
Quandre Diggs quickly developed into a key player for Seattle
Walter Thurmond, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell, Jeremy Lane.
The Seahawks drafted all five between 2010 and 2012. All five were day three picks.
Since then, the well has run dry.
Cornerbacks Tharold Simon and Tye Smith never made it. Since Smith was taken in 2015, the Seahawks have only drafted one pure cornerback in the subsequent five drafts (Shaquill Griffin). Tre Flowers was a safety convert with the ideal build for what the Seahawks look for — but he was no corner in college.
They’ve drafted a number of safeties — Ryan Murphy, Tedric Thompson, Delano Hill, Mike Tyson, Marquise Blair and Ugo Amadi.
Murphy never looked like making the grade. Thompson struggled before eventually being cut. Hill will fight to make the roster this year. Tyson is long gone. Neither Blair or Amadi made an impression as a rookie (despite some overly positive reviews).
For a team with such a rich early history in developing defensive backs, it’s strange how things have come to a shuddering hault.
There are plenty of theories as to why. Are teams drafting Seattle-style cornerbacks earlier, in an attempt to mimic their success? Is it down to coaching — with the Seahawks no longer having Kris Richard as a position coach? It could even be a lack of options, especially in terms of the cornerbacks. In the 2020 draft, there were hardly any corners that matching Seattle’s preferred profile.
They’ve tried to solve the problem with astute veteran acquisitions. The Quandre Diggs trade looks like a steal, provided he can stay healthy. Bradley McDougald has never been given the credit he deserves for a really solid spell as a starter and leader. The Quinton Dunbar trade has promise, although it’s still unclear what his status will be for the 2020 season following his arrest on suspicion of armed robbery.
Even so, the unit as a whole — like so many areas on Seattle’s roster — faces a crossroads.
You can make a case that the only three positions with any degree of long term security are quarterback, linebacker and receiver. Everything else — running back, defensive line, cornerback, safety, offensive line and even tight end — has a question mark.
This further speaks to where the roster is. A lot of names on a sheet built up as competition — but not enough solutions or talent at key positions.
I want to focus on the future of the secondary today.
Shaquill Griffin certainly improved in 2019, highlighted by this review from PFF:
Griffin earned a coverage grade of 77.0 that ranked 14th among qualifying cornerbacks, and it stemmed from his ability to make plays on the football. He forced incompletions on 14 of his 66 targets this season for a forced incompletion rate of 21.2% that ranked second among all cornerbacks with 50 or more targets.
He also made the pro-bowl for the first time as a replacement.
Griffin’s out of contract after the 2020 season. Given Seattle’s recent record on drafting and developing cornerbacks, they’ll be wary of letting him walk and needing to find a replacement. Especially given their preference not to use high picks at the position or spend big money in free agency.
At the same time, what exactly is his market?
Presumably his camp would point to recent contracts dished out to Darius Slay and Byron Jones. Slay is now earning $16.7m a year in Philadelphia, with Jones on $16.5m. Those are the two top contracts in the league — with Xavien Howard ($15m), James Bradbury ($14.5m), Patrick Peterson ($14m) and Marcus Peters ($14m) following.
Griffin could, not unfairly, point to those deals and expect to be paid in that range. Yet it would be a considerable sum to commit to a player who, while improved, has not shown to be much of a playmaker or difference maker.
He’s not a field-tilter. He’s a solid starter. Ideally, he’d be a really useful #2 cornerback. So far, however, he’s not proven to be a bona fide #1. In three seasons he has only three interceptions in 45 games. That’s incredible. Two of those picks came in one game against a struggling Mitchell Trubisky. The other came on a truly horrendous pass from Drew Stanton — where he somehow managed to throw it so close to both Griffin and Earl Thomas, they almost ran into each other.
Hopefully his 2019 improvement is the prelude to an even bigger jump in 2020. Yet he’s also three years into his career. This might be what he is. It’s possible that he improved to a peak level last season. We’ll find out in a few months.
Unless they’re willing to make him one of the top 2-3 paid cornerbacks in the league now — a new deal before the season seems unlikely. They need to see more. There’s also no motivation for Griffin to accept a team-friendly deal when he could cash in next year.
It means they run the risk of losing him and creating another hole. They have the protection of the franchise and transition tags of course. The franchise tender was $16.3m this year with the transition tender was $14.1m. That provides some security, especially with Chris Carson the only other realistic candidate for either.
