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Seattle Seahawks: 5 Positions to address in the 2019 offseason

By Samuel Teets

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 16: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks looks on during warm ups prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 16: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks looks on during warm ups prior to their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 05: Michael Gallup #13 of the Dallas Cowboys comes down with the touchdown reception against Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter during the Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JANUARY 05: Michael Gallup #13 of the Dallas Cowboys comes down with the touchdown reception against Shaquill Griffin #26 of the Seattle Seahawks in the second quarter during the Wild Card Round at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Cornerback

The Seahawks have a pair of young corners in Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers, but they’re lacking a true shutdown corner. Richard Sherman was the heart and soul of the Seahawks secondary the last time they went to the Super Bowl. The current team doesn’t necessarily need a player as vocal as Sherman, but a great cornerback is a hot commodity in the NFL. How else are you going to cover playoff wide receivers like Amari Cooper?

Cooper, a former Pro Bowl receiver, recorded 106 receiving yards on seven receptions in the Seahawks’ Wild Card round loss. The rest of the Cowboys recorded just 120 receiving yards. Cooper was the center of the passing attack, and the Seahawks couldn’t stop him. If the former Raider could do that much damage, just imagine what someone like Michael Thomas could do.

On the flip side, Aqib Talib, Byron Jones, Casey Hayward, Kyle Fuller, Marshon Lattimore, and Stephon Gilmore are all examples of Pro Bowl caliber cornerbacks on playoff teams. We’ve seen some teams, like the Kansas City Chiefs, have success this year just by having a dominant offense. The Seahawks aren’t anywhere close to building up an offense of that caliber though.

Since they won’t be putting up 40 or 50 points week in and week out, the team needs to build up its defense more. The Seahawks did have a better pass defense in 2018 (16th in the league) than run defense (20th in the league), but the kinds of teams the Seahawks will face in the playoffs can put up 40 points because of their high-caliber passing games.

Again, if Cooper and Dak Prescott were too much for the Seahawks, then Seattle won’t be able to stay with the better offenses in the playoffs.

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