Devon Witherspoon could be the 'Russell Westbrook' of Mike Macdonald's Seahawks defense
Answering Seahawks questions on the draft, free agency, and breakout players in 2024: Seaside Joe 1840
The Seattle Seahawks are probably the most exciting NFC West team to follow in free agency and that’s not because of the players who they sign but due to the fact that we really don’t know what to think of the people who are coaching them. It’s not about whether the Seahawks will win the division next season—they probably won’t, but it is a tough division—and it’s not about if they spend the most money or add the free agents who were the best last season.
It’s about the fact that no matter who the Seahawks add, whether that’s Sam Howell or George Fant or Rayshawn Jenkins or Tyrel Dodson, the only thing we know for sure is that they’re joining a team that plans to have a new identity and strategy next season. A team that general manager John Schneider knows will be coached differently in 2024 by his handpicked choice to replace Pete Carroll, Mike Macdonald.
And that Macdonald’s speciality with the Baltimore Ravens in the past two seasons as defensive coordinator was to get much more value out of players than what was expected of them prior to playing for Macdonald.
Seattle’s newest players, so far including the four mentioned as well as center Nick Harris and tight end Pharoah Brown, are almost all “bargain” additions. The Seahawks only big swings were for two they retained, Leonard Williams and Noah Fant, and even those two could end up being better with Macdonald and Ryan Grubb than they were with Pete, Shane Waldron, and Clint Hurtt.
NFL’s free agency and salary cap news is never about spending “the most” and always about getting “the most out of” the contracts you sign.
That’s why Seahawks fans should be excited about every signing or trade such as Howell because we can’t be sure yet which of them will be the best additions until we see them with the new staff. And I’m definitely not worried about the additions that Seattle didn’t make, as the first week of free agency is probably more news that will look bad in hindsight than changes that will result in a Super Bowl.
In today’s Seaside Joe, episode 1,840, I address free agency, the draft, and the state of the Seahawks roster by answering questions from the community. “Mailbags” are not segments I do often so I have made the Q&A portion available to Super Joes subscribers at the “Founding Member” level. If you would like to submit your questions in the future, you can join or upgrade to Super Joes for a prorated annual rate.
That being said, I do answer quite a lot of questions in the comments section on a regular, if not daily basis. So you can also always shoot me and the entire community your questions and thoughts by adding your comments at any time. Comments and questions are available to the Regular Joes members whenever you want to add them and I’m grateful when you do: I always say that the collective knowledge of this Seahawks community is more than one Seaside Joe could ever hope to learn in a lifetime.
That’s evident in this week’s Super Joes questions, so let’s get to them:
Cavmax: I'd like to know who the Hawks have invited in for a visit and who they are looking at with regard to Pro Days.
On Twitter, (at)alexcastrofilho is doing a good job off tracking all the pre-draft visits here. The most recent update was UTEP linebacker Tyrice Knight, a 6’2, 235 lb day three prospect with above-average athleticism.
Of their 30 official visits in 2023, the Seahawks drafted Devon Witherspoon, Anthony Bradford, and Jerrick Reed. They also met with Drake Thomas, who was later added to the roster, and undrafted signing Robert Cooper. In 2022, they met with Boye Mafe, Abe Lucas, Dareke Young, and Josh Onujiogu. It matters, but then it is tough to know with whom it matters. At least 90% of the visits won’t become Seahawks, although a few will, and yet most of the rookies will not have had official visits with Seattle.
First round type visits this year include DT Byron Murphy II, C/G Graham Barton, QB J.J McCarthy, QB Drake Maye (I think), QB Jayden Daniels, DT Johnny Newton, EDGE Dallas Turner, and then some borderline names are LB Junior Colson, DT Kris Jenkins, EDGE Marshawn Kneeland, DL Braden Fiske, EDGE Bralen Trice, CB Ennis Rakestraw, CB Mike Sainristil.
Some of those guys will be second round picks, which the Seahawks do not have, so they could be planning for all types of scenarios: Moving up for a QB, staying where they are, or moving down and being ready to select some of those guys who will fall in the 25-45 range.
La’au: Last year you nailed the Witherspoon pick. Who do you see us taking with top pick in draft? Harder than pick #5 this year so maybe your top three based on uncertainty of 15 picks in front of us. Trading up or down is always an option but for simplicity sake let’s pretend we don’t move but stick with #16.
