Through 11 games, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks sit with a 3-8 record, which is 15th best in the conference. In the NFC, only the Detroit Lions currently have a worse record than the Seahawks.
With six games remaining, Russell Wilson is likely facing his first losing season of his NFL career. Most people just believe that the Seahawks failure in 2021 is tied to Russell Wilson’s health status. But, is that truly the case?
Is this just a blip in the road, or are the Seahawks facing a rebuild?
Wilson’s injured finger has certainly not helped things with the offense. But, the Seahawks’ issues stem deeper than Wilson’s injured finger. The roster construction, the offensive play-calling, and the lack of future draft capital are major concerns for this Seahawks team moving forward. All of this to go along with Russell Wilson’s rocky relationship with the team. After reports surfaced last year that he wanted out of Seattle, who knows how this offseason will play out. After his worst season as a professional, I can’t imagine that Russell Wilson will be thrilled to run it back in Seattle in 2022.
The roster as currently constructed isn’t good enough to compete in the NFC. The offensive line hasn’t improved, and the run game has been non-existent.
In eight games, Wilson has been sacked 22 times. He’s been sacked on 9.0% of his dropbacks, which is the third highest in the NFL. Only Justin Fields and Davis Mills have a higher sack percentage than Wilson.
The run game has clearly struggled, and the offensive line is likely a key reason why. Sure, Chris Carson hasn’t been healthy, but Seattle elected to enter the season with no capable backup plan. The Seahawks currently rank 25th in the NFL in rushing yards per game (92.5).
The Seahawks need a complete overhaul on offensive personnel, and that can’t be done overnight.
The importance of drafting the right guys is important. But, the Seahawks will be without a first-round pick in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. That pick was dealt for safety, Jamal Adams. He certainly hasn’t been the biggest issue for the Seahawks, but he has certainly proven to not be worth two first-round draft picks. Over last two seasons, Adams has a Pro Football Focus grade of 63.8. The Seahawks would have been currently slated to select in the top-5, if they had their pick. That’s a poor use of assets, and that trade has truly put a strangle-hold on the Seahawks’ future. They have no future, and if Russell Wilson ends up wanting out, I can’t imagine that Pete Carroll will be around for much longer. It’s a harsh reality, but the Seahawks are in this position because of themselves. The postseason failures, poor draft picks, and poor free agent additions have all impacted the present and future of this team.
The front office deserves criticism, but the coaches haven’t given the Seahawks much of a boost, especially on the offensive side of things. When the Seahawks made the decision to hire Shane Waldron to be the team’s offensive coordinator, I felt like it would be a step in the right direction. Waldron has worked around the league for over ten years, most notably under Sean McVay as a key assistant on the offensive staff. But, to this point, Waldron has not done a great job setting the offense up for success. It has looked awfully similar to previous offenses. Seattle’s offense has averaged a little over nine points per game in their last three games, really hitting rock bottom.
Over the last three games, their best playmaker on offense has been a non-factor. DK Metcalf has failed to reach the end zone, and only has eight catches for 70 total yards during that span. If the Seahawks offense is to have success, Metcalf needs to be a big part of it. I understand that Russell Wilson isn’t heathy, but the offense isn’t up to par.
Waldron has also failed the time-of-possession battle during his early stint with the Seahawks. As NFL Network’s, Andrew Siciliano pointed out, the Seahawks currently rank dead last in the league in average time-of-possession, at 24:08 per game. The number truly is absurd, especially with all of the bad offensive teams in the NFL.
Things are really bad in Seattle, but things can get much worse. A lot of things still have to play out, but, if Russell Wilson does indeed officially ask for a trade, the Seahawks struggles are only beginning.
What a colossal failure.