The debut of Mike Macdonald’s Seattle Seahawks defense has been perhaps the most anticipated aspect of the 2024 season for the franchise.
After leading one of the NFL’s top defenses last season with the Baltimore Ravens, Macdonald — now Seattle’s head coach — has to prove he can recreate an impenetrable wall with an entirely new team, coaching staff and roster.
Linebacker Tyrel Dodson was one player Macdonald hand-picked in free agency to help anchor the middle of his defense. Dodson appears just as giddy to face the Denver Broncos in Seattle’s season opener on Sunday, Sept. 8 as Macdonald likely is. It’ll spell the end of a long wait.
“I’m so excited. Right when I signed here, I watched every single individual rep from guys that were here the previous year that were going to be on this team, starting from [Leonard Williams], even Artie Burns and just like from [Devon Witherspoon], [Julian Love], even [Jonathan Hankins] when he was with the Cowboys. I’m just so excited to play with these guys. We have a wonderful group, everyone is intelligent, and I can’t wait to get to the rock with them on Sunday.”
Dodson, who went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2019, has made 15 starts in his career but has never been a full-time starter through five seasons in the league. He filled in for an injured Matt Milano in Buffalo last season, however, and made 10 starts — posting 74 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two pass deflections.
With the Seahawks, Dodson and Jerome Baker are expected to be the team’s full-time linebacker crew in 2024. Both are on one-year contracts and were signed this offseason.
Each will be playing for their jobs this season and beyond, especially with all the training camp praise for rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight.
“Yeah, I’m a starter but I still have to play at a high level even if you’re on special teams or running down on kickoff, punt,” Dodson said. “You’ve got to play at a high level and that’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to bring to Seattle, and I just want to be a good teammate, play at a high level, and have fun while I’m doing it.”
We only got a small sample size of the starting defense during the preseason. Starters played one drive in Week 1 versus the Los Angeles Chargers and Week 3 versus the Cleveland Browns. The unit combined to allow 12 yards on eight plays. It’s preseason, but it’s also a good sign for the defense’s effectiveness.
“Just the consistent defense. Just even-stevens all across the board from the D-line to the linebackers, to the safeties,” Dodson said of what people will see when watching the unit’s playstyle. “We’re going to play at a high level. We’re going to communicate at a high level and we’re just going to get the job done. We’re not here to be in the media or be the next who, who and who. We just want to play ball and do it well together.”
The Seahawks kick off their season against the Broncos at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday at Lumen Field. That will be the first true test for Dodson, Macdonald and Seattle’s defense.