Definitely harder. I didn’t even think it would be Witherspoon until I came across something that Ronde Barber said in early April and then the research led me to believing 100% that he was the most Pete Carroll-like player in the entire draft. I haven’t landed on anyone like that this year and it is going to be a much harder prediction than it was in 2024 not only because of where it is in the first round but also because there is no “Pete Carroll” to it anymore.
Signing George Fant tells me that the Seahawks are more comfortable now with the offensive tackle positions and if that’s true, it eliminates a lot of potential names from my board. I will point out from the previous question though that the Seahawks didn’t visit with Charles Cross in 2022, so they could keep their cards close to the vest.
The NFL put such a ridiculous emphasis on guards in free agency, I’m not sure how much that will matter to Schneider because he said he would not draft players “for need”, but the Seahawks seem to be ranked near the bottom of the league at that position.
Paul G: Retaining Noah Fant while letting Dissly and Parkinson depart was unexpected—possibly the opposite of what would have happened if Pete Carroll were still in the picture. Fant may be the best receiver of the three, but he’s arguably the worst blocker. It’s hard to see Pharaoh Brown playing much except obvious running downs. What does keeping Fant and moving on from the others imply for the Seattle offense?
I was saying before free agency that I felt Noah Fant would leave unless he was promised more targets from Ryan Grubb and so I assume he was promised more targets. He even said when he signed that he basically got assurances from the coaching staff that they would let players do what they’re best at and clearly Fant is better at being a receiver than being a blocker. I think the Seahawks have four primary receiving weapons now: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Fant.
Signing Brown, who Schneider referred to as an elite blocking tight end, signals a desire to have a tight end who complements Fant rather than one who competes with him. I don’t think that Grubb ever wants to be that “obvious” with the offenses intentions, you can certainly run when Fant is out there and pass when Brown is out there, but I believe Seattle will run less 12 and definitely less 13 personnel in 2024.
Grant: What's the free agency fallout from the NFC West? Did anyone do anything to notably change the landscape for the upcoming season and/or beyond?
Biggest NFC West move of the offseason was replacing Pete Carroll with Mike Macdonald. That should have a bigger impact than any trade or anything that happens in free agency. Whether it is positive, negative, or neutral; whether it is immediate or long-term, going from 14 years of Pete to a new regime is the biggest landscape-changer.
Aaron Donald did retire on Friday. That’s easily the biggest player news of the offseason and while most players retire after they’ve stopped being dominant, Donald goes out while still atop his game. I could point to three or four Pete seasons, at least, that were stopped short of a deep playoff run because of the Rams and the most valuable person on any of those teams was Donald. That includes 2023.
Other than that, there are some new faces in and some old faces out, but the division is relatively the same as it was in 2023. We are all waiting to see who, if anyone, the 49ers trade to save cap space because it appears either Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk could be moved for draft picks. Not everything we think will happen ends up happening though.
Charles Dyer: Are the Seahawks planning to use Dee Eskridge or maybe Kenny McIntosh or kick and punt returns? And when looking at our issues at guard and linebackers, with now lower cap space, weak draft position, and not a particularly good draft class in either, not to mention long-term QB, are we entering a rebuild year?
Schneider said this week that they had planned to release Eskridge if Pete stuck around but that the new coaching staff is essentially the “fresh start” he needed. We heard a lot of “breakout” hype on Eskridge in 2023 and nothing came of it, so I’ll wait until fall to see if he even makes the team, whether that’s on offense or special teams. It could be McIntosh or Eskridge, but it could just as easily be somebody who isn’t on the team now and won’t cost much to acquire. Unfortunately the returner position is outdated based on new rules and I usually don’t even think about who is doing it for the Seahawks (DeeJay Dallas in 2023 after I thought about it for a second) let alone could I name any notable returners around the league.
“Rebuild” means something different to everybody but I’ll assume what you’re asking is—or at least I’ll define the term in the context that I’ll answer it to be clear—as whether or not the Seahawks will prioritize 2025 and beyond over winning games in 2024. I do not believe Seattle is doing that because if that was the intention, they could have done a lot more to go in that direction. Seaside Joe wrongly assumed that the Rams would be rebuilding last season—they signed nobody, they lost a lot of players, they had no first round pick, their best players were “old”—and then L.A. went 10-7, killed the Seahawks, and made the playoffs.
