With the 2022 NFL season reaching its grand finale, the Seattle Seahawks have miraculously found themselves in one of the best situations in the sport. Sure, they’re not expected to win it all this year, but even stacked up against the competition, it’s hard not to be excited about this team.
The obvious story that Seahawks fans will be reminiscing on for years to come is the resurgence of quarterback Geno Smith. Having started a couple of seasons as a highly touted pick by the New York Jets almost a decade ago, he found himself almost out of the league if Seattle didn’t offer him the backup spot. With Russell Wilson having left for Denver, Smith had a prime opportunity to prove himself and ended up throwing for 4,282 yards, completing just shy of 70 percent of his passes. Both of those are Seahawks franchise records, with his completion percentage leading the NFL this season. Smith might not be a franchise quarterback for years to come, but there’s no reason fans can’t rely on him for at least the next year or two as Seattle builds a team around him.
How Wilson did in Denver also directly impacted how the Seahawks would look in the draft. Seattle netted four picks out of the deal, including a first-round and second-round pick for this upcoming draft. The interesting part is that Wilson and his new team were absolutely abysmal this year, going 4-11 and posting a career-low in passing touchdowns (16). With the draft order officially decided, the two extra picks the Seahawks possess will be fifth overall and 37th overall, giving them an immediate outlet to grab an elite player right off the bat and continue fortifying their roster.
Of course, it’s a lot easier to feel confident about Seattle’s drafting capabilities when their 2022 rookie class was downright dominant. Charles Cross (ninth overall) and Abraham Lucas (72nd) both immediately became starting offensive linemen, and quality ones at that. Halfback Kenneth Walker III (41st) is a frontrunner for offensive rookie of the year, rushing for 1,000 yards despite starting just 11 of the games. On the defensive side, the Seahawks drafted two cornerbacks in Coby Bryant (109th) and Tariq Woolen (153rd). Bryant led the team’s corners with sacks and was the definitive number three behind Mike Jackson and Woolen. Meanwhile, Woolen ended up as an absolutely dominant force at his position, placing himself in the top three contenders for defensive rookie of the year and earning himself a Pro Bowl spot as the second-most-voted cornerback in the NFC. His six interceptions led the league. He probably won’t win rookie of the year behind New York’s Sauce Gardner, but the league knows his name and so should we.
Sure, the Seahawks will likely get absolutely shellacked by the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, but that’s okay. They have an incredibly bright future that we should look forward to.
