RENTON, Wash. — Before playing a game in a Seahawks uniform, receiver Rashid Shaheed said he intends to make Seattle his long-term home. The Seahawks gave up two 2026 draft picks to acquire him ahead of the trade deadline, suggesting they would like the same thing.

Shaheed entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022, the same year the Seahawks produced a strong draft class full of guys slated to be unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. It’s too early to truly assess Shaheed’s impact, but the first 10 games of Seattle’s season have provided enough info to take an early look at how some of those other impending free agents have performed in their contract years.

The focus here will be on players scheduled to be unrestricted free agents. This excludes players who will be extension-eligible this spring, such as receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, left tackle Charles Cross, outside linebacker Derick Hall and running back Zach Charbonnet, among others.

All stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise

Cornerbacks Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe

Seattle’s cornerback pecking order has evolved throughout the season. In Week 1, Woolen and Witherspoon were the top two guys, and Jobe was CB3. Jobe outplayed Woolen in that game and continued to play well while Seattle dealt with injuries in the secondary. Witherspoon’s return in Week 4 featured a new lineup of Jobe as the starter, with Woolen as the No. 3 cornerback in nickel packages. When D’Anthony Bell came in as the “big nickel” — rookie Nick Emmanwori was hurt at the time — Woolen was on the sideline.

Seattle didn’t have all of its corners available — Emmanwori included — until Week 9 against the Washington Commanders. In that game, Witherspoon, Jobe and Emmanwori started, and Woolen played in dime packages with six defensive backs. Jobe suffered a concussion 15 plays into the game, but the lineup to that point was another illustration of the updated pecking order.

However, Woolen has complicated matters, so to speak, because of his on-field performance. That’s why he and Jobe alternated snaps opposite Witherspoon in Seattle’s Week 11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Jobe was the starter but played fewer snaps (31) than Woolen (35).

The results were great. Davante Adams and Puka Nacua entered Week 11 averaging 160 receiving yards per game. They combined for 76 against Seattle, and 75 of that came from Nacua. Woolen allowed just two catches on five targets for 13 yards and a touchdown with one pass breakup. Jobe allowed two catches on three targets for 26 yards with one pass breakup (Adams also had a drop against Jobe).

“When you have Riq, Josh and Spoon out there, it’s three starting corners that are playing good football,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “And it allows us to match up a little bit more, and I think we did that (Sunday).”

Among cornerbacks with at least 200 snaps in coverage, Jobe has the 10th-lowest passer rating allowed (67.9), according to Pro Football Focus. He’s one spot behind Texans All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Woolen is 28th by the same metric; a notable name in that range would be Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, who ranks 25th and signed a four-year, $100 million deal this offseason. Woolen has six pass breakups and has surrendered two touchdowns. Jobe has four pass breakups and one interception; he has surrendered one touchdown.

Teams began calling Seattle to inquire about Woolen’s potential availability via trade early this season. But between injuries and Woolen’s play since the Week 1 debacle, Seattle has had no incentive to trade him. Woolen is a legitimate starting cornerback with All-Pro potential — he received several votes as a rookie — and doesn’t turn 27 until May. His skills allow Macdonald to be more flexible and more aggressive with his calls.

But the same can be said about Jobe, who turns 28 in April. Woolen and Jobe might end up being two of the best available free-agent cornerbacks this spring. Even if neither commands a top-market contract, Seattle might not want to pay what it would require to keep both players. The NFL’s 15th-highest-paid cornerback currently makes $18 million per year. Young, competent corners are not cheap.

The presence of 2024 fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett will be a factor in those decisions. So will the presence of the 25-year-old Derion Kendrick, also set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. In 86 coverage snaps, Kendrick has three pass breakups, two interceptions and surrendered a passer rating of just 16.7. There’s a scenario in which Seattle would choose between Jobe and Woolen, then re-sign Kendrick on a near-minimum contract (Jobe re-signed on a $2 million deal last year) as a potential replacement for the other.

The Seahawks have more starting-caliber cornerbacks than they can consistently field at once. It’s a good problem to have during the regular season, but also a problem that will likely lead to difficult decisions in the offseason.

Safety Coby Bryant

Bryant is having a career year after settling in nicely during the final 11 games of last season. This is Bryant’s first full year as a starting free safety, and Macdonald has tried to weaponize his tackling and ball skills as often as possible.

Coverage stats for safeties can be a bit noisy, but Bryant has been very good this season at keeping a lid on Seattle’s defense and eliminating explosives. The only touchdown he was obviously responsible for was a jump ball against Pittsburgh’s DK Metcalf on the goal line. Bryant hardly ever gives up post, seam or deep in-breaking routes (corner routes account for most of the big plays his way).

He has seven total tackles for loss and run stuffs (tackles for no gain), which ranks second among safeties. He has a pair of interceptions, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

In addition to being a leader and exemplifying what Macdonald wants his program to represent, Bryant is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. Julian Love made the Pro Bowl in 2023, and Seattle signed him to a three-year, $33 million extension in July 2024 (Love was 26 at the time) . Adjusted for the rising salary cap, a comparable contract would be around $12 million per year, which would pay Bryant like a top-15 safety. Bryant’s play warrants such a deal and maybe even a little more if he continues to play at a high level in the playoffs.

Running back Ken Walker III

After experimenting with a three-man rotation in Weeks 10 and 11, Macdonald said this week that Walker, the starter in every game this season, is “showing that he deserves some more opportunities” because of his on-field productivity.

By yards per carry, yards per reception and percentage of plays that generate a first down or touchdown, Walker, 25, has been Seattle’s best running back. Charbonnet has a better success rate and rush EPA, albeit with a higher percentage of runs that either gain nothing or go backward (only Las Vegas’ Ashton Jeanty has a higher rate in the latter category). Walker has an explosive play rate of 11.3 percent, fourth-highest among running backs with at least 75 plays.

Buffalo’s James Cook ($11.5 million per year) and the Rams’ Kyren Williams ($11 million) are members of Walker’s draft class who signed extensions this offseason. Seattle last extended a running back in 2021, when Chris Carson signed a two-year, $10.4 million deal; that would be worth about $8 million under the current salary cap, roughly in the vicinity of what Carolina is paying Chuba Hubbard.

Walker has accounted for 30 percent of Seattle’s touches; Charbonnet is at 22.8 percent. Splitting touches in that way makes it tougher to secure a lucrative payday. Perhaps “more opportunities” will get Walker on track for a nice new contract, but right now, that isn’t the case.

Outside linebacker Boye Mafe

Mafe’s pressure rate of 12.5 percent ranks 53rd out of the 175 defenders with at least 125 pass-rush snaps this season. He’s just above the Giants’ Brian Burns (12.3), who is second in the league with 13 sacks (the league average rate is 11.1 percent). But Mafe, who turns 27 this month, has just one sack and only three QB hits.

Uchenna Nwosu (5.5 sacks), Leonard Williams (five), Byron Murphy II (five) and DeMarcus Lawrence (four) have most of the sacks up front, while blitzers account for nearly all the rest of the team’s 32 sacks. Hall has the team’s highest pressure rate (17.3) but doesn’t have a sack. Mafe has two tackles for loss and a pair of pass breakups but hasn’t delivered the splash plays that young players on expiring deals typically hope to have.

That said, Mafe is completely bought in to doing his part to help the team win games regardless of his individual stats.

“All that other stuff doesn’t matter to me,” he said.

Mafe has the perfect attitude and approach for Macdonald’s culture. But how much will that matter in negotiations, given the other spots Seattle must address this offseason?