Ranking Seahawks roster needs without DK Metcalf, Geno Smith & Tyler Lockett

Lenin famously said that there are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. It's difficult for fans of the Seattle Seahawks to argue the point right now, as they're probably feeling punch-drunk following one of the craziest weeks in franchise history. Whereas the shocking Russell Wilson trade came in one big blow all at once three years ago, this past week has seen Seattle move on from the three players who had been their most-important pieces on offense the last several years.

Tyler Lockett has been cut for cap savings, Geno Smith is getting traded to the Las Vegas Raiders and now DK Metcalf is on his way to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In exchange, the Seahawks got a total of almost $60 million in salary cap relief, putting them in the top-five teams in available space going into free agency. Seattle also got a second-round pick and a Day 3 swap for DK, plus a third-round pick for Geno.

That's a lot of resources, which is good - because now general manager John Schneider has to rebuild his offense almost entirely from the ground up. Let's see if we can re-rank what the team's biggest positional needs are after a wild week of changes.

1. Quarterback

This is a pretty easy first choice. With Geno Smith out of the picture, Sam Howell is currently number one on the QB depth chart, as well as the only name on it. That means the Seahawks have to find a new starter, and hopefully another young QB who can compete for the backup role with Howell. For now, all hopes seem to be pinned on signing Sam Darnold, who just had a breakout year with the Minnesota Vikings. The team will also reportedly speak with former four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers about their QB opening, as well.

2. Wide receiver

Yes, the offensive line remains a mess that has to be dealt with, but the Seahawks just lost two of their top three wide receivers. That puts them in the market for a veteran free agent as well as a likely high draft pick at this position. Good news: there's a deep free agent class to draw from, with big names including Chris Godwin, DeAndre Hopkins, Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs. They should be able to snag a good one at a decent price thanks to all the competition at this spot. In the draft the Seahawks will have to find someone who can play third fiddle behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and whoever they sign in free agency.

3. Guard, two of them

It's tempting to switch over to the other side of the ball and meet the team's top defensive needs with this spot. However, today's news that they've re-signed both Jarran Reed and Ernest Jones answers our two biggest questions defensively. That should free up the Seahawks to focus (almost) exclusively on offense this offseason. Next, they have to address the two giant holes at guard, where their returns have been as bad as any NFL team over the last decade. It would go against their history, but Schneider has plenty of cap space to splurge on proven veterans here and finally slam this door shut.

4. Edge

With Dre'Mont Jones out of the way and Uchenna Nwosu currently in a strange sort of contract limbo, it would behoove the Seahawks to add some depth on the edge to back up likely starters Boye Mafe and Derick Hall. The best free agents here include Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, Khalil Mack and Azeez Ojulari. It's more likely Seattle will look to fill this void in the draft, though. They have a long history of targeting edge rushers in the second round, and they just picked up an extra one of those.

5. Center

Olu Oluwatimi played reasonably well when he was suddenly called up to start in place of the retired Connor Williams this past season. However, he's far from a sure thing as a long-term starter at this critical spot. Finding another proven veteran here is probably the way to go. Drew Dalman is the top free agent center in this class, but it sounds like he'll stay in Atlanta. That leaves Ryan Kelly, Coleman Shelton and Daniel Brunskill, among others.

1. Quarterback

2. Wide receiver

3. Guard, two of them

4. Edge

5. Center

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