{"id":66853,"date":"2019-07-08T06:27:05","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T10:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=66853"},"modified":"2019-07-08T06:27:05","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T10:27:05","slug":"seattle-seahawks-x-factors-2019-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/07\/08\/seattle-seahawks-x-factors-2019-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle Seahawks X-Factors in 2019: Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Seattle Seahawks<\/a> have a really good team despite what some may say. They definitely have a big year ahead of them and it will take each player to step up in their role. Here are the defensive Seahawks X-factors in 2019.<\/p>\n

Seattle Seahawks Offensive X-Factors<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Seahawks X-Factors in 2019: Defense<\/h2>\n

Bobby Wagner<\/h3>\n

Bobby Wagner<\/a><\/strong> is the most prominent player on this Seahawks defense. Wagner has been one of the top two or three linebackers since entering the league. Linebackers often see a significant decline when they hit the age of 30 but thankfully, Wagner stands nowhere near that steep cliff right now.<\/p>\n

He finished as the number one ranked linebacker<\/a> by Pro Football Focus in 2018 and is headed for a big contract extension.<\/p>\n

Tre Flowers<\/h3>\n

The Seahawks secondary has been looking for a step up for a few seasons now and they are definitely headed in the right direction. Tre Flowers<\/strong><\/a> is probably the most exciting player in this secondary right now. He converted from safety to corner for his pro career, and it seems the change has fit him well.<\/p>\n

Flowers started 15 games at right corner in his rookie year and had 55 solo tackles and three forced fumbles.\u00a0His length as a press corner helped him to allow a passer rating of 51.4 on short passes (0-9 yards) in 2018, ranking him<\/a> second among corners.<\/p>\n

Jarran Reed<\/h3>\n

There were two puzzle pieces to the Seahawks pass rush last season and that was Jarran Reed<\/strong><\/a> and Frank Clark<\/a><\/strong>. But, with Clark gone, Reed is now the most important piece of the pass rush. Reed took a huge leap in 2018. He finished the season with 10.5 sacks, 50 combined tackles, and 24 QB hits.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Seahawks have added several players to help boost their pass rush. However, Reed remains the most important piece of that group for one reason: He’s only headed into year four of his career and has plenty of room to become one of the league’s nastiest interior defensive linemen.<\/p>\n

Bradley McDougald<\/h3>\n

The Seahawks need a safety to rely on after losing Earl Thomas<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and Bradley McDougald<\/strong><\/a> could very well become that guy for them. McDougald easily had a career year in 2018. He had 78 combined tackles, 66 solo tackles, four tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and three interceptions. This was a pretty good performance for someone who faced the pressure of replacing\u00a0Earl Thomas. Pro Football Focus even credited him and Thomas for having the best coverage grades among safeties.<\/p>\n

McDougald will have even higher expectations riding on him going into next season. If he can recover on-time from surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon<\/a>, he could have an even better 2019 than 2018.<\/p>\n

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The two best coverage grades among safeties belong to Earl Thomas (92.5) and Bradley McDougald (90.1). They are the only safeties with 90+ coverage grades! #Seahawks<\/a><\/p>\n

— PFF SEA Seahawks (@PFF_Seahawks) September 25, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n