Seahawks Position Preview: Defensive Line
Will the run defense improve after a horrific 2023 season?
Defensive lines are judged by two things: stopping the run and sacking the quarterback. In 2023, the Seahawks actually reached the quarterback a decent amount with 47 sacks, finishing 12th in the NFL. Boye Mafe (listed as LB) led the team with 9.5 sacks, but the defensive line held their own as well led by Jarran Reed’s seven sacks. However, the rush defense was atrocious. The Hawks gave up 138.4 yards per contest, ranked 2nd to last in the NFL. Will the new Mike Macdonald 3-4 Ravens defense improve their ability to stop the run? This is what most Seahawk fans will be looking for in early games and why the Seahawks put the resources they did into improving this unit.
Defensive Line
Projected starters: Dre’mont Jones (DE/RUSH), Jarran Reed (DE), Johnathan Hankins (NT), Leonard Williams (DT)
Likely on the roster: Byron Murphy II (DE)
Fighting for a spot: Mike Morris (DT), Cameron Young (NT), Matt Gotel (NT), Myles Adams (DE)
The Seahawks released their first depth chart of the preseason and Dre’Mont Jones was listed as a starter at the “RUSH” outside linebacker position. Thanks Seahawks. That would have been helpful a week ago before our linebacker position preview. It also helps fans understand that Mike Macdonald and his staff view the edge players differently than previous coaches in Seattle. Boye Mafe is listed as the backup to Jones with Uchenna Nwosu on the other side in the Macdonald 3-4 hybrid defense. In other defenses, all three of these players (along with Derrick Hall) would be classified as defensive ends. For your purposes, you will see them sometimes near the line of scrimmage with a hand in the ground, but often rushing from a two point stance.
For those in a more traditional defensive line position, nothing is traditional. Leonard Williams highlighted why he is excited about this defense on Brock and Salk. Simply put, you won’t see Williams in the same spot on every snap. Sound familiar? The essence of this defense is that players are multiple and will be hard to find (thus hopefully confusing the offense as well). The Seahawks need a versatile, dominant Leonard Williams in 2024. Seattle must expect this version of Williams to give him a 3-year, $64.5 million deal (with a $24.9 million bonus). If anyone can unlock an awesome Williams, it is Mike Macdonald.
One player who may not move around as much is new Seahawks Johnathan Hankins. The former Dallas Cowboy is a big man (6’3, 320 lbs) who can rush the quarterback a bit on the inside, but will have a big role in stopping the run. Unfortunately, Hankins wasn’t very good at this last year. However, he still might be an upgrade over what the Seahawks looked like in 2023. What Hankins does for this group is raise the floor, if not the ceiling. A group that features Reed, Jones, Williams and Hankins is pretty good. Now add in rookie Byron Murphy II and we might be cookin.
Yes, it has been four paragraphs before talking about Byron Murphy. Yes, that is dumb. Murphy is the buzz of training camp (along with DK Metcalf and Riq Woolen). Big enough to play a run stopping defensive end and explosive enough to rush from the inside or other outside spot, Murphy (like Williams) will be used all over the defensive front. If there is anything to watch in preseason games, it is to focus on Murphy and watch his battles on the line against opposing O-lines. Murphy’s explosiveness apparently comes from his legs. No, seriously. Look at this quote from Leonard Williams:
"Like you said about his legs, this man has like tree-trunk legs. When I first met him, I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve never seen legs like that before.’ His advantage is he has natural leverage, so on the line, it seems like it’s very hard for them to move him because he has that natural leverage, and his move selections in the pass rush and stuff like that are all like trying to get underneath guys.” (same interview on 710)
Needless to say, I will be watching Byron Murphy a lot this year.
Rounding out the depth on the defensive line, Mike Morris is battling Cameron Young and Matt Gotel for the sixth spot in this group. The Seahawks could keep seven players on the line potentially (if you include Dre’Mont Jones as a defensive lineman), but no more than that number. (Macdonald’s Ravens defense kept six on the line and nine at “linebacker” including rushers). Gotel is listed as second string on the first depth chart, but has only been active for one game (last year’s finale). He has bounced around, spending most of his time on the practice squad. Young hasn’t practiced yet after being placed on the PUP list in late July, opening the door for others like Morris to seize the opportunity. Preseason games will be an opportunity for these players to shine and make their case to be a part of the 53 man roster come September. This is also a position where the Hawks may pick up someone cut by another team before the season opener.
Past position previews:
Do you know when the first preseason game be?!? Thank you for the article. I enjoyed reading it. ImsoexcitedfortheSeahawks!