The Seahawks Have Upgraded Their Edge Rusher Room For 2026

With Dante Fowler Jr officially in the fold, we have a pretty firm idea of what the 2026 edge rusher room looks like for the Seahawks.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. (13) sacks Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7). | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

One thing about the 2025 Seattle Seahawks that needs to be understood is that they went 17-3 and won the Super Bowl without being especially strong at the edge, so being overly worried about any possible weaknesses in the 2026 edge room is somewhat missing the point. This was the NFL’s top defense without having elite play from that area.

So perhaps the right question to ask is, how does this current iteration of edge rushers compare to what the Seahawks had last year? Understand that it’s not enough to just talk about the player compared to the player, we have to compare the version of the player that we had versus the version of the player we will probably get in 2026. With that in mind…

2025 D-Law VS 2026 D-Law

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) is hit as he throws by Seattle Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (0). | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This is the one I’m worried about. DeMarcus Lawrence had a resurgent year for the Seahawks in 2025, being every bit as good against the run as he’s ever been while also adding six sacks and 39 pressures (by far his most since 2018). He did this at 33 years of age, coming off a season where he barely played due to injury.

Now he’s 34, and coming off an offseason where he reportedly considered retirement. Lawrence has plenty of mileage on his body, and I think expecting a non-trivial regression is common sense. I doubt D-Law plays at a pro bowl level this year, and given he was easily our top edge man last year that could be a significant issue.

2025 Nwosu VS 2026 Nwosu

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) runs to score a touchdown against the New England Patriots. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Uchenna doesn’t turn 30 until December, so he’s really not that old, but he’s probably much older in practical terms because of all the injuries he’s sustained in his career. And I can’t help but be concerned that 2025 featured Nwosu’s last hurrah as an impact pass rusher and we’re going to be seeing second-half Nwosu going forward at best.

In Nwosu’s first eight games of 2025, he racked up 5.5 sacks and 17 pressures. In the next eight, it was 1.5 sacks and 6 pressures. He then added three pressures in three playoff games. He remains fairly effective against the run, but I don’t even know if we can expect to get the half-a-season worth of notable pass rush production that we got in 2025.

2025 Derick Hall VS 2026 Derick Hall

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) reacts after a sack against the New England Patriots. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

We’re putting some eggs in this basket. Hall turned 25 last month, so there should still be room for him to grow as a player, and I certainly hope the version of him that we got in 2025 isn’t what he ultimately is as a player. 2 sacks and 21 pressures were both noticeably less than what he provided in 2024, although the pressure numbers are in line with his snap count drop.

But how much better will he be? I don’t get the sense he has a jump to elite-level play in him, although his very productive super bowl was promising. I’m sure there will be some kind of boost, but I’m not sure if he’ll even rise to the level of being a top twenty NFL edge rusher, which would leave him somewhat ill-equipped to be a leading man.

2025 Boye Mafe VS 2026 Dante Fowler Jr

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) is tackled by Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) and linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. (6). | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

This is the key switch being made in this room. Mafe wasn’t awful in 2025, but his production was shockingly low for a player in a contract year who had been better previously. About the best you could say for Mafe is that he could stay on the field and offer up competent snaps, but you were far more likely to see something good from the other three in the rotation.

Fowler was slightly more productive in Dallas last season despite playing less, and seems to be a more stable player from snap-to-snap. I also think his style of play fits Macdonald’s scheme better, and if he can reclaim his 2024 form it’s a massive upgrade. Still, Fowler turns 32 in August, and Mafe was 26/27 in 2025, so it could spill the other way.

I believe the new room is an improvement, and that’s assuming they don’t acquire someone else of note between now and the start of the season, which they very much could. Throw Jadeveon Clowney or Von Miller into the mix and you have the deepest edge rusher room around. But even now, it’s better than what the team had last season.

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