I believe Schneider and everyone helping build out this 2024 roster does so with the intention of being good now and great later. I think the Seahawks think they’ll make the playoffs next season and maybe they will because in the NFC there aren’t many teams standing in the way. Of the seven NFC playoff teams, at least a couple will be “surprises” as there aren’t many clear favorites.
With regards to particular needs on the roster, I don’t think too much about it especially at this time of year. The world talks about free agent signings as if all of them are good, “You addressed a thing you were bad at last year, good for you!” But if we wrote about free agent signings from the future we’d be saying “Wow, one of the worst contracts in the NFL was signed today!” a lot more often. If the Seahawks had signed guard Robert Hunt to a five-year, $100 million contract like the Panthers did, would they be a better team? No way to know right now, but that move could have also made Carolina worse.
Seattle will go into the 2024 season with somebody playing those positions of need and just as Puka Nacua was a standout Pro Bowl superstar as a fifth round pick, or C.J. Stroud was an immediately valuable quarterback despite not being the first one drafted, or Russell Wilson’s contributions to the Seahawks in 2012, you just can’t quite always be sure where those values will be found. It’s not that often that they’re addressed in the first week of free agency.
Finally, it takes two to tango. Schneider said he did want to sign Jordyn Brooks but had to prioritize Leonard Williams. Brooks could have waited, he chose to go to the Dolphins, I think he just wanted to go to Miami. Seattle’s response to losing a player can’t be to overpay or reach on another player at the same position, we’ll see how it turns out. I don’t know if maybe I should be, but I am not really thinking about the Seahawks “weaknesses” yet because I still have no idea what those truly are going to be in six months.
Ryan K: What are the Seahawks current considerations at linebacker and if you're looking at the draft who are you targeting?
This question came in before the Seahawks made their first linebacker signing, which I have not addressed yet: 25-year-old Tyrel Dodson comes to Seattle after four seasons with the Bills. He had 74 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and six QB hits in 17 games last season. Buffalo had linebacker issues after losing Matt Milano for the year, Dodson was tasked with stepping up in his place and I think he did as good or better than was expected.
The Bills blog Buffalo Rumblings called Dodson “a bright spot” and that he was “excellent” against the run while showing “improvement” in pass coverage.
In Survivor, the game recently added a new element called a ‘shot-in-the-dark’ which basically means that when a contestant feels like they’ll be voted out they can play their last hope and have a 1-in-6 chance of escaping certain defeat. I think Dodson is Seattle’s shot-in-the-dark: The Seahawks basically had to part ways with last year’s linebackers for one reason or another, they didn’t want to overpay someone, and they’re going to roll with an unknown in Macdonald’s system to see how that works out for them. If he’s a star, the Seahawks can easily re-sign him. If he’s not, they’ll roll the dice again.
Seattle is also meeting with Jerome Baker, who I wrote about this week as a free agent who wouldn’t cost the Seahawks any comp picks if signed. He might sign right after or even potentially before I hit publish on this.
Are the Seahawks better or worse off at linebacker with Dodson and Baker (if he signs) than they were with Bobby Wagner and Brooks? I honestly don’t see a team losing more games because of that change.
Largentium: It seems to me that the draft is going to focus on the defense outside of TE and maybe OL. RB should be set outside of a cheap FA pickup, WR should be set. I could see maybe a later round QB pick, but this QB market seems to be nuts, so I don't expect anyone to fall in the draft to a point where they are possibly a bargain. Another edge should be on the list, as well as a safety and linebackers. Looks to me like 5 of 7 picks go to the D unless they get more picks. Your thoughts?
You could be right! Anything is possible. I truly don’t believe that Schneider will go into the draft thinking along the lines of “5 of 7 picks should be on defense” necessarily, I imagine that what Seattle wants to do is come out with good players regardless of position. Schneider said as much in his interview this week, too.
Running a draft should not be much different than playing a football game: You plan, you prepare, you strategize, and then you make your adjustments after the clock starts. The Seahawks can’t know now how the draft will play out when it happens, so I believe that Schneider will do his best to prepare for all the potential outcomes and then move on the fly. Just my guess, but I think Seattle’s ready to move in all the directions in the first round—up or down—and Schneider probably does want to make more than seven picks when all is said and done. There are a variety of ways to make that happen.
