The 2022 draft class represents a foundational piece of what the Seattle Seahawks are attempting to build over the next few seasons. And with their rookie deals expiring after this year, tough decisions are about to be made in regard to which players are absolutely vital to the core of this team and which ones are ultimately replaceable.
Wyman & Bob’s takeaways from Seahawks training camp
I figured, why not boil this down to an easy guide of which members from this draft class are the priority and which ones the Seahawks are better off waiting on until they are pending free agents?
We’re excluding left tackle Charles Cross from this exercise, because his fifth-year option was picked up (check back with me next year when we do this for the 2023 draft class), but I’ve lumped the remaining key members of this class into three categories:
NOW – Sign to an extension before this upcoming season begins
LATER – Play out the final year of the contract and sign in March
NEVER – Let them walk and hit the open market
Boye Mafe – NOW
It boils down to two simple reasons why the Seahawks need to do everything possible to sign Boye Mafe to a contract extension as soon as possible: the outside linebacker depth is thin and edge rushers command big dollars in free agency.
Opposite of Mafe, the Seahawks’ starting edge rusher is currently DeMarcus Lawrence, who is 33 years old. Uchenna Nwosu has simply not been able to stay healthy, and whatever production you get out of him at this point has to be looked at as a bonus, rather than an expectation. This is a position where it’s vital to have both elite talent and enough depth to wear down opposing tackles over the course of a game. The Seahawks are at a stage where they are close to opening up a window of contention; they can’t afford to take a step back at a key position by losing Mafe after this season.
Kenneth Walker III – NEVER
This is where the cruel, heartless nature of football comes in, but the Seahawks have moved beyond needing whatever Walker might be able to provide for them. It’s a brutal reality, especially at the running back position, but they are the most replaceable skill position on the roster.
Running backs don’t tend to get healthier as their careers progress, and Ken Walker is coming off a 2024 season where he played in just 12 games and had a lower yards-per-carry mark than Zach Charbonnet. His ever-increasing list of injuries and maladies reads like a hypochondriac adding a new affliction to their search history each week.
The one caveat I will add to Walker is that we’re looking at these contract decisions in terms of multi-year extensions. If he is willing to sign a one-year deal, similar to what the Seahawks did with Rashaad Penny in 2022, then by all means go for it.
Abraham Lucas – LATER
I waffled on this one and was leaning toward “now,” but after digging into what the free agent market has been like for right tackles over the last few seasons, it feels like the Seahawks will be able to wait to make sure that the knee issue that plagued Lucas during the 2023 season, and kept him out for most of last season, is indeed fixed.
Whether it’s due to the left tackle being the blindside protector (lefty QBs notwithstanding) or teams preferring to draft at right tackle or to convert one of their existing linemen to that spot, the going rate in free agency for a right tackle has been surprisingly low over the past few years. The salary cap website Spotrac tracks free agent contracts by position each year and the right tackles last year did not break the bank. You can click through the past years on there and see just how reasonable it would be to sign Lucas to a multi-year extension.
Coby Bryant – LATER
Bryant emerged as a force for the Seahawks’ defense after the move to safety last season, but his situation is murky because of the big investment Seattle made in Nick Emmanwori. For this upcoming season, Bryant certainly has the other safety spot alongside Julian Love, but after that it feels like the guy the Seahawks made a big move up in the second round to draft is the future at that position.
The small sample size at safety makes him an unknown for teams around the league, and it’s hard to envision his external value being higher than how the Seahawks feel about him internally. With this being a situation where you don’t have to worry about being outbid, it seems like a safe bet to wait until the season ends and work out a deal in March.
Riq Woolen – NOW
Funny enough, it was Shaquill Griffin’s return to the Seahawks this offseason that led me to the parallel between his rookie contract in Seattle and what free agency will look like if the team doesn’t sign Woolen to a long-term extension before this season begins.
Griffin started 11 games as a rookie, made a Pro Bowl during his first contract, and when he hit free agency, the Jacksonville Jaguars gave him the seventh-highest per-year average for any cornerback. Unlike right tackle, this is a position group that teams splurge on in free agency. Woolen has the physical traits and freakish athleticism that teams will line up to pay for if he is allowed to play out the final year of his contract.
Another pressing issue for the Seahawks is that they have no depth at outside corner. Their two starters right now are Woolen and Josh Jobe, with no one waiting in the wings. It’s not a position they addressed in the draft, there is no one pushing to inherit that spot, and cornerbacks will always be in high demand because of how modern offenses operate in the NFL.
The Seahawks have roster spots to address over the next few seasons. This does not need to be one that gets added to the list.
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