Pete Carroll Believes Seahawks' Secondary Could Be 'One of Our Best Groups'

While Seattle couldn't keep its secondary from 2021 completely intact, most of the group will return next season and with a pair of new coaches and cornerback additions added to the fold, Carroll has lofty expectations for the group.

Less than 24 hours after the Seahawks ended a tough 2021 season on a high note with a 38-31 road win over the Cardinals, coach Pete Carroll wasn't secretive about the team's offseason plans when it came to free agency.

While Seattle was expected to have significant cap space to work with, much of that money would be allocated to re-signing its own free agents. Despite finishing three games under the .500 mark and in last place in the NFC West, maintaining continuity on both sides of the ball remained the primary objective.

"I want to make sure that all of the guys that are with us, that we get our team back together, which is the effort through free agency. We want to make sure that we’re able to reconnect with our guys and get them back on the roster so we can build with continuity. That is the important part," Carroll said on January 10.

As Carroll and new defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt touched on several times leading up to the start of free agency last month, the Seahawks aimed to keep their secondary intact. With former starters in safety Quandre Diggs, cornerback D.J. Reed, and cornerback Sidney Jones all set to hit the market, they hoped to re-sign all three players if possible.

While Seattle came close to achieving this goal by locking up Diggs and Jones, however, the secondary will look significantly different next season after Reed left to sign a three-year, $33 million deal with the New York Jets.

In his introductory press conference for his new team, Reed called the Seahawks' offer "disrespectful," suggesting they weren't necessarily all-in on keeping their top corner. Further illustrating their lukewarm interest in re-signing him, the team already had made a move to add a potential replacement by signing veteran Artie Burns to a one-year, $2.035 million deal on the first day of free agency.

Burns, who will turn 27 years old in May, had been on Seattle's radar before. Per general manager John Schneider, the team tried to sign him two years earlier after playing his first four seasons in Pittsburgh. But he wound up signing with Chicago instead and after missing the entire 2020 season with a torn ACL, he thrived playing for defensive coordinator Sean Desai, breaking up five passes and allowing only one touchdown and a 54 percent completion rate against him in coverage in six games.

With Desai joining the Seahawks staff as an associate head coach, Burns was a natural fit to bring onboard as a possible successor for Reed.

“Sean did a great job with him," Carroll said of Desai's work with Burns last season. "We had really great information. He’s a talented kid. He can do all the stuff we would like him to do, so, we're looking forward to it.”

Although the Seahawks have deviated from prior prototypes with Reed and 2021 fourth-round pick Tre Brown excelling as smaller corners on the outside, they still covet length. With 33 1/4-inch arms, Burns checks off that box and also offers what Carroll called "premier" athleticism with 4.46 40-yard dash speed and sub-7.00 3-cone quickness.

With Seattle expected to play more man coverage next season, the scheme should be a quality fit for Burns, who has the athletic traits to match up with most NFL receivers on the outside. Last season, albeit in a limited sample size, he allowed only four receptions on eight targets when manned up, producing a pair of pass breakups and holding quarterbacks to a 59.4 passer rating.

While inconsistent as a man cover corner with the Steelers, he showed flashes of brilliance along the way. In 2017, per Pro Football Focus, he allowed only four completions on 16 targets for 72 yards and no touchdowns while yielding two pass breakups. Even during a rough rookie season, he was far more efficient in man allowing 13 receptions on 22 targets for 232 yards with an interception and pass breakup.

With Jones likely slotted into one of the starting roles in the secondary, Burns will compete against Brown, who continues to rehab from a patellar tendon injury. The former Oklahoma standout played well in five games as a rookie, allowing just eight receptions on 17 targets for 75 yards and a 59.7 passer rating.

"I know we didn't see a lot of Tre Brown, but we feel like we got a good feel for him," Carroll told reporters at the NFL owner meetings. "He just did not take any side steps along the way and we just had to believe what we were seeing and give him enough opportunities."

Along with a compelling battle brewing on the outside, the Seahawks spiced up the competition at slot cornerback as well. Set to vie for snaps against incumbents Marquise Blair and Ugo Amadi, the team brought back veteran Justin Coleman, who played extensive snaps as a nickel back for the team during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Like Burns, Coleman's arrival likely coincides with Seattle's desire to play more man coverage than in previous seasons. While he gave up 16 completions on 22 targets last year with Miami, he didn't surrender any touchdowns and picked off two passes when manned up, allowing opposing passers to post a pedestrian 64.6 rating.

During his previous stint with the Seahawks, Coleman also performed well in man coverage. In 2018, opponents completed 11 out of 21 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns against him when targeted in man coverage. He added four pass breakups for good measure.

Coleman isn't a one-trick pony, either. In his first season with Seattle in 2017, he didn't allow any touchdowns in zone coverage while picking off two passes and recording five pass breakups on only 28 targets, holding quarterbacks to a 56.8 passer rating that year. He also didn't give up any touchdowns in zone coverage in 2018.

"He's a tough guy, he competes his butt off, he's a great guy to have on your club, he contributes on special teams as well," Carroll said of Coleman. "He's played a lot of [outside] corner too and he's been in a lot of different situations, particularly at Miami in his one-on-one matchups in the way they played him, so we've seen him really clearly and he just brings an element of competition. That's exactly what we're doing."

With Coleman added to the mix alongside Blair and Amadi, the Seahawks may be able to handle nickel and dime situations by-committee based on opponent and game situation.

When healthy, Blair provides an intriguing skill set for the nickel role due to his physicality. He's an effective blitzer who loves to come up and make plays against the run and has enough size and length to hold up well in coverage against tight ends. He's opened each of the past two seasons as Seattle's starter at the position, only to go down with season-ending knee injuries.

Stepping in as his replacement both times, Amadi has performed valiantly, playing at his best in zone coverage where his average change of direction skills can't be exploited as easily. In 2020, he produced six pass breakups and didn't allow a touchdown on 44 targets in zone. Last season, he wasn't quite as effective, yielding 36 completions on 43 targets in zone with no touchdowns or pass breakups.

With the draft less than four weeks away and Seattle currently holding eight selections, including four in the first three rounds, there's a strong likelihood at least one cornerback will be selected to bolster the competition. While Reed's departure hurts, with Desai and defensive backs coach Karl Scott in the fold to help coach players up and both Diggs and Jamal Adams returning at safety, Carroll seems to feel much better about the secondary as a whole than he did this time a year ago. 

That's great news for a defense that will need to be much improved and far less predictable schematically for the Seahawks to stay competitive entering the post-Russell Wilson era.

"I think it's going to be one of our best groups that we've had. It's just all got to come together for us and I'm really excited about the way that we're coaching them, the guys that are bringing their stuff and the way that they'll teach them our football. It's gonna be exciting to see that development."