Mike Macdonald left with an obvious edge decision after Seahawks tie with Raiders

It isn’t very hard to see what Mike Macdonald is doing with the Seattle Seahawks’ defense. He may not be building an exact copy of the unit he ran in Baltimore, but there are an awful lot of similarities. One essential trait of that Ravens’ squad was an abundance of rangy edge players who could attack the backfield, make plays behind the line, and pressure the quarterback.

That Baltimore defense in 2023 not only allowed the fewest points in the NFL, but they also led the league in turnovers and were tied for first in yards-per-play. They were, in a word, dominant.

They were built from the inside out, without a powerful presence at nose tackle, exceptionally speedy inside linebackers, and the best safety in the league. But that strength extended outward to a group of exceptionally productive edge players. One game into his second preseason in Seattle, it is clear Macdonald is doing the same thing with the Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks backup edge rushers play like starters against Las Vegas

Midway through training camp, Seattle has at least six quality edge rushers cut from the same cloth. And that does not even include Uchenna Nwosu, who might be the most talented of them all. He has been dealing with injuries for the past two seasons, and his future is very much in doubt.

On many teams, losing a 9.5-sack man who also made 66 tackles and racked up 26 quarterback hits back in 2022 would be devastating. There simply aren’t that many attacking edges who can be that productive. But the Seahawks appear to have an abundance of them.

DeMarcus Lawrence and Boye Mafe will probably be starting on opposite edges once the regular season kicks off. But Derick Hall, who amassed eight sacks in 674 defensive snaps last year, will be pushing for playing time. Mafe has a nine-sack season in his recent past, and Lawrence has a high of 14.5, though that was many years back.

What we saw on Thursday night is that Macdonald has another layers of edge sitting just behind these front line players. Tyreke Smith, who has only appeared in three NFL games in his two seasons, began the Raiders game as if shot from a canon. Four tackles, a pass defense, and a QB hit in limited action. Smith made a very strong case for more playing time.

But it didn’t end there. UDFA Connor O’Toole registered a sack, a tackle-for-loss, and a team-leading three quarterback hits in the second half. And his fellow UDFA, Jared Ivey, led the entire team with six tackles.

These edges are mostly built the same. 6’4” and 255 pounds or thereabouts. Good straight-line speed but even better bend and lateral quickness. Long arms to both coral ball carriers and deflect passes. MacDonald seems to have a knack for getting the most out of them.

On that Baltimore team in ’23, Macdonald took three similar players – veterans Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy, as well as youngster Odafe Oweh, and got them to equal or surpass the highest sack total of their careers. 24 sacks and 40 QB hits coming from those three players.

And keep in mind, none led the team that year. The top pass rusher was defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, who had 13 sacks and 33 QB hits on his way to an All-Pro selection. Leonard Williams would be the Nnamdi Madubuike of this year’s Seahawks. Only Williams is better.

Those edges are like a second wave, and they make it virtually impossible for an offense to target any one area on the defensive front because the pressure can and will come from anywhere.

The only real problem, beyond Nwosu’s health, is that this many riches make for some tough roster decisions. Even if Nwosu begins the season on the PUP list, Macdonald won’t be able to keep them all on the active roster.

There’s a very good chance that if players like O’Toole or Ivey go to the practice squad, they will be immediately poached by teams desperate for just a small taste of what Seattle seems to have in abundance.