The Seahawks don’t have a glorious history of big trades. Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham, Jamal Adams. This hasn’t been an area where they’ve had a great deal of success.
However, I do think more often than not you need to make an inspired trade and/or a savvy free agenct signing to become a contender.
Look at the Eagles, in a second Super Bowl in three seasons. The AJ Brown trade was an absolute steal. When you pair that move with the addition of Saquon Barkley, it’s clear why the Eagles have had as much success as they have.
Granted, they’ve also done a better job than most at building their trenches. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation though. It’s possible to add talented veterans and still build a good O-line and D-line.
The 49ers are an even better example. Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey provided the benchmark for San Francisco’s run to two Super Bowls. The Rams won a Championship with an ‘F-those picks’ mentality, inspired by multiple veteran deals.
The obvious exception to the rule is the Kansas City Chiefs. They’ve built a dynasty around homegrown talent. However, they had the wisdom to identify, draft and develop a player destined to become, potentially, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. Swap him out for Jared Goff and it’s unlikely the Chiefs would have the same level of success. Trying to emulate the Chiefs is akin to trying to emulate the Brady and Belichick era in New England. It’s virtually impossible. Another Patrick Mahomes isn’t coming any time soon.
The Seahawks are not a contender in the NFC currently. They’ve missed the playoffs in back-to-back years. When they last made the playoffs in 2022 they were swatted away by the 49ers.
There are several reasons why they aren’t a post-season threat. The offensive line isn’t good enough. Geno Smith is far from a bad quarterback but neither is he an elite difference maker, capable of covering up issues on the roster. The defense has some talented players but really only Leonard Williams who you’d consider a true difference maker.
They’ve tried to build a contender through the draft. However, at the moment they have a bunch of players in the ‘good not great’ category. Between 2010 and 2012 they were able to unearth elite talent across the different rounds. They haven’t repeated that. It means they have a roster that is thoroughly decent but too often hasn’t been able to win big games. In 2024, they only had two wins against teams with a winning record — the Broncos in week one (Bo Nix’s first pro game) and the Rams in week 18 (fielding a bunch of backups).
As much as fixing the offensive line has to be a priority, there are a couple of things to consider. How much improvement can actually be made in one off-season? A lot of people want the Seahawks to pursue Trey Smith but how realistic is that? Aside from Smith, there aren’t any other elite linemen available on the open market. There are options in the draft but the Seahawks already have a young O-line.
Kansas City’s 2021 off-season is often highlighted as something to try and emulate. The Chiefs drafted Creed Humphrey as well as Smith. They signed Joe Thuney to a big free agent contract and traded for Orlando Brown Jr.
Sheer brilliance from Brett Veach and arguably not realistic to copy. For starters, it’s a paper thin draft class at center. It’s not easy to find a talent like Smith in round six. The competition to sign him as a free agent will be fierce — and Thuney’s decision to go to Kansas City was likely inspired by the ability to play with Patrick Mahomes.
Truth be told, the Seahawks can improve their O-line this year but a transformational off-season is a little far-fetched. It’s probably going to need to be a bit of a slow burn. The constant changes to the coaching staff and personnel have removed any opportunity to build chemistry and consistency. Klint Kubiak and John Benton have to put down some roots. They’ll need to develop the players already on the roster, create a functioning scheme and build. This probably isn’t going to be a situation where the Seahawks add two big-ticket free agents and everything is peachy.
I suspect we’ll see one splurge on a lineman when free agency begins, at least if the opportunity is there. But I’m also not sure using #18 on a lineman and signing one big name in free agency will elevate the line sufficiently that the Seahawks become contenders. This is in part because other issues will remain. They still won’t have an elite quarterback or enough blue-chip players on the roster. The offense might function at a smoother rate and they might be able to make the post-season. A deep run, however, is probably beyond them. They don’t have enough difference makers.
