Lefko: Seahawks should search for a future quarterback as they run the risk of becoming mediocre.
When the Seattle Seahawks were set to play the Rams a month ago, I predicted that the next five games would reveal a lot about the franchise’s direction for the ensuing two seasons.
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Regretfully, the Seahawks’ first four-game losing streak under Pete Carroll’s leadership has made it very evident that they need to make audacious moves this offseason in order to stay above the mediocrity trap.
Being mediocre is the most annoying position in the NFL. There is an existential dilemma regarding whether to stick with the winning seasons that have a ceiling of the first or second round of the playoffs, or to embrace the agonizing process of rotating the roster in order to acquire high draft picks and a plethora of cheaper players in order to build a contender.
Although it is a difficult realization, the Seahawks’ belief that their current roster is capable of winning a Super Bowl was exposed by these four losses. The Eagles, Cowboys, and 49ers are all Super Bowl contenders. When it comes to facing those teams, the Seahawks are glaringly inferior.
Yes, another season for this young core and better injury luck might help, but if the Seahawks don’t make a move at the most important position in the NFL—quarterback—this growth now feels more in line with the Vikings, Saints, Bucs (insert your favorite.500-level team here).
Quarterback Geno Smith is a good player. However, you have to take steps to get around that when your defense is this weak. And the ideal place to do it is where one man can make the biggest difference. While there are numerous issues with the defense that need to be addressed, there are numerous instances in the league where a genuine franchise quarterback can propel a team to unprecedented heights.
The Kansas City Chiefs encountered a comparable situation following the 2017 campaign, as three consecutive seasons with ten or more wins resulted in early playoff eliminations, including defeats in the team’s opening postseason game in two of those years.
While Alex Smith was good in 2017—indeed, he was really good—the team decided to move on from Smith after making the trade-up to select Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, which was the best move the team had ever made and one that would define a generation.
The Seahawks expect to be selected somewhere in the middle to late first round this year, similar to last year. It’s not necessary to select in the top five to select a quarterback with transcendent potential in what is anticipated to be a QB-rich draft. With their trades in that 2017 class that resulted in the acquisition of Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, respectively, the Texans and Chiefs both demonstrated that.
Currently, the Cincinnati Bengals are arguably the best team in the NFL to show how a quarterback can be the difference that separates a team from the competition for the Super Bowl. Cincinnati did bottom out to acquire Joe Burrow at No. 1 overall, so it’s not the greatest analogy for where the Seahawks are at the moment. However, that choice was made out of nowhere after five years of wild card berths. The Bengals’ floor is now at a higher level than it has been in more than thirty years after two AFC title game appearances in his first four seasons.
The Seahawks can’t afford to go down that route because of the money they’ve put into a select group of players and a solid core of back-to-back draft classes, which would cost them dearly by the time Seattle recovered. The Seahawks currently have too many victories to automatically rise to the top of the draft board, and we’re talking about a change that needs to happen this offseason.
Fortunately, needing a quarterback in this draft makes sense. The Seahawks could even do the same as the Chiefs, who selected a rookie and then benched him for a season in order to continue building around him. It won’t be a one-year fix given the holes in this team, but it might be the spark that propels them into contention more quickly.
The Seahawks are not unfamiliar with early playoff exits following a Super Bowl run; in fact, they may still be in the midst of it (though some may argue that the Russell Wilson trade signaled a change in the team’s fortunes and that we are in a new era). And as the early round losses mount, we all know how quickly the feeling of “just being glad to make the playoffs” turns into mounting frustration.
What is the best route for the Seahawks to return to the Super Bowl? is the essential question that they must consider. The Seahawks are not at the same level as the best teams in the NFC or the NFL, as this current run has demonstrated.
Currently, the sample size is large enough to conclude that the quarterback position on this roster lacks the game-changing ability necessary to advance.
