These are the weeks Twitter was made for. The avalanche of free agent news coming down across the league was captivating. Rumors and theories became confirmed reports and signed deals. Players re-signed. Players moved. Players agreed to terms, and then found themselves back on the street after the team got cold feet. Seattle has yet to add any new names to the roster, while a number of familiar faces have moved on. That has a few Seahawks fans squirming. This is a good time to take stock of where the Seahawks roster is still strong, and where it would be wise to augment it. We will start on the defensive side of the ball.



Walter Thurmond III

O’Brien Schofield

There is a lot to absorb in there, so let’s talk about the changes first. Bryant was the starting 5-Tech DE in the base defense. Nearly all of his value was as a run stopper. When he was on the field, teams had the opportunity to go no-huddle and catch Seattle in a situation where they could not get their optimal pass rush package on the field. This was enough of a concern versus Denver in the Super Bowl, that the Seahawks played their nickel package most of the game, and Bryant got very little playing time.

When Pete Carroll talks about getting Michael Bennett more playing time and the “evolution of the defense,” he is almost certainly looking at Bennett absorbing Bryant’s snaps in the base defense. He could easily add 150-200 snaps doing that, which would put his snap count at a level similar to where he was in Tampa the year prior when he was their starting defensive end. What does that mean for the Seahawks run defense? Bennett is one of the best run defenders at defensive end in all of football. He does it differently than Bryant, and will require some adjustments, but Bennett was near the top of the league in tackles for loss when with Tampa, and was the 3rd-best rated 4-3 DE end against the run by Pro Football Focus over the last three seasons.

There is no reason to think Seattle will take a step back in run defense without Bryant

The depth behind Bennett at that position is intriguing. Greg Scruggs may be the young player with the highest upside who many fans do not know. He weighs 315 lbs, and is a terrific athlete. We have not seen him play DE yet, but it makes sense that he will get a chance. If healthy, Jesse Williams would be another player to watch there. Some have mentioned Tony McDaniel there, but I don’t see it. They need him in the middle of the line.

The linebackers are intact. The starting corners are intact. The starting safeties are intact.

The two base roles that remain to be addressed are the starting LEO and depth at nose tackle. Bruce Irvin, Benson Mayowa, Bennett, and Avril all may be options at LEO. None are ideal. Carroll likes to say that LEO and SAM are interchangeable in their scheme, but that the LEO rushes the passer more often. Irvin struggled mightily against the run in his rookie year when asked to play LEO, but was great against the run as a SAM LB. Maybe he has grown enough to try LEO again. That would be ideal. Avril clearly prefers to rush from the strongside against the tight end and right tackle, and is also a liability against the run compared to Clemons. Mayowa is still way too much of an unknown to go into the draft counting on him. If Scruggs shined brightly in camp, there is a chance he could become the starter at 5-Tech and shift Bennett over to starting LEO. Again, not enough information to feel comfortable betting on that if you are John Schneider.

That means signing a veteran LEO who is a known quantity remains a highly likely move in free agency. Names like Jared Allen, Will Smith, Shaun Phillips, and Anthony Spencer are still out there. So is O’Brien Schofield, who had his deal voided with the Giants after they didn’t like the way his knee looked in a physical.

McDonald was the backup to Mebane at NT in the base defense, and that rotation was key to keeping Mebane fresh late in the year. Cherrington is an intriguing prospect who showed promise in camp, and is a big boy at 330 lbs. The team can also find big body run stuffers in the draft and late in free agency. D’Anthony Smith played well against the run last season, but it is not clear he can be a nose tackle in this defense. He is better-suited to be a backup to McDaniel as a run-stopping 3-technique in the base defense.

If the team were to sign a guy like Henry Melton, he would not be part of the base defense. He would take over the Clinton McDonald role in the nickel. Let’s take a look at the nickel package, which is played more often than base in many cases with all the passing offenses in the league.