The super bowl champions are in full on draft mode as is the rest of the NFL. With every day we get closer to the NFL draft, and knowing a team’s biggest needs is always important this time of the year. Being the super bowl champion, the Seahawks don’t have many glaring needs, they’re one of the younger and obviously better teams in the NFL.
The Seahawks biggest problem on the team last year was the offensive line, and it’ll remain their biggest need heading into the draft. Two lineman left in free agency in Breno Giacomini and Paul McQuistan. These aren’t big losses, but it hurts consistency and they are two of the starters from last year. Former first round pick James Carpenter hasn’t panned out so far in the NFL either. They do have Russell Okung, but he’s only played a full season once in his career. Adding some bodies to the offensive line is very important to the Seahawks, if they can’t protect their young quarterback, they’ll struggle to repeat as champs.
The Seahawks had one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL last year, with a dominating secondary and a defensive line that had a heavy rotation of good players. The Seahawks parted ways with Chris Clemons, and Red Bryant, while Clinton McDonald also left in free agency. Adding some more bodies to their rotation on the defensive line will be important for their success as it lets them play fresh and at the top of their game.
One of the Seahawks other big needs this season is bringing in some more weapons on offense. Doug Baldwin is on a one year contract because of the tender that the Seahawks offered to him, Golden Tate left in free agency, and the team cut Sidney Rice. The team has few long term options at receiver outside of Percy Harvin and that needs to be fixed. This year’s draft is incredibly deep at receiver, so finding great talent in the middle rounds should be easy for a team that drafts so well like the Seahawks.
Not only is the receiver position lacking talent, so is the tight end position. Zach Miller isn’t a game breaking tight end, and he’s not even a tight end that teams fear. He’s a solid player that is probably better fitted to be a second tight end. Adding a big talent in the draft like Eric Ebron would really help the Seahawks open up their offense.