Top-5 defensive line?

The Seahawks don't have any apparent weaknesses at the front of their defense

The Seattle Seahawks are keeping Uchenna Nwosu because he agreed to take a $7 million pay cut, the details of which lowered his cap hit by $9 million. In a way, this deal is the same as the Seahawks adding another outside linebacker because Nwosu was on his way out if he didn’t give back some money.

Between this move, adding DeMarcus Lawrence, and re-signing Jarran Reed, does Seattle have the most complete defensive line in the NFL?

DT - Byron Murphy II, Jarran Reed, Cameron Young

DE - Leonard Williams, Mike Morris

OLB - DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Jamie Sheriff, Tyreke Smith

Stopping everybody on the Seahawks defensive line is like trying to read an article on “sportskeeda” without an ad blocker. Good luck:

I poked around on other defensive lines and didn’t look for which teams had “big names” like Myles Garrett, instead searching for which defenses have a combination of DT-DE-OLB with as few apparent weaknesses as Seattle.

It’s hard to say at this time of year, but at a quick glance and without enough research I thought these teams must also feel good about defensive line: Rams, Vikings, Eagles, Giants, Colts, Steelers, Bills.

The Seahawks could now rank somewhere in the top-5 DLs after adding Lawrence and keeping Nwosu and they have to feel better about this group as any other on the roster, and I still would not rule out John Schneider from picking an edge rusher in the first round if he thinks that Seattle is getting draft day robbery.

“Wow, we had no idea Jalon Walker would be available, we felt this opportunity was too good to pass up.” - John Schneider if he makes a pick that surprises people because it’s not a “need”.

The Eagles didn’t draft Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 because they needed him then. They did it because they need him now, after Josh Sweat departed in free agency:

Lawrence turns 33 during draft week, Mafe is a free agent in 2026, Hall is a free agent in 2027, and Nwosu is literally playing on borrowed time.

With Mike Macdonald pulling the strings, the Seahawks could have the most complete and efficient defensive line in the entire league next season, and what’s really intriguing is that they still might not be done adding to it.

Our friend All_22_Films posted a DeMarcus Lawrence double feature, so please go check out both videos on his YouTube channel:

He did a video on what Cooper Kupp brings to the Seahawks as well. In our poll the other day, the Lawrence contract got a solid B grade from our readers, with 32% giving it an A and 19% being a little lower on the signing

Super Joes ask questions

It’s time to take questions and comments from Super Joes subscribers again. If you want to be included in the next round of questions, upgrade to Super Joes from being a free subscriber — or a Regular Joe at a prorated annual rate!

MTSeahawksFan: As the contract details come in, I'd be interested in what the salary cap looks like going into the draft and whether there are any free agents that are still on the market that can fit under the cap. Also, an analysis of how much money is being spent on the different position groups might be an interesting indication of what the new regime values.

As of Friday morning, OvertheCap still hasn’t updated the Seahawks cap page with deals for Sam Darnold, Kupp, or Lawrence. OTC has Seattle with $64 million in space and we should be able to subtract $37 of that for Darnold, leaving about $27 million.

I have yet to see anything indicating 2025 cap hits for Kupp and Lawrence, but it is safe to say that the Seahawks are almost out of free agent money:

• About $10-$12 million must be allocated to “incidentals” like the rookie draft class, injuries, practice squad, etc.

• Between $15-$17 million remaining, that’s mostly Lawrence and Kupp’s money

Even if Lawrence and Kupp came in at $8 million each, that’s almost all of the money that Seattle has left, which is why it was imperative for Nwosu to take a pay cut or be released.

I was actually looking at the Seahawks positional spending allocation on Friday morning and immediately realized it’s too early to say because not all the numbers in the league are finalized yet and the draft will play a significant role too. So this is something to bring up again in May and September.

zezinhom400: I’ve got tight end questions:

- is TE a more important position for Kubiak than Grubb or our other recent OC’s?

