Seahawks’ reworked defensive line features ‘three-headed monster’

RENTON, Wash. – There is one large carrot the Seahawks are holding in front of their defensive players when it comes to getting better at defending the run in 2023.

Stop early-down runs, defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt tells them, and third-and-shorts become third-and-longs, and then there are that many more opportunities to rush the passer and get sacks.

As has become steadily apparent in the NFL the last few years, it’s the pass rushers who make the most money.

“You’ve got to earn the right to rush the passer,” Hurtt said Tuesday.

Or, as edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu put it once last year: “Stop the run so we can have fun.”

The Seahawks didn’t do that as much as they needed to in 2022, allowing 4.9 yards per carry, 26th in the NFL and 1.1 yards per carry more than in 2021, when they ranked second.

That included a late-season stretch in which they allowed 161 yards or more in five straight games. Four of those were losses as the Seahawks fell from a 6-3 start and leading the NFC West to a 9-8 finish and needing some last-game heroics to capture the seventh and final playoff spot.

That led to an offseason makeover of the defensive front seven aimed largely at getting better at the run, the centerpiece of which is an entirely new starting interior line.

As the Seahawks concluded their first week of training camp Tuesday with their second straight day in pads, the team’s usual interior line in its 3-4 defense consisted of Jarran Reed at nose tackle and Dre’Mont Jones and Mario Edwards Jr. at end. All are veteran free-agent signees. Jones is a former Denver Bronco inked to a three-year deal worth potentially just over $51 million; Reed is a former Seahawk returning after two years away in Kansas City and Green Bay.

That each of those two is starting is no surprise.

That Edwards is may be more of one. The 29-year-old nine-year vet didn’t sign until May 15 and missed much of organized training activities (OTAs) while dealing with some family matters.

But from the minute he signed, the Seahawks talked of his potential against the run – he had an above-average run defense grade from Pro Football Focus last year while playing with Tennessee and the 25th best of all edge players.

Through a week of camp, they’ve seen what they hoped to see.

“Mario has been impressive,” Hurtt said Tuesday. “He plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage. I’ve been really pleased with what he’s been able to do.”

“I feel like we kind of have a three-headed monster with me, Dre and J-Reed,” Edwards said. “You get different things from different people, but put it together and we make a good front.”

The addition of Edwards helped compel the Seahawks to move Reed to nose tackle and appear to answer what had seemed like one of the team’s biggest question marks heading into camp.

Al Woods was the primary nose tackle last season but was released in March. Backup Bryan Mone is still recovering from an ACL injury and it’s uncertain when he will return.

Moving Reed there also seems to herald at least something of a shift to having some quicker, more athletic players in the middle. Reed is listed at 306 pounds and Woods at 331.

Flanking those two are edges Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor. The latter struggled at times with run defense last year in his second full NFL season, something Hurtt acknowledged Tuesday, saying, “improve as a run defender” when asked what Taylor needs to do to take the next step in his game.

“He has actually been committed to doing that, trying to work to get better in that facet,” Hurtt said.

While the Seahawks are sure to keep looking to add to the defensive front, the move of Reed to nose in the 3-4 (and pairing with Jones as tackles when the team uses a 4-3) appears to have Seattle feeling set with its interior line.

But also part of that makeover is the return of Bobby Wagner to the middle and the addition of Devin Bush at weakside linebacker. The team was impressed with Bush’s run defense in Pittsburgh, which could be his biggest role as he might often come off the field when the team goes to its dime (six defensive backs) formations in obvious passing situations.

Wagner’s return could be vital not just for what he does once the ball is snapped but what he does during plays in getting the call from Hurtt to relay to the rest of the team. Jordyn Brooks held that “green dot” helmet role last year, but Wagner has it now that he is back and Brooks remains out while recovering from a knee injury.

“It’s great because you have a calming influence,” Hurtt said. “Jordyn did it last year and (departed WLB) Cody (Barton) had experience with that last year, and they did great for what they had to do. But it’s different. You are talking about a Hall of Fame player. And, obviously, he has a calming influence and voice, so when he says something in the huddle everything calms down.”

Wagner earlier this week cited the value of communication and everyone understanding their assignments as the most vital aspect of improving run defense.

“I think it’s just understanding your run fits,” Wagner said. “(An opponent) is not just going to line up and come right at you. They’re going to move a guy, they’re going to motion a guy, and all of those motions change a gap. So, you have to know what your gap is after that and just having an understanding. Sometimes they’ll motion and put the nickel into the fit, and now the nickel has the run gap or they’ll move the tight end and make the outside guy have to fold back in. There are different ways that the offense (adjusts) to mess with your run fits, so just being mindful of that, being able to communicate that with everybody and just be on the same page. I think that’s the biggest emphasis.”

Will some different personnel and better communication make all the difference?

Hurtt is hoping it will.

He noted Tuesday that despite the team’s run-defense woes, the Seahawks still had 45 sacks last season, tied for seventh in the league, and 11 more than in 2021.

“We tied for seventh in sacks last year, and we couldn’t stop the run to save our life,” he said. “So imagine if you get more opportunities to rush by defending the run game better.”

He’s counting on his players turning imagination into reality this fall.