In his first season as an NFL head coach, Mike Macdonald let the Seattle Seahawks to a 10-7 mark. There was a 3-0 start, and six wins in their final eight games. The middle of 2024 (1-5) was particularly disturbing, and the bottom line was that the ‘Hawks missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
This season, there will be a new-look offense under coordinator Klint Kubiak, and with Sam Darnold behind center. There are plenty of changes at wide receiver as well.
What about Seattle’s defense? The team finished in the middle of the pack in terms of fewest yards allowed (14th), and got a lot better against the run once linebacker Ernest Jones IV joined the team during the season. Leonard Williams led the team with 11.0 sacks, and was named to the Pro Bowl. Once shortcoming was the fact that Macdonald’s club managed only 18 takeaways in 17 games.
General manager John Schneider has the 18th overall pick in the upcoming draft, as well as nine more picks. Trying to forecast a player to team that has to wait for 17 other teams (at least for now) is tough. However, Josh Edwards of CBS Sports has Schneider opting for safety Malaki Starks from the University of Georgia.
“Head coach Mike Macdonald is looking for accountability from the safety position,” explained Edwards. “He wants an extension of himself on the football field. Malaki Starks did not test like an elite athlete but his instincts allow him to offset any of those concerns.”
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had this evaluation. “Starks is a versatile safety with the size and athleticism to eliminate contested catches and the speed and ball skills to shine when the action travels deep. Connection to the route is inconsistent in man and he’s baited out of position by misdirection, but better discipline and anticipation should clean that up…”
“Starks has feast-or-famine moments on tape and disappointed with his short-area testing at the NFL Scouting Combine,” added Zierlein. “He ran well in Indianapolis, though, and was impressive in interviews with teams. He is a future starter as a movable back-end piece whose consistency will determine his floor/ceiling.”
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