I think Schneider wants to draft a quarterback at some point but he can’t do it for the sake of it. You draft the player, not the position. When Schneider was with the Packers in 2005, his boss didn’t wake up that morning thinking he would draft Aaron Rodgers. Ted Thompson didn’t know he would draft Rodgers until we were all sitting there by the middle of the first round going, “Holy shit, I think Aaron Rodgers might go in the 20s!” Then he did what all good GMs do, he made adjustments.
What if Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels ends up not going in the top-10 picks? Schneider may end up taking a QB when he didn’t think he would take a QB. I’m not saying I know or think or hope that Seattle picks one of those quarterbacks, only that the Seahawks should take players who they think have what it takes to be great because so few prospects actually do.
Nothing wrong with your positions or analysis though. I agree with your line of thinking, just adding that not even the Seahawks can necessarily plan ahead for one outcome. They’re planning for all the outcomes.
Rusty: Joe, Which Seahawks from ‘23 do you think will see the greatest improvement from last year to this upcoming season? My money’s on JSN and Ken Walker. JSN because our new OC has shown he can get slot receivers open, and Walker because we should have a substantially better O line (and O line coaching).
You already mentioned JSN and Walker, so I won’t. I’ll look in other directions:
A commenter reminded me that Charles Cross was dealing with turf toe all season, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he does get better in 2024. If Cross is great, it gives every other player on offense a much better chance to be great. It also shores up a very important position for a long time. I would be elated to have a left tackle who is actually worth $25 million per season, which is what Cross will cost if he starts playing like one. What I’d be worried about is a $20 million left tackle who is overpaid.
Noah Fant is really entering a prove-it season even though he signed a two-year contract. He has a new offensive coordinator, head coach, and no competition at the position for receptions. I want to see him become a real weapon at tight end otherwise I think he could be released or traded in 2025.
We might not even see Sam Howell play regular season football in a Seahawks uniform, but if he does my post on why he was such a valuable acquisition says all I need to say about his potential. New team, new offense, you never know with players who haven’t been given good opportunities yet.
How about Mike Morris? Reunited with his Michigan defensive coordinator, Morris didn’t seem to be a perfect fit with Pete Carroll in 2023 and then he got hurt. I wouldn’t be surprised if Morris is ahead of schedule because he already knows what it is like to play for Macdonald. And given what Macdonald got out of vets like Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy last season, I know we’re all curious what happens for Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, and Darrell Taylor this year. If I shout out one, I’ll go with Uchenna Nwosu.
Finally, I’ll go the most obvious route and pick Devon Witherspoon. He was as good as many of us expected as a rookie, if not better, but now he should be the centerpiece of Macdonald’s defense. He could be like the Russell Westbrook of the NFL: I stopped following the NBA after the Sonics left but even I know that Westbrook’s triple-double abilities basically shifted the future of the league. We waited decades for someone other than Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double and then Westbrook made it routine.
What if Witherspoon gets 10+ sacks, 5+ interceptions, 5+ forced fumbles in the future? He’s the very definition of a defensive weapon. If the Seahawks can solidify the roles of the other 10 positions, Witherspoon could freelance out there and go, “See ball, get ball”.
Thank you to all the Super Joes who submitted questions and if I didn’t get to yours today, I apologize. I tried to get to everyone but this went longer than expected already so I hope that I can respond to yours in the future.
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GREAT!~ I agree with you on everything. I was pleased last year when Pete had DW learn and practice at multiple positions. I think that helped him. He was good at the nickel which has been a point of weakness for a long time. Be very interesting to see how Mac will use him? Hit the drum again and hope they look for a stud at center in the draft! They will have multiple guys to earn the guard spots if they do, with decent competition for that center spot also-
No more Fields talk thankfully. And it took a day, but we did sign Baker. Basically JS has essentially covered every “need” now and can go best player/athlete (TE “covered”, OLine depth (still need a stud but not over paying now), DLine covered (again some depth but signed players or injury recovery), good young back up QB, off ball LB and finally Safety and Corner depth). Draft isn’t about needs now. It’s about best fit for Macdonald and Grubb. Oh and we still have money!