The Seattle Seahawks turned out to be one of the biggest winners of the 2022 offseason. Many were unsure how trading franchise quarterback Russell Wilson would turn out, but it ended up being a home run deal.
While Wilson struggled with the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks thrived. Geno Smith had a career renaissance as a starter for the first time since 2014 and led the team to the playoffs. Seattle also received a ton of draft capital that it was able to use to restock the roster with as well.
The Seahawks have used that draft capital well, rebuilding their offensive line in the 2022 NFL Draft. This year, they used the No. 5 pick, courtesy of Denver, on cornerback Devon Witherspoon out of Illinois. With the No. 20 overall pick, they selected Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Smith-Njigba creates a scary trio at wide receiver joining D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. They also bolstered the backfield, selecting Zach Charbonnet out of UCLA. His skill set as a pass-catching back meshes well with Kenneth Walker III, giving the Seahawks a dynamic, versatile set of weapons around Smith.
Recently, Metcalf made an appearance at the Gatorade Player of the Year awards and Taylor Bisciotti of NFL Network was able to catch up with him for an interview. He shared his excitement about how good this offense could be in 2023 with the newest additions.
“I mean, just the type of person he is, first,” Metcalf said when asked about JSN. “He’s a great dude. And on the field, he’s a great route runner, excellent hands. So, I think he’s going to open the offense even more. Him and Zach Charbonnet is going to do, you know, amazing things at the running back position along with Ken Walker. We got a whole arsenal of weapons on offense, adding Bobby (Wagner) back on defense, you know, a leader for not only the defense but the whole team.”
After the performance that they had last season, the Seahawks aren’t going to be catching anyone by surprise in 2023. They are now going to be the hunted, not as much of the hunter, which Metcalf talked about as well. The team needs to focus on things in-house and tune off the outside noise.
“We have to decide what type of team we’re going to be and not just listen to the outside noise,” Metcalf said. “We just got to be a band of brothers on Sunday just playing for each other, and everything is going to fall in place.”
The Seahawks are in a great position heading into 2023. They have a deep, talented roster and one of the best head coaches in the NFL, Pete Carroll. Things are falling into place well for a franchise many expected to start a rebuild in 2022, not be emerging NFC contenders in 2023.
