The Seahawks overachieved to win nine games in 2002, but if they want to crack double-digits in 2023 these three players must step up.
Pete Carroll deserves a ton of credit for piloting the Seattle Seahawks to a second-place finish in the NFC West last season. Now the challenge for everyone in Seattle is to find a way to close the gap on the 49ers in 2023.
The good news is that Geno Smith is back to pilot what was a surprisingly efficient offense last season. It might be hard for him to play better than he did in 2022, but the organization enters this year with no significant questions at the quarterback position.
Carroll and his staff do need the defense to significantly improve if they want to become legitimate division title contenders. Getting one key player back from injury could help Seattle do just that.
Seahawks that have to take the next step in 2023: 3. Jamal Adams
Jamal Adams may never justify the massive price the Seahawks paid to acquire him but he still can be a high-level starter in his team's secondary. He only played one regular season game last year after suffering a torn quad. He should be ready to go by the time Week 1 arrives.
The Seahawks need Adams to be a playmaker near the line of scrimmage. When healthy, he's one of the top pass-rushing safeties in all of football. Seattle needs that unique benefit from Adams given their lack of quality edge-rushers at more conventional positions.
If Adams can come back and play like a Pro Bowler next year it's going to take a ton of pressure off his teammates. The Seahawks overpaid to acquire him but he can help them on the field in 2023.
Seahawks that have to take the next step in 2023: 2. Charles Cross
The higher-ups in Seattle should be happy with what they saw from Charles Cross during his rookie campaign. He gave up seven sacks as the team's starting left tackle but he flashed the natural talent required to be a dominating blocker out on the edge.
It's also worth mentioning that Cross compounded giving up seven sacks by committing seven penalties as well. Cutting down on both areas could pay big dividends for Cross and the Seahawks' offense.
The good news is that Cross's good plays were really good. He was a mauler in the run game and did a decent job holding up against the league's top edge rushers when he was left isolated. There's more good tape than bad tape to watch from Cross' first season as a pro.
The key for Cross this season will be to consolidate the gains he made as his rookie season rolled along. He just needs to moderately cut down on his mistakes to perform like a top-flight left tackle. There's reason for optimism that Cross can turn into a star this season but he's got to do the work required to take a meaningful step forward.
Seahawks that have to take the next step in 2023: 1. Darrell Taylor
Darrell Taylor had a really strange 2022 campaign for the Seahawks' defense. He gave his unit a boost by notching 9.5 sacks, but he only managed to rack up 26 total tackles from his outside linebacker position. To put it simply, Taylor did a good job getting after the quarterback on obvious passing downs but he didn't do much else.
Admittedly, that's the most important thing he can do for Carroll and his coaching staff, but they need the former Tennessee star to start to round out his game. He's never going to become a triple-digit tackler, but he could double his production on that front and it would do wonders to help this defense's effectiveness.
If Taylor can't find a way to up his game then he's going to lose a lot of snaps to 2022 second-round pick Boye Mafa. This could easily turn out to be a make-or-break season for Taylor in terms of his long-term security in Seattle.
Taylor is always going to be a bit of a boom-or-bust player on the edge but improving his run defense is crucial to his long-term development. He still has star potential but the clock is ticking on his ability to blossom into a complete linebacker.