Seahawks Offseason Profile: Bradley McDougald

Following Bradley McDougald’s stellar second season with the organization, the Seahawks expected similar or better results in his third season in blue and green.

Despite selecting Marquise Blair with their first of two picks in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, McDougald still opened the regular season as the Seahawks starting strong safety and maintained the job throughout the course of the year.

Let’s revisit some of the good and the bad from McDougald’s seventh NFL season, along with a prediction of how next season may play out for him as he enters the last year of his contract.

What Went Right

Following the departure of long-time Seahawks star Earl Thomas, McDougald became the most experienced player in Seattle’s secondary in 2019. As a result, the Kansas graduate continued to serve as a leader for younger players within this new version of the “Legion of Boom.”

In total, McDougald played 15 regular season games and produced 70 total tackles, 52 solo tackles, six pass deflections (tied for 22nd-most in the NFL), two interceptions, 0.5 sacks and a tackle for loss, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.

In addition to the impressive production from the 29-year old strong safety, his coverage numbers in the passing game were some of the best he's posted in his entire career.

During this past season, McDougald recorded the sixth-lowest completion percentage among safeties (54.4 percent), the seventh-lowest passer rating (58.8 percent), and didn't surrender a single touchdown in coverage.

Furthermore, a "more comfortable" McDougald performed at a higher level increased once fellow safety Quandre Diggs made his Seahawks debut during their Week 10 matchup against the 49ers.

Through seven games, including two playoff games, with the former Lions safety in the lineup, No. 30 produced 51 total tackles, 42 solo tackles, three pass deflections, four tackles for loss, one interception along with his first career sack.

What Went Wrong

Heading into the 2019 season, McDougald hadn’t missed a single game since his 2014 campaign. However, the Ohio native’s four-year streak of playing in a full season came to an end after he missed one game due to back spasms this past season.

Despite missing just one game, McDougald was held to just 11 snaps during his first game back from injury in Week 8 against Atlanta. So in reality, he basically missed two games due to those nagging back spasms in 2019.

Along with missing his first game since 2014, Seattle’s strong safety also struggled mightily with his tackling this past season. After producing just seven missed tackles in 2018, the veteran safety saw that number rise to 12 missed tackles during the 2019 season.

Among all safeties who played in at least 10 games this past season, McDougald finished tied with the ninth-most missed tackles (12) and finished tied for the seventh-highest missed tackle rate (14.6 percent).

While the former undrafted free agent was extremely effective with his pass coverage in 2019, remaining disciplined with his hand fighting was something that he failed to accomplish during his third season in Seattle.

Overall, McDougald concluded this past season tied for the 10th-most holding penalties (three) among all defensive players in the league, according to NFL-Penalties.com. Those issues crept into the playoffs as well.

2020 Outlook

Heading into the 2020 campaign, McDougald will be entering the final year of a three-year, $13.5 million contract that he signed with Seattle before the start of the 2018 season.

Since the Seahawks have Blair waiting in the wings for his opportunity to become a starter, there's a chance the 2020 campaign could be McDougald's final season in the state of Washington. Although, it's probably best to just let next season play out before we jump to any conclusions.

In comparison to McDougald's first seven seasons in the league, there have been just 11 safeties who have started in 90 games or fewer and have produced at least 450 total tackles, 350 solo tackles, 40 pass deflections and 10 interceptions through their first seven seasons in the NFL.

Among all of the players listed above, Dolphins safety Reshad Jones was the only player to play in all 16 regular season games during the following season. So, staying healthy next season could become a problem facing McDougald and if his play slips, Blair will be ready to take over.

But if he stays healthy alongside Diggs for a full season, then McDougald should be able to sustain his production level from the 2019 campaign, which could earn him his first career Pro Bowl nomination and set him up for another contract in Seattle.