Every year, at this point of the Summer, I get really excited. My Seattle Seahawks are about in embark in a training camp to usher in their new season. Regardless of how good they may or may not be, it’s just heavenly that football is back; the greatest game that God has ever made.

This year, however, I feel my juices extra flowing. I’m cautious about getting my expectations up too high, this is still a really young roster with the team potentially relying on green players to step up again like last year, but there are things about these Seattle Seahawks that have me very excited. I don’t want to get caught up into compared this group to teams of the past, I think that’s too easy to do as fans, and it isn’t wholly fair for the players, but I honestly haven’t been this excited for this squad since, well.. 2013.

I don’t feel like I’m the only one feeling this vibe from the Seahawks either. There are those in the national media who believe that the 2023 Seattle Seahawks could be a legitimately dangerous club this year. The common theme around this team centers on an offense that, on paper, is now loaded with a boat load of weapons for Geno Smith to play with, along with a more promising young offensive line, but there are also those who feel like this defense is loaded up enough to make a turn in its new hybrid scheme.

To all of this, I will say these following words. If Seattle gets a top five performance out of its offense this year with a middle of the pack performance out of its defense, I think it has a rock solid fighter’s chance to win back the division, and do some post season damage. Yes, I know San Francisco is still very talented, and you can’t totally discount the Rams from bouncing back, but there are just a lot of things about the state of these Seahawks that don’t have me overly worried about competing against these teams in the NFC West this year. Let’s break it down, positionally.

Quarterback

Geno Smith had a breakout season this year as a full time starter for his first time since 2014. The Seahawks made an unheard of move by trading away franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, and then Geno simply put up very Russell Wilson-like numbers throwing for over 4200 yards, completely nearly 70 percent of his passes for 30 TDs, 11 INTs, a 100.9 passer ratings, and by advanced metrics, he threw the best deep ball in the game.

Statistically, he also broke franchise records as a passer, and yet there are those who appear to be still doubting him. I am not one of them.

Yes, it’s true that he lead the league last year in turnover worthy throws by some advanced metrics, and yes, it is also true that defensive coordinators will now have a better sense on how to scheme against him. Honestly, though, I am not worried about either of those concerns.

Geno now has had a full offseason to self scout, further understand his role in this system, and understand how defenses will likely play against him. I think he is well aware that the NFL stands for Not For Long, and he has been working his ass off in his offseason training and film study. Football is the ultimate team game of chess, and I just like Geno’s maturity working in his favor of understanding that. I believe that he believes that he needs to be better, and will do everything he can to build off of his storyline in 2022. As I look at Geno, this is the vibe I get, and it gets me excited.

In the swings, Drew Lock who will enter into his second year as QB2 in Shane Waldron’s system, and if he is wise to it, he will model his work ethic and determination to get better after Geno’s when he was a backup for many years. In many ways, Seattle is the best spot for Lock to be in, and Geno is probably the best guy to be his mentor and friend. I would lie if I said I wasn’t just a little bit curious to see how Lock does in these preseason games. His issues have never been about physical talents, but rather processing and decision making. I’m rooting for him to get better on the latter parts.

I like this QB room for Seattle.

Running Back

Ken Walker III (aka K9) should have won offensive rookie of the year last season, but he plays in Seattle, and the rest of the country thinks this place is Siberia run by hippie communists with pink hair. That said, by all accounts, K9 has an incredibly bright future in front of him as a do-it-all back, if he can stay healthy.

He has legit superstar potential. He’s physical enough to run inside, but with rare speed to make every outside run a potential home run. He’s also got exciting potential as a pass catcher out of the backfield.

Backing him up is rookie runner Zach Charbonnet, who has some very interesting upside to his game, as well. Count me in with the few who loved it when Seattle drafted him in the second round last year. I don’t get bent sideways about positional value and when a running back should be drafted. For me, if the dude is talented enough, and you want him, and you believe he will be a great fit for your club, just take him.

Charbonnet is an exciting ball carrier who reminds me for long time former Seahawk great, Chris Warren, and much more recently in the league, former Bear running back Matt Forte. He can be a superb compliment to K9, and I think he has the talent to become a star in his own rights.

Behind these two dynamic runners in rookie runner Ken McIntosh, who was a star for the National Champs down in Georgia, and fourth year player DeeJay Dallas, who I still think has potential. These two guys give Seattle one of the deepest backfields in the league, and a crowded backfield is only going to make Geno Smith’s job easier.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Going into last offseason, the Seahawks had arguably one of the best receiver tandems in the league with the explosive playmaking talents of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett playing off of each other. I low key thought that maybe they would look to add a bit more to the slot receiver position to compliment them better in the second or third round of the draft last Spring. The Seattle Seahawks, however, stunned everyone by selecting Ohio State’s dynamically smooth Jaxon Smith-Njigba with their second of two first round picks, and now suddenly, Seattle has the potential of having the best receiving group in the league if everyone can stay relatively healthy enough.

