3 key newcomers who have to step up for the Seattle Seahawks this season

The Seattle Seahawks have much to prove in 2024. Much of the roster that went 9-8 a year ago returns, but with the NFC West expected to be one of the toughest divisions in football and new head coach Mike Macdonald taking over for Pete Carroll, anybody who tells you they know what to expect from the Seahawks is lying.

The Seahawks have the talent to be a playoff team, and Macdonald has a reputation as one of the emerging defensive minds in the game. Does that mean that the Seahawks will find instant success under their new coach, or will it take time?

Macdonald has hired former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to run the Seahawks offense, which is an exciting proposition for Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, and the rest of Seattle's skill position players. Smith has been impressed with Grubb's ingenuity, saying during OTAs, "In the past two weeks, I've seen plays that I have never seen before."

If Macdonald and Grubb are the truth, the Seahawks will be in a great place going forward. To really prove that the franchise is moving in the right direction, though, not only will the new coaches have to prove that they belong, the new players on the roster will, too.

General manager John Schneider was active this offseason, adding talent via trade, free agency, and the draft. Here are three newcomers that Schneider brought in that will be counted on to contribute if the Seahawks are to be contenders this season.

Rayshawn Jenkins

As exciting as Grubb's offense has the potential to be, the real mark of whether the Seahawks can become a force to be reckoned with in the NFC will be what the defense can do. One reason for optimism is that Seattle was able to keep its best players in the secondary, while turning over the parts that have underperformed.

The Seahawks have arguably the best young cornerback tandem in the league in Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, and they signed Pro Bowl safety Julian Love to a three-year contract extension in July. Gone to Tennessee are Jamal Adams, who battled injuries and general ineffectiveness in his four disastrous years after being acquired via trade from the Jets, and Quandre Diggs, who intercepted just one pass last year after snagging 14 in his three previous Pro Bowl seasons.

Seattle knows what it's getting from Witherspoon, Woolen, and Love, and they hope to fill the hole at safety with Rayshawn Jenkins. Jenkins has been extremely durable, missing only four games in the past five seasons with the Jaguars and Chargers. He'll provide much needed run support in a division that features Christian McCaffrey, Kyren Williams, and James Conner, and if he can hold up in coverage as well, the Seattle secondary will be one of the best in the league.

Jenkins is far from the biggest name on the team, but his performance in his first year in Seattle will go a long way in determining the Seahawks' fate.

Byron Murphy II

The old saying that defense wins championships doesn't have the cachet it used to. Offense is king, but it seems the pendulum has swung too far towards those that can score points and too far away from those that can prevent them.

Never has this been more evident than in the most recent NFL Draft, where offensive players were taken with the first 14 picks. In total, six quarterbacks, four offensive linemen, three wide receivers, and one tight end were selected before a single defensive player came off the board.

The Seahawks are loaded with talent on the offensive side of the ball, so this was a great development for them, as it allowed them to snag a player that many teams had rated as the top defensive player in the draft with the 16th pick, Texas defensive lineman Byron Murphy II.

Murphy is exactly what Macdonald needs on this defense: an athletic space-eater that can shore up what was one of the league's easiest units to run against. Seattle ranked 31st in the league in run defense due to giving up over 138 yards per game on the ground, but Murphy will change that.

Murphy was a Second Team All-American last year, and he won the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year award despite near-constant double teams. No less an authority than Nick Saban described him as "Aaron Donald-like." With Leonard Williams demanding so much attention on the Seattle front line, Murphy will really have the chance to shine in his rookie season.

Sam Howell

Let's move to the offensive side of the ball for our final selection. Hopes are high that the marriage between Geno Smith and Ben Grubb can be a fruitful one, but recent injury concerns have made it clear that the Seahawks need a backup plan in place.

Smith has missed time in camp with knee and hip injuries, and though it appears that neither is serious (he's already returned to the field), it wouldn't be a surprise if backup Sam Howell saw significant time at some point this season. After all, 66 different quarterbacks started at least one game last season.

Howell was acquired from the Commanders for minimal cost, just two picks swaps from the third round to the fourth and the fifth round to the sixth. Washington dealt him to make room for new franchise QB Jayden Daniels, but he's no slouch, as he proved in his first year as a starter.

Howell led the league in pass attempts while playing for a bad Commanders team and behind an even worse offensive line. The former fifth-round pick only threw 19 passes in his rookie season, but that number exploded to 612 last year, and he turned that into 3,946 yards and 21 touchdowns, despite enduring a league-high 65 sacks. He also added another 263 yards and five touchdowns with his legs.

Howell received little fanfare for what he accomplished last year, but it's pretty remarkable for a fifth-rounder to step in and look like a functional NFL starter in his second season. If Smith gets bitten by the injury bug again, expect Howell to keep the Seattle offense humming.