Seattle Seahawks: Sheldon Richardson trade makes defense (more) lethal
The Seattle Seahawks traded Jermaine Kearse and a draft pick to the New York Jets for Sheldon Richardson, making an elite defense more lethal.
The Seattle Seahawks were going to have one of the most fearsome defensive units in the NFL for the 2017 season. With a healthy Earl Thomas returning in addition to playmakers like Bobby Wagner, Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and so on, it’s just a formality that they’d be able to dominate again.
Now they’re going to be even more dangerous than they were before, thanks to a savvy trade with the New York Jets.
One day before 53-man roster cuts, the Seahawks pulled off a big deal with the Jets. They traded wide receiver Jermaine Kearse — a player they were trying to get rid of — and a second-or-third-round pick to New York in exchange for defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapaport came with the breaking news:
So it's Jermaine Kearse to the Jets, Sheldon Richardson to the Seahawks and there are picks involved.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 1, 2017
Deal being discussed since mid-August involved Sheldon Richardson going to #Seahawks in exchange for Jermaine Kearse & a 2nd or 3rd rd pick
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 1, 2017
If there was one area where the Seahawks defense was lacking, it was in the middle of their front four. Jarran Reed and Ahtyba Rubin were less than stellar a year ago. Though young and hoping for improvement, they’re still far from sure-things in terms of how they’ll perform in the 2017 season.
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The hope initially was the rookie Malik McDowell, the team’s second-round pick, would be able to come in and help add quality depth behind Reed and Rubin. However, his unfortunate ATV accident has put his football-playing on hold for an undetermined amount of time. That left them both shallow and without top-end talent at the position.
Richardson, however, is undeniably a top-tier player in terms of his tools. He has the size and elite athletic traits that could make him one of the best defensive tackles with the game. But because of his attitude in the locker room and sometimes on the field, he fell out of favor with the Jets. Thus, they’ve been looking to unload him for some time.
What makes this even more favorable for Seattle is that they are the perfect culture to insert Richardson into. They have a track record of taking players labeled “hard to deal with” and dealing with them properly while seeing high-end results on the field. Few organizations have done that better than the Seahawks in the Pete Carroll era.
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There’s a good chance that the Seahawks were going to be the best defense in the NFL in 2017 prior to Friday. Now adding Richardson at a position of need makes that a certainty. This could be a championship-caliber defense from Day 1 and a unit that goes down as legendary when we look back on it.