JSN has the physical skills to be a true superstar in this league. His natural abilities to get open quickly matched with his soft hands, his run-after-catch instincts, and his understanding of the modern pass game should get every single Seahawk fan excited about the future. Essentially, he’s a bigger version of Doug Baldwin who was arguably the franchise’s best receiver over the years not named Steve Largent. Think CeeDee Lamb and Keenan Allen, potentially. I am BUMMED UP for this guy, and cannot wait to see him play in a Seahawk uni.

Behind the Big Three for Seattle is former second round pick Dee Eskridge who I believe has a chance to finally blossom in year three of his rookie contract (if he can finally stay healthy), and second year pass catcher Dareke Young, who is my dark horse candidate to break out in 2023 and surprise with his unique size and speed and run-after-catch potential. If Eskridge and Young click in this offense this year, watch out. This could be the best collection of pass catchers Seattle has ever assembled.

As for the tight ends, I love the state of this squad. Noah Fant, Will Dissly, and Coby Parkinson each bring something to the table as pass catchers and receivers. They are all well enough rounded players. Fant has freaky size and speed, Dissly is a great blocker and good pass catcher, and Parkinson has freaky size and good pass catching instincts along with upside to get better. This is a very fun group of dudes.

Offensive Line

This is where things start to get really interesting for the club. There is reason for high optimism, but also room for some skepticism, as well.

Perhaps one of the brightest things Seattle has going for it with their whole entire roster in the promising second year players they have at offensive tackle in Charles Cross and Abe Lucas. Cross is a natural pass blocking left tackle, and Lucas is a complete player at right tackle with the ability to pass block well, and run block equally well.

In fact, I think Lucas has the talent to be a quality left tackle in this league, and there is a nastiness to him, as well. In year two, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lucas develops into one of the core leaders of this team, and becomes a tone setter for the whole OL. These two guys together give Seattle the potential of having a top offensive tackle tandem in the conference. That’s really exciting stuff.

At guard and center, things get murkier, but I wouldn’t say necessarily dire. Damien Lewis returns at left guard, and I think he’s one of the better young players on the team, but we have unknowns at center with free agent signee Evan Brown (rated highly as a pass blocker by PFF last year) and rookie Olu Oluwatimi battling it out, and at right guard with Phil Haynes battling the massive 6-5 330 pound rookie from LSU Anthony Bradford. There is the potential for Seattle to ride with two journeymen vets in Brown and Haynes, but there is equally the potential for Seattle to ride with the two rookies like they did with he tackles last year, if the two youngsters shine enough during the pre-season.

What I will say about the two rookie interior dudes is that Bradford was a freaky tester at the scouting combine last Spring who put up explosive numbers in terms of size, strength, and speed, and I kind thought maybe he would have gotten drafted much higher than where Seattle took him at the top of round four. Oluwatimi won the Outland trophy last year (an award given to the best lineman in the country), but I think measured length hurt his draft stock.

There are those around the league who believe that Seattle might have gotten the steal of the draft last Spring by grabbing Oluwatimi in the middle rounds, and that front offices over thought his situation. When I weigh these things out with him and the immense upside of Bradford, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Pete Carroll decides to roll with a couple rookies again on the OL. I think the table feels kinda set for that, but we will see.

Defensive Line And Edge Players

I’m lumping together the interior D-liners with the dudes who would be considered OLBs in a 3-4 and DEs in a 4-3 because I feel like Seattle is poised to run a lot of both fronts this year in addition to probably operating mostly out of a Bear Front defense, or if you want, a 5-2. If rumors are true, Seattle is going return to 2020-2021 form in featuring a 5-2 bear look that basically has two defensive tackles flanking a nose tackle, and two guys on the edges who will play hybrid DE/OLB roles. Together, they will work to stop the run, and pass rush.

I like their starting DT/DEs a lot in Dre’Mont Jones, and Jarran Reed. Both are three down players who can rush and run stop. Jones is your classic 3 technique player that coordinators covet to line up in the gap between guard and tackle on passing downs to be disruptive with his quicks, and he has the versatility to also play on the edges. J-Reed can play 3 tech and nose, and has a long history of working with defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt. Both guys allow Seattle to be versatile in their looks, and they will be backed by the athletic veteran DE/DT Mario Edwards, and the intriguing rookie Mike Morris out of Michigan who Pete Carroll seems particularly enamored with, and had a impressive pass rush win rate in college football last year.

Nose tackle is where things start to get murkier, and uncomfortable for some. Seattle appears willing to roll with rookie fourth rounder Cam Young as the primary nose tackle. Young was regarded as a nasty run defender from the SEC last year at Mississippi State, showed well at the Senior Bowl, and was a decent combine tester. I think the hope is that they found a young Al Woods with him. If that proves true, that would be awesome, but the lack of depth behind him feels concerning with Bryan Mone coming back from serious injury, and Myles Adams still being a bit of an unknown. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a late veteran addition here, but we will see.

That said, it’s the edge rushers who probably excite the most, and Seattle just locked up their best one in Uchenna Nwosu for the next four seasons. Nwosu is a fiery tone setter off the edge who works well out of a 3-4 but also has the stocky frame to probably hold up as the rush end in Carroll’s older 4-3 system. He’s in the realm of Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril, and Frank Clark, and he will be most likely book ended with Darrell Taylor on the other side (another young vet with interesting upside).