- does Fant fit the mold of a Kubiak tight end? My impression is no, not a good enough blocker and not productive enough to compensate for the blocking lack

- is Schneider really going to keep Fant with a $13m cap hit? Or do you think he’s just waiting to see how the draft plays out. To me Fant was a clear cap casualty

- TE is a deep position in this draft but the consensus is there are two standouts, Warren and Loveland who you have suggested could fall to the Hawks. Considering a Kubiak profile:

- how many spots higher than Loveland would Tyler Warren be worth to the Hawks?

- would you trade up for him if you were Schneider?

I think questions like this are also GREAT opportunities for this Seaside Joe community to chime in your thoughts. There is a lot to dig into here and tight end can be one of the most divisive position groups because teams use them in such different ways. Please add in your answers if you have any:

“Is TE more important now?”

I think the importance of the entire position directly to a coach is overrated because good coaches mold their strengths around their best players. Pete Carroll doesn’t have a good history with tight ends, right? So what’s he going to do with Brock Bowers, arguably the best pass catching tight end in the NFL? He’s going to mold his coaching around Bowers, he’s not going to ask Bowers to do more blocking and less catching.

Klint Kubiak worked with George Kittle in 2023 and Kittle had more yards that season than Kubiak’s top-two tight ends combined on the Saints in 2024. You go to what your player strengths are and Seattle’s strengths don’t seem to be at the tight end position…yet.

“Does Noah Fant fit the mold?”

You could be 100% right that Fant would need to be a better blocker. Why is he still on the team at a $13 million cap hit (second-highest on the roster before new deals are announced) and $9 million in savings if released? Maybe the Seahawks are seeking a trade partner, or maybe they plan to keep him. I would think he’s tradeable, so I’m not sure what they’re waiting for.

Again, I don’t necessarily see a mold because if Fant was a better tight end, that would be the mold, even if he was just a better receiver.

“How bad need Loveland or Warren in draft?”

Yeah, I think if the Seahawks can’t get a receiver, a tackle, a quarterback, or an edge rusher who they fall in love with, then the sort of cream rising to the top in this class is Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland, with the latter more likely to be available at 18.

Jay Harbaugh’s connection to Loveland as the person who recruited him to Michigan out of high school plays a major role in my belief that Seattle would pull the trigger. Even if Harbaugh is just the special teams coordinator, he and Macdonald have a strong belief that Michigan was adding “the right type” of guys to their locker room during that era.

Offseason shoulder surgery could be the only reason that Loveland slips past enough teams to make it to 18.

What if Schneider is hedging his bets here? He waits to see if the Seahawks get Loveland on day one, then flips Noah Fant to a team on day two for a fourth round pick?

I can’t imagine the Seahawks trading up for a tight end. Maybe that’s just because the Seahawks haven’t traded up in the first round for anyone since Walter Jones in 1997. But if anyone was going to break that streak, I would think he’s a quarterback (which doesn’t make a lot of sense in this class) or a major steal at a premium position like tackle or edge.

Scott M: I would like to see if we could do few mock drafts. Pick a free mock draft simulator, tell everyone we will post our favorite mock draft the next day -or whatever. No trades so we can compare apples to apples...then do another site so we can see different outcomes and possibilities using a different big board. I'm really curious to see what fans of Seattle, knowing all that we know, would pick. Like you've pointed out, most pundits don't know what the Seahawks are thinking, they seem to often just look at team needs and draft accordingly. And then do another one! I feel like this could get a lot of participation...anyways. Thanks for all you do, literally SSJ is the most entertaining thing Seahawks related going on all off season (except maybe the actual draft)....keep up the good work.

Here’s the PFF mock draft simulator. Warning: They only let you do one per day…but I think you can bypass that by going Incognito Mode.

Post your 1 or 3-round Seahawks mock draft results here:

And thank you!

I’ll post the rest of the SSJ questions in the near future. Join Super Joes to get in on the next round!

Seaside Joe 2207