Before the season, just like before the 2023 season, 12s were told that the Seattle Seahawks defensive backs were going to be a strength. Instead, what we have learned is that certain pieces of the secondary can be good, but the overall group is not very good. Heck, even head coach Mike Macdonald has implied the secondary has underperformed in terms of helping in run defense.
Seattle, though, felt so confident about itself heading into this season that the team traded away Mike Jackson. Sure, Tre Brown was ready to be great. He was also going to be the third cornerback when needed. Otherwise, Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen could hold the proverbial fort down. The issue is that many times currently, NFL teams have three CBs on the field.
Brown has not been overly good in 2024. His quarterback rating allowed is 136.6, which is amazingly bad. Jackson's with his new team, the Carolina Panthers, is a respectful 94.5. In other words, Seattle would have probably been better off trading Brown than Jackson.
Seattle, going forward, will be dealing with an even thinner cornerback group. The team has placed Artie Burns on injured reserve due to a toe injury he suffered in Week 6. Burns has never shown to be a full-time starter, but he has been a decent backup when given a chance and has never had in the last four seasons a quarterback rating as high as Brown has this season.
The problem is that should Brown need to miss time, his main backup is rookie Nehemiah Pritchett. Pritchett has been OK in coverage in a limited amount of reps this season, but he has been terrible in trying to bring ball-carriers to the ground. If he cannot wrap up while tackling, his effectiveness is limited.
Still, Pritchett might now be forced into more playing time because of Burns' absence. If Brown has to miss significant time, the rookie would be a full-time starter with no real help behind him. That does not bode well for a group the Seahawks were arrogant enough to believe was a great group of cornerbacks heading into the season.