Both Taylor and Nwosu were productive pass rushers last year with 9.5 sacks each, and it will be fascinating to see how recent second round picks Boye Mafe and Derick Hall factor in. Some view Hall, in particular, as an edge rusher with a big upside to his game. While this is a unit lacking in big names, it might just be the position group that has the sneakiest upside and depth on the entire roster, and that’s saying something considering some of the wild depth they have at other positions. I’m excited about the edge rushers for Seattle this year.

Off-Ball Linebackers

What’s an off-ball linebacker, you say? Well, in a 3-4 they’re the two middle linebackers, and in a classic 4-3, they are the Mike, Will, and Sam backers, and off-ball is just a hipster way of saying they are the guys playing off the line of scrimmage, behind the DL.

Bobby Wagner returns to Seattle after his one year hiatus playing for the Loserville Rams. Look for him to be the leader of this unit, once again, even if he could be on a more limited snap count. He might not be asked to do as much in coverage these days, but play more of a factor against the run, and possibly be used as a blitzer, but we will see.

Ideally, Seattle would probably love it if Jordyn Brooks came back sooner from his late season knee injury, but realistically, it might take him a month into the season to see action, but again, we will see. When healthy, Brooks might be the guy you want on the field on every down above the other guys. He’s faster than Bobby is now, and while he’s always been a good run defender, last year, he showed signs of breaking out as a coverage guy.

In the event that Brooks isn’t ready to go, Seattle have former Steeler ‘backer Devin Bush in their back pocket, and he’s an interesting player. He’s a bit undersized but is a lightening fast run and hit player who has athletic traits that made him a former top ten pick in the draft a few years back. Bush could be in position to be the surprise player on the team this year, and stake a claim to be a long term fixture here in the future.

Behind these three, Seattle has depth players in Vi Jones, who showed well in preseason games last year, and Jon Rhattigan, who Carroll always seem to like. It feels like the team could look to add a bit more here, but considering how they like to use safety Jamal Adams as a linebacker in nickel situations, they might like this unit more than some are thinking.

Corners and Safeties

On paper, the Seattle Seahawks appear to have CRAZY depth at cornerback, and safety, as well. The secondary might be the strongest unit of the entire team, and the last time that was this case for this team, they were going to back to back Super Bowls. In many ways, I feel like this is why there is a growing buzz about Seattle challenging San Francisco for the division this year.

Last year, they struck absolute GOLD in the middle rounds of the draft landing Pro Bowl outside corner Tariq Woolen and playmaking nickel corner Coby Bryant, and getting immediate high level play from both players. They also got steady play from returning corner Michael Jackson Senior, and they just drafted Devin Witherspoon, who I have heard compared to Patrick Peterson, in terms of all around skills. If Witherspoon lives up to that hype in his rookie year, that is going to make this unit terrifying for QBs in a way we haven’t seen in Seattle in over a decade, and I am absolutely stoked for that to be true.

Patrolling the deep middle of the field is Pro Bowl safety and team leader Quandre Diggs, hybrid safety/linebacker Jamal Adams, and highly touted safety/nickel defender Jordan Love. I am saying it right now, the Seattle Seahawks have three guys on the roster capable of being Pro Bowl safeties this year. At the height of the Legion Of Boom, Seattle didn’t have that level of quality depth here.

I am confidently calling it right now, if the front seven players can just be average or slightly above, Seattle can make a push to become a top ten defense this year based on what they have in this secondary. That should excite every Seahawk fan, if they stop to consider that. I’m jacked as I write this.

Special Teams

The Seattle Seahawks have a Pro Bowl kicker and a Pro Bowl punter. Enough said here.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, it is too early to say what these Seahawks will do this year. We have to see how the preseason plays out, who stays healthy, who gets back sooner from injuries, how the defensive scheme better takes shape over what it was last year (which was largely a messy pile of poo up front).

We also need to see how Geno takes the next step forward as QB1, and how he further gels with his receivers. If I am to be honest, I really like his chances taking the next step forward as a passer. I just sense a lot of things about him in this situation that bodes well. He knows the system, it seems to fit him well, and the team has added significantly more pieces around him this year. I think he’s an anomaly in the league, and if he sustains his level of play, it’s going to have some front offices rethinking how they approach the QB position.

I am also more hopeful about year two of Clint Hurtt’s defense. I think we are going to see a cleaned up scheme, and I like the additions of Dre’Mont Jones, Witherspoon, Derick Hall, and Love, along with the return of Bobby. Last year’s defense was crap, and this team still made the playoffs. If they can just be middle of the road, they might be able to take the division.

But if this defense manages to flirt with being a top ten unit, truly, watch out for these 2023 Seattle Seahawks. Sorry, Niner fans, but not really, though.

Cautiously, I am fingers crossed very stoked. I am also ridiculously fucking excited that, after all these years, I am finally going to see them playing in their old school colors again, which were the best uni’s in sports history.. ever.

Go Hawks.