Seahawks 'Ready to Attack’ Defensive Issues, Says John Schneider
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Nearly two months after watching the Seattle Seahawks fall victim to the San Francisco 49ers for a third time in the NFC Wild Card, general manager John Schneider has one area in mind where his team must improve most this offseason to close the gap with their NFC West rivals.
Speaking with reporters at the annual NFL combine on Tuesday, Schneider provided a blunt assessment on the current state of Seattle's defense, highlighting the defensive line specifically. Following a season in which the team ranked 30th in run defense and struggled to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks, echoing earlier comments from coach Pete Carroll, it's clear the group in the interior line must become more dynamic to compete for championships moving forward.
"We need to be better up front. I think it was pretty evident," Schneider remarked. "We were on the field a lot. We didn't we didn't defend the run game well. We had some games in there where we did a really nice job. And then, we had several games that didn't go so well. We know what the issues are and we're ready to attack them and fix them."
Breaking in a hybrid 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, Carroll and Schneider should have expected growing pains from the Seahawks defensively. With that said, an experienced front line anchored by Shelby Harris, Poona Ford, and Al Woods among other proven veterans was supposed to be an obvious strength for a team with significant roster turnover on both sides of the football.
Instead, while Harris turned in a strong first season in Seattle and Quinton Jefferson excelled as an interior pass rusher, Ford endured his toughest NFL season playing the bulk of his snaps as a 3-tech/4i-tech defensive tackle. Meanwhile, Woods dealt with injuries in the second half of the season, Bryan Mone was lost to a year-ending ACL tear, and the rest of the rotation struggled executing run fits and maintaining gaps, leading to big creases for opposing running backs to explode through all year long.
On a weekly basis, with a four-game winning streak in October and November serving as the exception, the Seahawks were battered to a pulp in the trenches and the inability to stop opposing run games consistently led to long, drawn out possessions for opponents. As a result, they finished 31st in the league spending nearly 31 and a half minutes on the field last season, with only the Panthers being on the field more on average per game.
In fairness to the players, as Schneider discussed looking back at his time in Green Bay on Tuesday, transitioning from one scheme to another can be a multi-season process landing the right personnel. At times, it felt like Seattle attempted to squeeze round pegs into square holes along the front line last year, including playing Ford out of position after playing his best football at the nose tackle position in his first four seasons.
"We went through this with Dom Capers when I was with Coach [Mike] McCarthy, like two or three years before I came to Seattle," Schneider said. "And it took us two good years to be able to say, these are your four edge rushers. These are your seven defensive linemen, and then how do you help your special teams? Yeah, it's definitely a balance, especially when you've been an even front team for how long?"
Now entering their second offseason deploying Hurtt's variation of the 3-4 and on the hunt for players who better fit the scheme, the Seahawks look poised to initiate a substantial overhaul of their defensive line in coming months.
On the draft front, Seattle currently holds four selections in the first 52 picks, including the No. 5 overall pick acquired from Denver as part of the Russell Wilson trade last March. With immense draft capital at his disposal, Schneider could opt to snag a defensive tackle as early as the fifth pick, though Georgia star Jalen Carter's recent issued warrant for arrest may knock him off the team's draft board.
Away from Carter, the 2022 class has a wide array of talented defensive tackles from Pittsburgh's Calijah Kancey to Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton who could hear their names called in the first two rounds. If Schneider wants to go that route, there should be a prime opportunity to add a starter-caliber player early who projects to fit the scheme well.
Free agency could also be an option for Schneider to pursue upgrades if willing to open up the checkbook. Among the veterans scheduled to hit the market next month, Philadelphia's Javon Hargrave and Washington's Daron Payne have prior experience in 3-4 schemes and would immediately bolster the interior pass rush, though signing either would be an expensive proposition for the Seahawks.
Concerning the retention of players, Schneider refused to delve into a possible extension for Harris, who has one year remaining on his current contract. But after thriving in Vic Fangio's 3-4 defense for several seasons in Denver and performing well upon his arrival in Seattle, finding a way to keep him in the fold while lowering his $12-plus million cap hit in 2023 should be high up on the priority list this offseason.
Reading between the tea leaves, Ford's future seems more murky as he prepares to test the free agent market on March 15. The 27-year old produced 23 pressures and a career-high three sacks in 2022, but he also received a career-worst 52.9 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus, which could be directly tied to playing out of position in a scheme that doesn't accentuate his strengths.
With the goal to cater schemes to players rather than the other way around, Carroll indicated the Seahawks would like to have Ford return. But it remains to be seen whether the fit is the right one from a cost and personnel perspective.
"We've always tried to do is tweak it so that we can get guys where they are at their best," Carroll said of Ford. "Because of his versatility, he had to play a lot of spots this year. I don't think it helped him as much as it does to really zero in on it. I think he'll play better if we could leave him inside more and so that's just something we'd like to try.’’
As for Woods and Jefferson, both veterans remain under contract next season. But with quarterback Geno Smith negotiating a new deal and upgrading the defensive line a point of emphasis, each could be a potential cap casualty candidate to create financial flexibility. Releasing Woods would open up more than $3 million in cap room, while cutting Jefferson would net more than $4 million in cap relief.
Having already identified the position group as a priority to renovate this offseason, Schneider and Carroll have ample flexibility to continue mixing and matching personnel with Seattle's defensive scheme along the defensive line. Away from defensive tackle, the front office could aim to add another quality edge rusher and linebacker, especially with Jordyn Brooks potentially missing the start of the season recovering from an ACL tear.
With numerous avenues to choose from to fix the front seven in general in an effort to catch up with the NFC's elite, it will be fascinating to see how the Seahawks brain trust opts to address the deficiency at the line of scrimmage in free agency and the draft and which players will ultimately return from last year's squad.
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