3 Seattle Seahawks who have to take the next step this season

Seahawks that have to take the next step in 2023: 1. Darrell Taylor

Darrell Taylor had a really strange 2022 campaign for the Seahawks’ defense. He gave his unit a boost by notching 9.5 sacks, but he only managed to rack up 26 total tackles from his outside linebacker position. To put it simply, Taylor did a good job getting after the quarterback on obvious passing downs but he didn’t do much else.

Admittedly, that’s the most important thing he can do for Carroll and his coaching staff, but they need the former Tennessee star to start to round out his game. He’s never going to become a triple-digit tackler, but he could double his production on that front and it would do wonders to help this defense’s effectiveness.

If Taylor can’t find a way to up his game then he’s going to lose a lot of snaps to 2022 second-round pick Boye Mafa. This could easily turn out to be a make-or-break season for Taylor in terms of his long-term security in Seattle.

Taylor is always going to be a bit of a boom-or-bust player on the edge but improving his run defense is crucial to his long-term development. He still has star potential but the clock is ticking on his ability to blossom into a complete linebacker.