If the Seattle Seahawks' defense is to take the expected step forward under first-year coach Mike Macdonald, then the unit will have to get its act together in a few key areas.
The most obvious area for improvement is the rush defense, which was nothing short of atrocious last season. However, the pass rush is in need of serious improvement as well.
At first glance, Seattle's pass rush fared well with 47 sacks last season. The caveat is that 17 of those sacks - over a third of the total -came in just two games,11 against the New York Giants in Week 4 and six against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. The Seahawks were maddeningly inconsistent last season, and the pass rush played into that inconsistency.
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Without many roster moves to address the pass rush, the Seahawks will be relying on Macdonald's new scheme to foster growth. That is, unless they have one last trick up their sleeve before the season begins.
According to CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan, Seattle could be a logical suitor for four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon. The 31-year-old seemingly hinted at his departure from the New England Patriots last week, only adding to the trade speculation.
"There's some familiarity here with new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald serving as the linebackers coach of the Ravens from 2018-2020," Sullivan writes. "Judon was in Baltimore for the first five years of his career and the final three were spent with Macdonald coaching his position group. In that time, Judon also was named to two Pro Bowls.
"While Seattle possibly could use more of an off-ball linebacker, Judon would be a worthwhile pursuit to pair with Boye Mafe and Leonard Williams along the defensive line. One roadblock here could be Seattle's ability to hand Judon the extension he seeks, however, as the team only has $8.4 million in cap space, per Over The Cap."
There's no doubt that Judon, who is coming off a torn biceps injury last season, would be a great addition to the defense. He had 28 sacks in his first two seasons with the Patriots, and the familiarity with Macdonald's system is a fantastic bonus.
That said, the Seahawks would not only struggle to give Judon his desired extension, but even affording him this season would be incredibly difficult. Per OverTheCap.com, Seattle has less than $8.5 million in cap space, the least amount of available cap space in the league, so fitting Judon's cap hit of roughly $14.7 million would be impossible without other major moves.
Not to mention, the Seahawks already swung for the fences by acquiring Williams at the trade deadline, and subsequently signing him to a three-year, $64.5 million extension this offseason.
As good of a player as Judon is, there doesn't seem to be a realistic avenue for him to come to Seattle. But crazier things have happened heading towards training camp.
