon, it will mark the official beginning of a new era under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald. Ever since the 37-year-old Macdonald was hired to replace the legendary Pete Carroll on Jan. 31, there’s been great intrigue over what the new-look Hawks will look like under his direction – and especially, his cutting-edge defensive scheme.

Like many teams, Seattle enters the season with both some clear strengths and some notable uncertainties. As kickoff approaches, here’s a look at three of the Seahawks’ biggest strengths and three of their biggest question marks heading into the 2024 campaign.

Three strengths

Offensive skill-position talent: Seattle certainly has no shortage of offensive playmakers. It starts at wide receiver, where DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have the potential to form one of the NFL’s best receiving trios. Metcalf remains one of the league’s most dangerous wideouts, Lockett has a nearly decade-long track record of production and Smith-Njigba looks poised for a breakout second season. At tight end, Noah Fant is a big-time threat with his ability to stretch the field and is a prime candidate to benefit from new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme. And at running back, Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are a young and talented one-two punch that likely have their best days ahead of them. Grubb and veteran quarterback Geno Smith have a plethora of weapons to work with.

A potential star duo at cornerback: The Seahawks have two of the league’s most talented young cornerbacks in second-year pro Devon Witherspoon and third-year Riq Woolen, who both earned Pro Bowl nods in their rookie seasons. Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 draft, looks like a budding superstar after last year’s sensational rookie campaign. With an impressive level of versatility, Witherspoon showcased his wide-ranging skill set while filling up the stat sheet and making plays all over the field at outside corner, the nickel corner spot and around the line of scrimmage. The 6-foot-4 Woolen also has a unique skill set, with a rare combination of length and speed that was on full display in 2022, when he tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions. Woolen took a slight step back last year, but looks ready for a bounceback season after drawing rave reviews during training camp and joint practices.

Macdonald’s defensive scheme: Macdonald has quickly earned a reputation as one of the league’s brightest defensive minds. As the Ravens’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons, he unleashed a cutting-edge scheme that helped Baltimore finish third in scoring defense in 2022 and first in 2023. Furthermore, his Ravens defense last year became the first in NFL history to lead the league in points allowed, sacks and takeaways. Macdonald’s scheme features a unique level of positional versatility, which allows him to constantly mix his fronts and pressures. That enables him to confuse opposing quarterbacks on a play-by-play basis, while also adapting and morphing his defense from week to week. There could be a learning curve early on, but Macdonald figures to give the Seahawks a schematic advantage over many opponents – and the ability to counter the offensive brilliance of fellow NFC West coaches Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.

Three question marks

Can the O-line take a step forward? Seattle’s season, once again, may very well hinge on the offensive line. After years of struggles up front, the unit seemed to be on an upswing in 2022 before a slew of injuries set the group back in 2023. There are reasons for optimism this year – namely the addition of standout center Connor Williams, the potential for a third-year leap from left tackle Charles Cross and a better contingency plan behind sidelined right tackle Abraham Lucas. However, there are still major uncertainties. Can Williams return to his pre-injury level of play after coming off a torn ACL last December? Will Lucas be able to make any sort of impact this year, or will his knee issues continue to keep him off the field? And ultimately, can the unit as a whole perform closer to league average? The Seahawks’ offense is loaded with skill-position talent, but their ceiling will once again be severely limited if the O-line doesn’t improve.

How will the inside linebackers fare? Seattle underwent a wholesale makeover at inside linebacker, with Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson replacing franchise icon Bobby Wagner and former first-round pick Jordyn Brooks. Baker started 82 games over the past six seasons for the Miami Dolphins, but was sidelined for the entire offseason program while recovering from an injury and then missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury. He is expected to start Sunday, but is he 100%? Dodson, meanwhile, finished as Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded linebacker last season while filling in to start 10 games with the Buffalo Bills. This year, he’s set to be a full-time starter for the first time in his career. Was last year’s success a sign of things to come, or a one-off? And given that Baker and Dodson weren’t able to spend much time on the practice field together during the offseason and training camp, can they hit the ground running at two of the most important positions in Macdonald’s scheme?

Will there be growing pains on defense? Macdonald’s defensive scheme should be a major plus for the Seahawks in the long run, but it’d be unrealistic to think there won’t be a few bumps in the road early on – especially with how vital communication is to properly executing his system. When Macdonald took over as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2022, it took a while for the defense to find its groove. Over the first half of 2022, they allowed 23.1 points per game. But after that, they allowed just 15.9 points per game over the next one and a half seasons. It helps that Seattle’s defense has a relatively soft landing over the first two weeks, with the Broncos starting a rookie quarterback and the New England Patriots being one of the league’s worst offenses last year. But the schedule ramps up significantly after that, with Seattle facing three top-five offenses from last season over the next four weeks: the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, the Detroit Lions in Week 4 and the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6.

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