The first wave of free agency is in the books and we are now inching towards the NFL draft in April.
Ahead of the main event, Mark Schofield over at Touchdown Wire put together his team needs for every club in the NFC West. Below are his thoughts on the Seahawks.
One of the more curious storylines of this free agency cycle has been the speculation over a Russell Wilson trade. Given the financial considerations at work — the Seattle Seahawks face some whopping dead cap figures if they move him either of the next two seasons — it never seemed likely that the organization would move him. Still, the Chicago Bears tried to get the Seahawks to budge. Now that it seems that Wilson is staying put, and some other moves have been made, what does Seattle still need to address? And just how many can they address with just three selections in the upcoming draft?
EDGE/PASS RUSHER: Seattle looked to address this position group in free agency, adding Kerry Hyder from San Francisco and re-signing Benson Mayowa to a two-year deal. The return of Carlos Dunlap (which broke Thursday evening) and a potential return of Bruce Irvin might make this even less of a need, but it could still be on Seattle’s radar at some point come draft time.
CORNERBACK: This is another interesting position to consider for Seattle. In? Ahkello Witherspoon on a one-year deal from San Francisco. Out? Shaquill Griffin, now in Jacksonville with the Jaguars. The team also has Quinton Dunbar, acquired last season in a trade, as well as Tre Flowers and Jayson Stanley. Still, another player or two could be added. A potential return of Richard Sherman in free agency? Or could they look to the college ranks and perhaps a different Stanford product, Paulson Adebo? Another intriguing option could be Ifeatu Melifonwu from Syracuse, another long and rangy corner.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE: Offensive line always seems to be an issue with the Seattle Seahawks, and some of the rumblings about trading Wilson — from the player’s perspective — might have been directed as a way to prod the organization to provide help up front. The Seahawks did acquire guard Gabe Jackson via trade and look to have a solid starting five, but depth behind tackles Duane Brown and Brandon Shell could be addressed. In a deep tackle class, Seattle could see an intriguing option slide to 56, or could find value in the later rounds, perhaps with Robert Hainsey from Notre Dame, Josh Ball from Marshall, Brady Christensen from BYU or Walker Little from Stanford.