The Seattle Seahawks had a new head coach in 2024 in former Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. The team was coming off a 9-8 finish, but missed out on the playoffs in what proved to be Pete Carroll’s final season in the Pacific Northwest.
Macdonald’s ‘Hawks got off to a 3-0 start, dropped five of their next six games, then rebounded to win six of their final eight contests. Unfortunately, a 10-7 record wasn’t good enough to secure a postseason berth and Seattle lost out on an NFC West title, succumbing to the Los Angeles Rams on a tiebreaker.
In 2023, the Ravens were an NFL-best 13-4. With Macdonald, Baltimore allowed the fewest points in the league, tied for the NFL lead with 31 takeaways, and racked up a league-best 60 sacks. This past season with the Seahawks, the pass rush was indeed potent to the tune of 45 QB traps—almost one fourth of those (11.0) from Pro Bowler Leonard Williams.
Keep in mind that the team inked former Cowboys’ pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. It’s also worth noting that there was some inconsistency when it came to this part of Seattle’s game. Macdonald’s club rolled up 35 sacks in 10 wins, and only 10 sacks in seven losses.
NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah appeared on the Brock and Salk Show on Wednesday. Host Mike Salk posed an interesting question (via Cameron Van Til of Seattle Sports). “Is there any chance the Seattle Seahawks could trade up to get star Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker? The answer was somewhat surprising.
“I wouldn’t totally punt on the Jalon thing,” said Jeremiah. “Put it this way: I’ve talked to teams in the 20s that say, ‘Do you think he gets to us?’ Like, so that tells me that there are teams out there that don’t view him (as a surefire top-10 pick).
“I mean, I do not envision it’s likely (that’s he’s available at 18). But he could be one of those deals where you’ve got some extra ammunition, so if he starts to drift in range, that would be a fun piece to add to the mix.”
Numerous mock drafts have had the 2024 Butkus Award winner winding up in Carolina, which has the eighth overall pick. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are one of those teams with extra ammunition. They have 10 selections, including the 18th overall pick in Round 1, two second-rounders (50 and 52), and a pair of selections (82 and 92) in the third round. General manager John Schneider has five choices on Day 3, a fourth, a pair of fifth-rounders, and two selections in the seventh round.
There always seems to be a player who surprisingly drops out of the Top 10. That’s when the feeding frenzy begins, and Schneider and the Seahawks certainly have enough bait to snare a big catch should Walker begin to fall.
