Huard: ‘Clues’ show Seahawks are building more for 2025
Mar 19, 2024, 12:06 PM
Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald on Feb. 1, 2024. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks are entering some uncharted territory this offseason under new head coach in Mike Macdonald.
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It’s been an offseason of change for the Seahawks, who parted ways with Pete Carroll and hired Macdonald, who in turn brought in essentially a brand-new coaching staff. The Hawks have also parted ways with many notable players, such as Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, while letting key starters including Jordyn Brooks and Damien Lewis leave Seattle in free agency.
“How big of a retooling do you think this will be for the Seahawks this year?” Mike Salk asked his co-host, Brock Huard, during Tuesday’s Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.
Replied Huard: “You’ve kind of talked about this a little bit – you try to figure out this ’24 puzzle compared to the ’25, and I think it’s a good lesson. And it’s a hard one, and it’s very difficult to project. It’s hard enough to protect ’24 … This is the NFL, who knows. So to project all the way to ’25 is difficult.”
“But there are a couple of clues,” Huard later added.
The first clue? The Seahawks’ additions this offseason have all been short-term deals.
“They’re one-year deals. Some are two years like (safety Rayshawn Jenkins), but the majority of them are for one year,” Huard said.
The other factor Huard is keeping a close eye on? Projected compensatory picks.
Teams are awarded “comp” picks for a variety of reasons, one of which is losing top players in free agency while not signing as many big-name guys in return. Whatever compensatory picks the Seahawks net this offseason can’t be used until the 2025 NFL Draft, which Huard said is potentially a big tell.
“When you look at the comp picks, this is the first time I can remember in a long time (the Seahawks being projected to have some),” he said. “Remember, you get value back if you lose a valuable free agent. Right now, there’s 30 comp picks not in this upcoming draft but the following year’s, and you have four of them.”
As of Tuesday, the Seahawks are projected to get a fourth-rounder for Lewis, fifth-rounder for Brooks and a pair of sixth-round picks for Bobby Wagner and Colby Parkinson.
Huard thinks next year’s draft is a good one to go into with so many picks, especially compared to this year’s.
“While this draft, because of the extra COVID year and juniors not coming out, may not be very loaded, the following year it could be quite an explosion of talent with the COVID years being wiped out and those underclassmen now graduating. And you on paper right now have 10 picks thanks to all of those comp picks,” Huard said. “So keep an eye on these little tells as we move ahead between ’24 and really prepping for ’25.”
Hear the full conversation from Tuesday’s Brock and Salk in the Blue 88 segment of the podcast player near the top of this post. Find podcasts of every hour of Brock and Salk at this link.
More on the Seattle Seahawks in free agency
• Seattle Seahawks add Tremayne Anchrum Jr to O-line in free agency
• Huard: What Seahawks’ new LBs do better than Wagner, Brooks
• What GM Schneider says plan is for Seahawks’ returning OL Fant
• Seahawks sign linebacker Jerome Baker to 1-year deal
• Seahawks’ Schneider: How Williams’ deal impacted Brooks leaving
• Salk: What are Seattle Seahawks doing in free agency? Three possible explanations
