The Seattle Seahawks are fully in offseason mode, even if fans aren’t just yet. Interviews are heating up, futures contracts signed, big boards probably being assembled.
Seattle has, in general, a positive position heading into the spring negotiations in a few weeks. Multiple quality starters remain under contract in 2026. Two position groups stand out, one at the top, and one much more vulnerable.
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Strength: Defensive Line
This unit absolutely wrecked the New England Patriots to win the Bowl. It’s deeper than most, more versatile than all. And one new addition stands out as a serious encouragement to the 2026 roster: Rylie Mills. The man who got his first sack in the Super Bowl and nearly broke his teammates.
Mills tore his ACL 13 months before walking the 95th pick of the draft (whom many of you wanted) backwards into Drake Maye’s face. He’s played in seven total NFL games now, half of them taking place in these playoffs.
The best unit on the field will now in effect be adding a talented player next season. It serves as a massive safety net for the potential decline – or opportunity of rest – of someone like Jarran Reed. It’s crazy to think that Seattle could improve at one of the most important position groups in football without doing a thing.
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It still seems likely that Boye Mafe would not be a high return priority, but the interior of the line is the best in the NFL, and the cap situation is such that a high-end pass rusher would be an attainable and obvious need, potentially even improving the entire line next season.
Weakness: Corner
Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen in the same offseason. This will be interesting. Coby Bryant is hitting the market as well. That’s a big hit to the secondary, but the uncertainty at corner is big. Both Jobe and Woolen’s markets are fairly unknown. Jobe would likely be easier to retain but doesn’t project well as the CB1. And if he were to get valued somewhere like the New York Jets did with D.J. Reed, Seattle may be out of luck.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers serve as the best example for as good as Mike Macdonald is, he still needs actual NFL-caliber players in the backfield. That was the most-injured game for the Seahawks secondary, and they got the most owned. Nehemiah Pritchett is probably not the way the team wants to go.
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The free agency market also plays in both of these directions. Should Seattle target a pass-rusher, feeling their interior solidified, it’s a good market. Trey Hendrickson headlines a strong group, with six edge rushers in ESPN’s top-30 free agents. Comparatively, there are three corners, and one of them is Riq Woolen.
If I had to guess today, of the nine players coming on the market, I would say the postseason sent Kenneth Walker III’s stock way, way up, and Woolen’s down. Mark me down for Jobe returning, Woolen not, and Mike Macdonald on the hunt for a premier outside corner to prevent defensive regression.
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