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Seattle Seahawks: 5 Players to target in 2019 free agency

By Samuel Teets

SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: Frank Clark #55 and the Seattle Seahawks take the field for the second half of their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 22: Frank Clark #55 and the Seattle Seahawks take the field for the second half of their NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on October 22, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 30: Trey Flowers #98 of the New England Patriots reacts during the third quarter of a game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 30: Trey Flowers #98 of the New England Patriots reacts during the third quarter of a game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on December 30, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Trey Flowers

This signing works whether Clark decides to stay or leave. Trey Flowers will be one of the cheaper top pass rushers in free agency considering he’ll rank below players such as Clark, Demarcus Lawrence, Jadeveon Clowney and Dee Ford. Because there are so many great sack artists in this free agent class, there’s a good chance Seattle will have a shot at Flowers without having to pay top dollar.

Flowers was a fourth-round selection by the New England Patriots back in 2015. He’s exceeded all expectations since starting half of the team’s games in 2016. In the last three years, Flowers has recorded 164 combined tackles, 21 sacks and 59 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Reference. For comparison, Clark has 120 combined tackles, 32 sacks and 66 quarterback hits during that time.

Going off of those numbers, we can see that Clark is clearly the superior pass rusher. However, more of Clark’s game is built around being that leading sack artist. One of the reasons why he didn’t make the Pro Bowl this year, despite having 13 sacks, was because his tackle numbers are much lower than other defensive ends.

Within the last two seasons, Clark has 73 tackles. Flowers has 119, Lawrence has 122, and Clowney had 106 over the same time. Flowers can bring more of that run-stopping force to the edge of the Seahawks line, which would be his biggest contribution to the team.

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