The Seattle Seahawks are in a great position heading into the 2023 NFL offseason. Many expected the Seahawks to be entering a rebuild, but they are closer to being contenders than needing to tear things down.
They surprised a lot of people with their performance during the 2022 season, making the playoffs despite trading away Russell Wilson in the offseason. Geno Smith was a revelation as the team’s starting quarterback, getting under center as a starter for the first time since 2014 with the New York Jets.
With him leading the offense, Seattle was one of the better teams in the NFL on that side of the ball. D.K. Metcalf remains a star and Tyler Lockett is as steady as anyone. Kenneth Walker III added some juice to the backfield, giving the Seahawks a nice foundation to work with.
Defensively, however, is where they need to put their focus this offseason. There are a few legitimate building blocks with Tariq Woolen and Quandre Diggs earning Pro Bowl nods. Jordyn Brooks is a tackling machine at linebacker and Cody Barton did an excellent job trying to fill the hole left by Bobby Wagner being released.
But, overall, the Seahawks struggled on defense. They ranked 25th in points allowed and 26th in yardage. There are pieces in place for that unit to succeed, they could just use a veteran to bring it all together. One player to keep an eye on in that regard is Cameron Jordan of the New Orleans Saints.
In a piece by Alex Ballentine over at Bleacher Report, he suggested that the Seahawks make a trade for the veteran pass rusher this offseason. His proposed trade package would be a 2023 second-round pick (No. 53 overall) and a 2024 third-round pick in exchange for Jordan.
Given the bounty that Seattle received in exchange for Wilson, this would be an easy decision for the franchise to make. They would still possess numerous draft picks to continue filling out the roster with.
New Orleans is once again in salary cap hell and it could cost them some productive veterans. Jordan had 8.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits and 13 tackles for loss in 2022, showing that he still has some pass-rushing juice left despite being 33 years old.
The Seahawks have a nice, young group of pass rushers Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor leading the way with 9.5 sacks apiece. Boye Mafe had 3.0 as a rookie after being one of the players selected with a pick courtesy of the Denver Broncos trade package in exchange for Wilson.
Adding a player such as Jordan to the mix could help the younger players take their game to another level. His presence would take some of the pressure off of them and you can never have too many pass rushers if you want to find success in the postseason.
Having a roster full of talented young players is a double-edged sword, as there is a ton of value in the early going but things will quickly get expensive when eligible for extensions. With more than $31 million in cap space, the Seahawks should take some swings this offseason to elevate the roster.
