Seattle Seahawks: Which unit will struggle the most in 2019?

The Seattle Seahawks are a long way off from where they were three or four years ago and that will be obvious in a specific unit in 2019.

While the Seattle Seahawks have added plenty of players through the draft and free agency, the team is far from perfect and you can probably even already rule out a Super Bowl run. There are just other teams that are stacked with talent and you have to nitpick to find weaknesses. The Seahawks, on the other hand, have several units that are young, unproven, or lack depth.

Starting with the offense, there are two units that I considered when looking for the team’s largest weakness. My first thought, as always, went to the offensive line. Russell Wilson was sacked a career-high 51 times in 2018, tied for third most in the league.

Make no mistake, everyone on the line last year, with the exception of Duane Brown, was an average to below average pass blocker. Most of those players are returning in 2019 with the exception of J.R. Sweezy who will be replaced by the injury-prone veteran Mike Iupati.

While I expect Wilson to continue to face excessive pressure in 2019, the team led the league in rushing yards per game in 2018 and, as long as Iupati stays healthy, they should be able to finish in the top five or so in 2019 as well. The offense is built around the run game and the offensive line the team has right now is really good a run blocking. Because of that, I don’t believe the offensive line can be considered Seattle’s weakest unit.

The other position I considered on the offense was the wide receiving corps. We got a sneak peek of what the Seahawks would look like without Doug Baldwin last year when he was hampered the entire season with injuries. While Tyler Lockett had a breakout year, David Moore proved he’s only worthy of being the third best receiver on a team at most and Jaron Brown was practically invisible.

Now, the Seahawks did draft D.K. Metcalf, Gary Jennings and John Ursua, but they’re all just unknowns right now. I do think that Metcalf and Jennings will see starts in 2019 and do well, but empirically they are unproven at the pro level. However, because of the promise Metcalf and Jennings have, along with the Seahawks focusing on the run game, I don’t think the receiving corps will be Seattle’s weakest unit in 2019.

Defensively, I also looked at two units. The first one I considered was the linebackers, which might seem a bit odd. While Bobby Wagner is a perennial All-Pro, there are potential risks at both outside linebacker positions. K.J. Wright, who I think will bounce-back in 2019, could always get injured again and leave his side of the field exposed.

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The other projected starter, Mychal Kendricks, might not even be available because of legal issues. That would mean that Barkevious Mingo, Jacob Martin, or Shaquem Griffin could be pushed into a starting spot. While impactful, the team just went through 2018 largely without Kendricks or Wright, and they still won ten games. The Seahawks could survive issues at outside linebacker.

And that leads me to the weakest unit on the Seahawks that could turn out to be a true detriment to the team this coming season: the secondary as a whole, even though that might be interpreted to encompass two units.

Seattle finished 17th in pass defense in 2018, which isn’t bad by any means, but the secondary really didn’t distinguish itself either. The team finished tied for 18th in interceptions with 12, and three of those were by Earl Thomas. Without Thomas’ interceptions, Seattle would have been tied for 26th in the league in interceptions.

The losses of Thomas, who contributed through the first four games last season, and high-profile slot corner Justin Coleman will have an impact next year. Shaquill Griffin only recorded interceptions in one game last season and Tre Flowers didn’t record any as he transitioned from playing college safety to corner. Rookie Ugo Amadi will probably fill the slot position on defense, replacing Coleman, but there are plenty of questions about Amadi’s viability at the pro level.

Then there are the safeties. Bradley McDougald and Tedric Thompson started the majority of last season, but Thompson might lose that job less than a year after getting it. Rookie Marquise Blair could take Thompson’s spot, and I think he will.

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Unfortunately, Blair isn’t the X-factor that Thomas was. He’s more of a hard hitter than a coverage safety. At strong safety, McDougald established himself as a leader in 2018, but he isn’t a terrific coverage safety either and the combination of him and Thompson or him and Blair could be a big opportunity for opposing offenses.

It’s important to remember that the Seahawks have so many young players who will only continue to Improve and, with any luck, one or two will make big names for themselves in 2019. However, right now the Seahawks secondary has a handful of unproven and limited players who have yet to show they can leave an imprint on the rest of the league. Seattle needs more out of every unit on the team if they want to compete for a Super Bowl, but the secondary should be a specific area of focus.

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