Big burning questions loom for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2020 season.
In 2019, the Seattle Seahawks battled to an 11-5 record in the most competitive division in football. However, Seattle’s season ended with a loss in the Divisional Round. Half a decade removed from its last Super Bowl appearance, the team faces questions about its ability to get over the hump in 2020.
With head coach Pete Carroll and superstar quarterback Russell Wilson returning, the Seahawks possess a stable leadership foundation.
Moving forward, both leaders will play a role in how Seattle answers the following crucial questions during the 2020 season.
5. What role will the Seattle Seahawks rookies play?
Seattle added eight new players in the 2020 NFL Draft, including several potential starters. However, questions abound about the roles rookies could play, especially after the Seahawks heavily underutilized rookies from their 2019 draft class.
With the 27th overall pick in the draft, Seattle selected Texas Tech’s Jordyn Brooks. Viewed as a borderline first-round pick, Brooks joins a team that whiffed on its last four top selections. With so many issues toward the top of the draft, Seattle’s top picks automatically come under fire because of the front office’s previous mistakes.
Brooks could win a starting role this year, but he and Cody Barton should enter training camp with equal shots to claim Mychal Kendricks’ old position.
Seattle’s other two defensive rookies are second-round selection Darrell Taylor and fifth-round selection Alton Robinson. Neither of the two defensive ends stood out as stars in college. Despite the team’s lack of depth at defensive end, both rookies could find themselves riding the bench in 2020.
That leaves Seattle’s five offensive selections. Of the group, guard Damien Lewis seems poised to claim a starting role while the other players will either end up buried on the depth chart or relegated to the practice squad.
4. How will the running backs split carries?
The Seahawks received several blows to their backfield at the end of the 2019 season. Chris Carson suffered a fractured hip in Week 16 while Rashaad Penny tore his ACL in Week 14. Even C.J. Prosise, who is no longer with the team, broke his arm in Week 16. With so many injuries building up, questions arose as to what Seattle’s backfield could look like at the start of the 2020 season.
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In a recent interview with Dave Mahler and Dick Fain on Sports Radio KJR, Seahawks general manager John Schneider said he fully expects Carson will play Week 1. However, Penny could land on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which means he would miss at least the team’s first six games.
With Penny’s return in question, Seattle recently signed veteran running back Carlos Hyde to a one-year deal. Last season, the 29-year-old running proved he could play a significant role on a winning football team. Hyde carried the ball 245 times for the Houston Texans, amassing a career-high 1,070 rushing yards (4.4 yards per carry) and scoring six touchdowns.
The Hyde signing initially came as a surprise, since the Seahawks also used a fourth-round pick on Miami’s DeeJay Dallas. Dallas joins a backfield that already features his former college teammate, Travis Homer, who saw some action during Seattle’s playoff run last season.
It appears that Carson will start the season off slow before resuming his role as Seattle’s workhorse running back. However, that leaves a deep competition for the backup running back spot that could be further complicated by Penny’s eventual return.
3. Can Tre Flowers and D.K. Metcalf make the jump?
As the Seahawks prepare for the 2020 regular season, two men stand out as players who could transform from reliable starters to game-changers. Flowers and Metcalf joined the Seahawks as starters during their respective rookie seasons, but the team needs more production from both players.
Flowers found himself under heavy fire last season. Fellow starting cornerback Shaquill Griffin made a significant leap in his third season, which meant offenses began focusing on Flowers. The former college safety found himself getting dragged by the media and opposing wide receivers. While he’s a decent player, Flowers likely wouldn’t be a starter on a Super Bowl contender.
The Seahawks hope Flowers can follow in Griffin’s footsteps and raise his level of play this coming season. If Flowers struggles early in the 2020 season, he could lose his starting job to Quinton Dunbar. Seattle acquired Dunbar from Washington for a fifth-round pick. Dunbar is awaiting punishment for an offseason incident during which he allegedly played a role in an armed robbery. Dunbar is pleading not guilty.
While Flowers prepares for his third NFL season, Metcalf is still riding high from a promising rookie campaign. The Ole Miss product caught 58 passes for 900 yards and seven touchdowns last year. While Metcalf and Tyler Lockett form a dynamic duo, the Seahawks still need a superstar pass-catcher. If Metcalf expands his route tree, the ultra-athletic, 6-4 receiver could become an unstoppable force.
2. Did Seattle fix its pass rush?
Seattle ranked toward the bottom of the NFL last season, only generating 28 sacks. In comparison, Seattle’s opponents produced 48 sacks, and the Pittsburgh Steelers led the league with 54. After several offseason moves, Seattle’s defensive line looks different, but can it at least perform at an average level in 2020?
The Seahawks made a splash move by trading for Jadeveon Clowney last year. However, the three-time Pro Bowler did not generate many sacks in 2019, finishing the year with three. In comparison, Jacob Martin, who Seattle sent to Houston in the trade for Clowney, recorded 3.5 sacks with the Texans.
Now, Clowney remains a free agent with multiple landing spots that make sense, including Seattle. If the former Pro Bowler doesn’t return to Carroll’s team this offseason, the Seahawks could again struggle to reach opposing quarterbacks.
Rasheem Green led the Seahawks with four sacks last year, and Quinton Jefferson came in second with 3.5. Unfortunately, Jefferson signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency. Seattle also said goodbye to Ezekiel Ansah, Mychal Kendricks, and Al Woods this offseason. Those three generated 6.5 sacks last season.
The Seahawks did sign Bruce Irvin, who produced a career-high 8.5 sacks last year, in free agency. The team added two new defensive ends through the draft and signed Benson Mayowa, who also set a career-high with seven sacks in 2019. Seattle remains hopeful that L.J. Collier can redeem himself after a disappointing rookie season as well.
1. Can the Seahawks finally get over the playoff hump?
Over the past five seasons, the Seahawks are 50-29-1 during the regular season. Despite turning in several fantastic seasons, Seattle only has one first-place finish in the NFC West since losing Super Bowl XLIX to the New England Patriots. The Seahawks have not gotten past the Divisional Round in the past half-decade either.
Very few analysts consider how long Seattle’s Super Bowl window might be open, but Carroll’s team is surely starting to feel the pressure. At 68 years old, Carroll won’t coach the Seahawks forever. The ages of crucial contributors like Duane Brown, Bobby Wagner, Wilson, and K.J. Wright could also begin hastening the end of Seattle’s regular-season success.
Taking aging players and expiring contracts into account, the Seahawks need something more than a Divisional Round exit in the next three years. Seattle’s loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round this past season was the team’s third second-round loss in the past five years. In the other two seasons, Seattle missed the playoffs (2017) and lost in the Wild Card Round (2018).
Poor drafting, especially in the early rounds, is partially responsible for Seattle’s lateral movement over the past several seasons. The team remains competitive because of an elite group of veterans, but the Seahawks cannot match their draft-day success from the early 2010s. The team needs a breakthrough and soon.