Salk: Seahawks’ defense isn’t elite, but a trade could change that

May 27, 2025, 8:21 PM | Updated: May 28, 2025, 12:11 am

Host, Brock & Salk (6-10 a.m.)

While fans and local media seem reasonably content with the Seattle Seahawks’ offseason changes, it sure hasn’t been received too well by national observers.

A key dynamic that can help Seattle Seahawks’ new-look offense

All of a sudden, Geno Smith has become a top-10, indispensable quarterback, and receivers like DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett (who had always been left off top-10 lists at their position) weren’t replaced with perennial Pro Bowlers.

The top-line, blink scouting assessment is that they downgraded at quarterback and wide receiver (the two positions most likely to be filled with names familiar to a national audience) without taking enough action to improve the biggest weakness on the offensive line.

Those points might all have merit. But I personally don’t think they will factor as heavily into the season as some of these national voices seem to suggest. I think they got younger without giving up much talent at quarterback, and they got themselves a better leader who gives them more financial flexibility. I think they gave themselves an opportunity to reallocate their resources on offense away from skill positions and towards much-needed help on the line of scrimmage. I think they still have work to do on that line, but they are starting to look like the offense Mike Macdonald wants.

But for all of the talk about this offense, what are they doing to improve the unit that was clearly their bell cow last season? Isn’t Macdonald a defensive coach who wants a physical, dominant defense? What have they done to get there?

Not a ton. They signed Demarcus Lawrence who will help on the edge, especially against the run, but isn’t the top-tier force he was when he was younger. They only spent two of their eleven draft picks on that side of that ball. And while both Nick Emmanwori and Rylie Mills have a ton of upside, Emmanwori may take some time to learn the NFL game and Mills isn’t likely to be fully healthy until 2026.

I love both picks, but I still question how they will help this defense become elite in 2025.

If that is the goal, the Seahawks do have one potential option: they should trade for Trey Hendrickson.

The Bengals defensive end is elite. He’s had 17.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons and been a Pro Bowler every season in Cincinnati. He was an All-Pro last year and runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. At 30 years old, he is in a contract dispute with one of the cheapest teams in the league, a scenario that has allowed John Schneider to add talent in the past.

3.5 sacks tonight. 17.5 sacks on the season.

Trey Hendrickson was a BEAST for the @Bengals 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ul2vloeM85

— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025

Yes, there is some precedent here.

Schneider has landed all sorts of players who were unhappy with their current teams. Jadeveon Clowney and Duane Brown both came from Houston. Jamal Adams and Sheldon Richardson had issues with the Jets. And yes, he threw Carlos Dunlap a lifeline out of Cincinnati once that situation had deteriorated as well. I don’t think Leonard Williams quite fits that mold, but that was another trade for a veteran, and you could probably add Marshawn Lynch, Jimmy Graham and Percy Harvin to this list as well.

In hindsight, some of these deals have worked better than others, but clearly the Seahawks have been willing to take on the risk of trading for veterans nearing the end of their contracts. And while most of those players were still in their twenties, Brown, Dunlap and Williams (three of the more successful deals on this list) were all 30 or older.

The Seahawks have a good defense and a good batch of pass rushers. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are both starting-caliber players. Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu have been starters for most of their careers and should provide more than adequate depth. But none of those players are stars. None of them are as disruptive as Hendrickson. None of them have registered anywhere close to 17.5 sacks in the recent past.

In fact, Hall (eight), Mafe (six), Lawrence (three) and Nwosu (one) accounted for a total of just 18 sacks last season. Yes, those four players together essentially equaled Hendrickson’s production on his own. Williams was the only Seahawk in double digits. Sacks aren’t everything, but the best defenses put tremendous pressure on quarterbacks, and the Seahawks don’t currently have edge rushers that do that at an elite level. Hendrickson does.

As good as he is, Hendrickson isn’t a slam dunk. There are concerns. He turns 31 in December and wants a big payday, which means the payor will probably be on the hook for some years on the downside of his career arc. And it would cost something to pry him out of Cincinnati – maybe something akin to the second-0round pick they gave up for Williams just two seasons ago? He also isn’t known as a tremendous run stuffer, a near prerequisite for playing for Macdonald, in the NFC West and against the teams that currently rule the NFC in general.

But none of those concerns would be enough for me to rule him out. He is obviously still incredibly productive, the Seahawks have plenty of open cap space, and they have enough players in their rotation who are stout against the run to cover for his (perceived) deficiencies. And he rushes the passer so well that it would be worth the risks.

I believe contending teams do at least one thing at an elite level. The Seahawks hired a defensive-minded head coach who had their defense trending that way in his first season. He has gotten a tremendous amount out of the roster he has had. But Hendrickson would take them over the top. He would make this defense elite, and his addition would more than make up for whatever problems they have (allegedly) created on offense.

Fortunately, Macdonald should be pretty familiar with him from their time in the AFC North together. If he thinks this is a deal worth doing, I’d be all for it!