Quinton Dunbar is also a free agent at the end of the 2020 season but it’s pretty hard to talk about tags given his current situation. He’s also missed 14 games in the last two seasons and needs to prove he can stay healthy if he even makes the field before we talk about possible extensions. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility though that the Seahawks lose both their provisional starting cornerbacks after 2020 or need to invest major money to keep them.
Tre Flowers is now battling for playing time. We’ll see how creative the Seahawks want to be to fill their nickel role which has been left totally ignored so far this off-season. Carroll says they have a plan. It could mean Dunbar or Griffin shifting inside when they want to play nickel — with Flowers coming on to play outside. They could work game-to-game depending on matchups too. Yet despite complaints from many fans they appear destined to remain mostly in base defense given they’re spending $25m on Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright this year and just used a first round pick on Jordyn Brooks.
Certainly they should have a more serious plan than simply hoping Ugo Amadi improves at nickel. The Green Bay playoff game was an alarming wake-up call that this is a safety converting to one of the most difficult positions in the game. There’s nothing wrong with trying to develop him into a nickel — but we also have to accept there’s serious work to be done here.
At safety, they have an above average starting duo in Diggs and McDougald if they can stay healthy. Many fans are desperate to see Blair overtake McDougald. Certainly for the investment (round two pick) you would hope that was possible. Yet all Blair really showed as a rookie was the ability to hit — which wasn’t a surprise to anyone who saw his Utah tape. He seeks out contact and delivers sledgehammer tackles.
That’s a huge boost and something Pete Carroll clearly cherishes. For all the talk among some fans about Carroll’s conservatism, he has a child-like exuberance for the fundamental ‘exciting’ things a game of football can produce. He loves, like many, a beautifully executed deep throw, a scrambling quarterback extending plays, a running back breaking tackles and fighting for yards after contact and the raw, legal violence of a bone-crunching hit.
We’ve also seen, through Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Kam Chancellor, how those three elements can provide the foundation of a Championship team and truly energise a whole roster.
Yet Blair’s ability to provide the hits can’t come at the expense of poor execution of the scheme. Seattle’s defense isn’t complex. It doesn’t use a ton of exotic blitzes and formations. It demands discipline and everyone has to be in the right place at the right time. Mastering the scheme is crucial and for anyone wondering why Blair didn’t play more despite his exciting hits — there’s your reason.
It’s not overly concerning. Earl Thomas’ year one struggles are well publicised. Thomas was simply too good, playing in what amounted to an expansion roster in 2010, not to start. Chancellor was redshirted as a rookie. The fact Blair struggled with the scheme isn’t a big worry at the moment. Now he has to take a big step forward in 2020 and get on the field. If he fails, the second-guessing over Seattle’s trade-down fest in the 2019 draft — taking them out of range for Johnathan Abram — will be rife.
This is a key year for Blair who must take a step forward — just as much as L.J. Collier. They were Seattle’s two highest picks last year — before even D.K. Metcalf. They should feel pressure to contribute.
Quandre Diggs provides the best combination of talent and value on Seattle’s entire defense. His cap hits this year and next are no higher than $5.5m. If he plays most of the regular season games and continues to perform well — he might be the first to receive an extension among the group. He has quickly established a leadership role and has flashed competence, toughness and playmaking.
Bradley McDougald is a free agent at the end of the season. He turns 30 this year but it’ll be very difficult for the Seahawks to let him walk if he continues to perform to the level of the past two seasons and Blair fails to make an impression.
The one thing every member of this group has is a motivation to play well. For Griffin and Dunbar it’s about a new contract. For Blair it’s about proving he was worth a second rounder. For Flowers it’s about showing he belongs having been essentially usurped as a starter. For Diggs it’s about developing into one of Seattle’s core players and potentially earning a large new contract in the off-season. For McDougald it’s staving off the younger competition and earning a third contract in Seattle. Amadi needs to show he can be make the nickel position his home.
This can be a good thing. It certainly feels like the Seahawks are banking on that added motivation making up for some talent deficiencies elsewhere.
It would’ve been nice to see a highly motivated secondary also given the protection of improved D-line play. To their credit, the 2019 secondary forced 10 interceptions despite their top corner recording zero. Seeing how they’d perform with a much improved pass rush on the field would’ve been interesting.
Alas that might not be the case. Yet some of these players have to emerge as long term solutions for the Seahawks. They have to increase the number of trusted core players beyond the commitments to just Wilson and Wagner. They can’t be spending $60m a year on hopeful punts and journeymen. They need to start finding players who warrant being part of the foundation of this roster.
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