Seattle Seahawks Defensive Youth Provides Reason For Optimism

The Seattle Seahawks defense is young, but they could continue to evolve into one of the NFL's best units in 2024.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 23, 2024

Oct 29, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) celebrates after sacking Cleveland Browns quarterback PJ Walker (10) (not pictured) during the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

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Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have the youngest coach in the NFL in 36-year-old Mike Macdonald, and the defensive guru happened to inherit one of the youngest defenses in the league, too.

Macdonald was the defensive coordinator for the No. 1 defense last season with the Baltimore Ravens, which is why the Seahawks were eager to pair him with several young up-and-coming players on that side of the ball.

The youth and optimism on defense makes the Seahawks an exciting team to look at going into training camp.

"Among the headliners for Seattle is defensive lineman Byron Murphy II, whom the Seahawks selected 16th overall in this year's draft," Bleacher Report's Ryan Fowler writes. "Macdonald's experience working with Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike should assist Murphy as he gets his feet wet in the NFL. Seattle also brought back Leonard Williams to play off Murphy's hip within the trenches. Off the edge, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall look primed to evolve into consistent playmakers. With offenses focused on stopping Murphy and Williams on the interior, both players should see plenty of isolated opportunities to create pressures. In the secondary, 2023 No. 5 overall pick Devon Witherspoon and 2022 Pro Bowler Riq Woolen remain one of the top young duos in the game."

If the Seahawks can buy into Macdonald's system and philosophies during training camp, Seattle has the chance to be far better than the 25th-ranked scoring defense like they were a year ago. The Seahawks defense could become one of the more underrated units in the NFL.

Published Jul 23, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.