Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has shown he doesn’t need a top-end edge rusher for his touted defensive scheme to work dating back to his time leading the Baltimore Ravens defense.
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In Macdonald’s final season in Baltimore, the Ravens led the league in sacks despite not having an edge player reach double digits. And in both of his seasons in Seattle, the Seahawks have been in the top 10 in both sacks and pressures without having a dominant pass rusher on the edge.
Seattle got it done this past season with a deep group led by Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, DeMarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu. But Mafe left the Super Bowl champs in free agency, and there are questions as to what the future holds for veterans Lawrence and Nwosu, which makes edge rusher a position for the Seahawks to target in this year’s draft.
When ESPN’s Field Yates joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday to discuss the draft, he highlighted two edge players expected to go after Day 1 who could fit the Seahawks.
‘Freaky athletic traits’
The ability to defend the run is an important trait for edge players in Macdonald’s defense. Lawrence was known as a stout run defender before signing with the team last offseason and finished first among edge players in Pro Football Focus’ run defense grading in 2025. Hall also finished 15th last season.
With the importance of being able to seal the edge in mind, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard asked Yates who he sees as the most “rugged” edge player in this class.
Yates went with Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton, a 6-foot-6, 256-pounder who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors last season.
“Remember that Penn State-Oregon game from this past year, which at the time Penn State was still in the playoff picture, James Franklin was still their head coach, and we didn’t realize that season was going to fall by the wayside. (Dennis-Sutton) had some crazy plays in that game, including an interception, I believe it was on a 2-point conversion, that just showed off some freaky athletic traits. He’s right outside my top 50 in overall rankings,” Yates said.
Dennis-Sutton had 12 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and a program-record three blocked punts in 13 games for Penn State in 2025. During a productive four-year career, he amassed 34.5 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles and two interceptions in 55 games.
Dennis-Sutton put together an impressive combine, ranking second in NFL.com’s athleticism score among edge players. He ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash and finished first at his position with a 10-foot, 11-inch broad jump, and was fourth with a 39.5-inch vertical.
Have a day, DDS 💪#WeAre | @TheDaniDennis
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— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) November 15, 2025
A Seahawks fit
Another player Yates pointed out was Michigan’s Jaishawn Barham.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Barham spent his final two college seasons at Michigan where he played a hybrid role as an edge rusher and off-ball linebacker. This past season he had 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks in 12 games while earning an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
At the combine, Barham ran a 4.64-second 40, posted a 33-inch vertical jump, and had a 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump.
“Jaishawn Barham would be a good example of a player that I think when I watch him (that) he may not be for everybody, but then I think about Mike Macdonald and I say to myself, that works,” Yates said.
Barham never had more than four sacks during a college season, but Yates believes there’s a lot of untapped potential in the Michigan product.
“He seems to be getting a lot less momentum and buzz in draft media than his teammate Derrick Moore, who had 10 1/2 sacks this past season. I see it completely the opposite. I think Barham is clearly the better and higher upside player,” Yates said.
“Barham’s just got these – and this is part of the reason why he was a capable standup linebacker – heavy, violent hands where he can really engage offensive tackles and knock them back. … He’s a work in progress.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or watch the video at the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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