Seattle Seahawks: Biggest reason why team can make 2018 playoffs?

Even in a rebuilding year the Seattle Seahawks are not out of the playoff race. They’ve still got a fair shot to make it in 2018.

In 2018, the Seattle Seahawks will be the weakest they’ve been in years. But the rebuilding team still has a good chance to make the playoffs, even though a more star studded squad went 9-7 and missed the playoffs last year.

Nothing is guaranteed for this retooling Seahawks team, but 2018 might not be as bad as everyone thinks it will be.

With that in mind, here’s how Seattle can still find their way into the postseason.

The perfect quarterback for the team

The first reason why the Seahawks can still make the playoffs is the most obvious. Their quarterback is Russell Wilson, the man who carried the single most burden of any player in 2018. Wilson has the elusiveness to escape and extend plays as long as he needs and has developed into a one man wrecking crew with the Seahawks.

He really is the perfect fit for what the team needs him to do. And sure Wilson isn’t the flashiest of quarterbacks, but he’s used to having a lot of pressure on him and is prepared to pull a repeat of his 2017 season to push the Seahawks into the postseason.

A newly united locker room

Granted, the Seahawks didn’t make the postseason last year despite Wilson’s best efforts. That’s where reason No. 2 comes into play. For the first time since their Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, the Seahawks will have a united locker room. Many of the old faces are gone or have had their roles substantially reduced.

Wilson, Bobby Wagner, and a few others remain, but they are far less vocal than players like Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett. I believe that head coach Pete Carroll will have greater influence in the locker room this year and will get to sell his philosophy to a lot of newer, younger players. Essentially, fresh new faces who believe in Carroll are taking over for some players who became disillusioned with him. Unity can not be overstated.

Divisional opponents

The third reason has to do with the other teams in the Seahawks’ division. The Los Angeles Rams are by far the favorite to win the division and should, but the team recently took on a lot of big, new personalities. It would be surprising if the Rams don’t stumble a few times because of their new squad. They’re no longer the underdog they were last year either.

The San Francisco 49ers look to be a team on the rise, but they aren’t ready yet. Sure they’ve plugged some holes on their depth chart quickly, but the team hasn’t fully come together yet. In 2019 they will be a real force to be reckoned with, but 2018 is still serving as the build up to the peak.

As for the Arizona Cardinals, well they just don’t have the depth on both sides of the ball to be real contenders. They need another few years to become competitors again. In the end the Seahawks can take a good number of wins from their division this year.

A future Defensive Player of the Year

There’s only one person I can be talking about right now. I still view Wagner as the second best middle linebacker in the game, but Luke Kuechly is heavily injury prone so Wagner can outperform him in almost any given season. Wagner’s biggest competition for Defensive Player of the Year will always be Aaron Donald moving forward, but he’s making a case to be on the same level as the Rams defensive tackle.

In the last four seasons, Wagner has been a First Team All-Pro three times and has averaged just under 130 combined tackles per season despite missing eight games in his six year career. Because Wagner isn’t as outspoken as many of his former teammates he gets glossed over way to easily, but he will be in the Hall of Fame one day. We’re witnessing an all-time great player, it’s time we realize it.

Surprisingly strong wide receiver corps

The Seahawks currently have Doug Baldwin, Brandon Marshall, Tyler Lockett, and Jaron Brown as their top wide receivers. It is by no means an all-star squad, but it Marshall contributes in a way he didn’t last year then opposing teams will struggle to cover all of the options.

Baldwin is the Pro Bowler and leading receiver, Marshall can be the big redbone target, Lockett is a speed demon and gadget player, and Brown is the unintentional beneficiary of the other receivers drawing the best defenders. Now Marshall and Lockett could come out and have horrible years, making this section look absolutely crazy, but there’s some good potential for the Seahawks receivers.

Next: NFL 2018: Most overrated player on each team

Conclusion

As I said earlier, there are no guarantees for this Seahawks team. The team has lost a lot of its’ old stars and is a shell of its’ former, borderline dynastic self. It’s a testament to how good Carroll, Wilson, Wagner, and the team executives are that we’re even having this discussion about them right now.

If it weren’t for their brilliance the rebuilding Seahawks would struggle to avoid getting last place in the division. Things have come full circle for the Seahawks now. They went from beloved underdog to detested bully, and now back to the underdog position. I guess 2018 will be very telling for the personality of the new Seahawks, I can’t wait to see how it goes.