In any off-season scenario, they’re still going to need to consider drafting a young quarterback and that’ll be the case until they strike gold. They might never be a serious playoff threat until they pull this off. However, the Eagles — who are winning with Jalen Hurts playing at a fairly middling level (ranked 15th among quarterbacks per PFF grade) — are an example of what can be achieved without excellence under center.
Adding greatness with a legit game-changer, while working to fix some of the other areas of the team, will do more to accelerate your chances of becoming a contender again. That’s why the Seahawks should at least be in the conversation to acquire Myles Garrett.
Every team will feel this way. The Falcons, for example, will be priming themselves for a big move. They’re in a similar spot to the Seahawks. It’s easy to imagine Miami and Tampa Bay being interested. This is the problem. Aside from the obvious contenders who will be sniffing around (Buffalo, Washington, Detroit, Baltimore, Green Bay, Minnesota, possibly even the Chiefs) — you’re going to have a bunch of teams, some picking earlier than Seattle, who see Garrett as a route to legitimacy.
The Commanders in particular feel like a great fit. They have momentum, they just made the NFC Championship game so they’re close, they have an exciting blossoming superstar at quarterback, they have new owners who are making a difference. This is a franchise you can imagine Garrett having interest in. It’s also easy to imagine they’d be quite aggressive in acquiring someone like Garrett, with Jayden Daniels’ rookie contract creating an amazing opportunity to make a splash.
Even so, the Seahawks have to force themselves into the conversation. They don’t have any truly special players. This is an opportunity to acquire a rare gem, someone capable of doing what Aaron Donald did for so long — wreck games on his own. This would give the Seahawks an opportunity to have one of the best, if not the best, defensive units in the NFL. That’s a great platform to work on improving the offense and connecting everything together, to try and get the team in a position to win big.
It’d take an almighty effort. They’d have to sell Garrett on the project, first and foremost. They’d have to go above and beyond to acquire him. Two first round picks would be the starting point in negotiations. Other picks and players would likely have to make up the package. They can’t do ‘whatever it takes’ as there will be a price point that is too high. Still, the Seahawks have to look into this.
Garrett isn’t a gadget offensive player, a finesse tight end or a noisy box safety. He is an actual generational talent, a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in the making, a destructive pass-rusher who strikes fear into every opponent. He can win you games, big games. He is one of the 15 best players in the league at any position.
No other player can elevate the Seahawks like Garrett, in the draft or free agency. His arrival would be a statement of intent. It would be a declaration of seriousness about actually trying to win a Super Bowl, instead of treading water in the middle ground. The Browns won 11 games in 2023 with Joe Flacco at quarterback because of the impact of players like Garrett combined with a strong running game. The Seahawks can try to recreate Cleveland’s physical style from the season before last.
This is an opportunity to give Mike Macdonald a chance to build something special on his side of the ball. It won’t guarantee a Super Bowl or even an appearance in the NFC Championship game. It would enable the Seahawks to think it might be possible, though — especially if Kubiak and Benton can get the running game going and create a non-disaster situation on the offensive line.
Adding a good young guard at #18 or a pass-rusher with potential makes a lot of sense but it might just lead to more of the same — a team desperately seeking greatness at key positions and only ending up with ‘good’.
They need to be in the thick of trade talks, they need to try and find a way to get in a room with Garrett and see if they can convince him that he can achieve his career goals in Seattle.
It’ll be more expensive than the 49ers trading for Williams and McCaffrey. This can be their version of those moves though — an inspired addition injecting serious quality into the roster, enabling the team to improve in a way rookie draft picks probably won’t be able to. Garrett isn’t Harvin, Graham or Adams. He’s an elite player at one of the three most important positions in the game. They have to be in the mix, because there’s a real threat they’ll just be picking in the late teens for years to come unless they can add special players.
If you missed my four-round mock draft yesterday, including detailed thoughts on Seattle’s picks, check it out by clicking here.
