Where The Seahawks Stand
At this time a year ago, the Seahawks were heading into the draft with one sure thing at safety, Pro-Bowler Julian Love, and with a couple of newcomers, Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace, added to take on potentially big roles. And while the season began with that trio getting the bulk of the playing time at safety, things shifted as the year went along, with Coby Bryant eventually taking over a starting spot alongside Love. Bryant, who won over Mike Macdonald and the coaching staff in practice before getting his shot in games, first got his chance due to injuries at the position, but he played well enough to hang onto the role even when Jenkins and Wallace were back to full health.
Now, with Jenkins gone, having been released in a salary-cap related move, and with Wallace still a free agent, the Seahawks head into the 2025 draft with a pretty clear starting duo at that spot in Love and Bryant.
Love quickly emerged as a leader of the defense and earned Pro Bowl honors after the 2023 season, then signed a three-year contract extension last offseason, while Bryant emerged as a playmaker when finally given the chance, having converted from cornerback early in his career to safety, a move that began before the 2023 season.
“Guy is a Jim Thorpe Award winner,” Macdonald said of Bryant last season. “Heck of a player. I think it was just a matter of finding the right role for him. Sometimes with those guys you try to maybe ask them to do too many things because he can do all these things, when maybe the best thing is to kind of pick one and choose. You know, it takes time to find the right thing. To his credit he’s really embraced the challenge. When Rayshawn [Jenkins] went down, he was ready. So when preparation meets opportunities, that’s when great things happen. You got to credit him for being ready to roll and then just his natural ball skills and playmaking ability. That’s Coby. So we’re excited about the year he’s had and expect him to take the next level as we move forward.”
So with that duo leading the way, the Seahawks don’t necessarily need to add frontline talent to that group, but there could certainly be an opportunity to add depth, or, if the Seahawks want to lean on more three-safety sets, another starting-caliber player to join Bryant and Love on the field. Last year, the Seahawks did that early in the year with Wallace joining Jenkins and Love on the field, then later in the year, Jenkins was in that third safety role after returning from injury.
One option already on the roster to take on that third safety role could be free-agent signing D’Anthony Bell, and the Seahawks also have some young depth pieces they hope to see develop, including Jerrick Reed II, who will be healthy heading into this season after returning from an ACL tear that ended his rookie season in 2023, as well as Ty Okada. A draft pick could definitely factor into the mix as well, though as Macdonald noted at last month’s NFL Annual Meeting when asked about Bell, the decision to use a lot of three-safety looks depends a lot on the quality of the three safeties.
“Really excited about him,” Macdonald said of Bell. “I know he’s got previous relationships with some of the guys on staff like Jeff Howard. They love him and the tape shows it, his enthusiasm shows it, so he’s going to fit in just right with us. And again, the three-safety stuff, I think that’s because we had three great safeties, so ‘Hey, let’s figure out a way to get these guys in the field at the same time.’ So they earned those opportunities (last year), and if they go earn them, then we’ll figure out a way to get them out there.”