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# Progress Report: How Have Seahawks’ Defensive Position Groups Fared Through 7 Games?
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/progress-report-seattle-seahawks-defensive-position-groups-through-7-games/
- Published: 2025-10-26T04:23:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:31.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Jarran Reed, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, Demarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall, Drake Thomas, Ernest Jones, Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Derion Kendrick, Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Ty Okada, Nick Emmanwori

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2584"\]

![  Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne (1) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones (13) during the first quarter in an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium. Credit: Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27309759-format-original.jpg)

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne (1) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones (13) during the first quarter in an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium. Credit: Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union \[/caption\]

Rolling into their bye week with quite a bit of momentum winning their previous two games and five of their past six contests, the Seattle Seahawks will enjoy some much-earned time off while sitting in a three-way tie atop the NFC West, positioning themselves to make a run at a division title in the second half.

Looking back at the first seven games in year two of the Mike Macdonald era, how have the Seahawks performed on the defensive side of the football thus far? Breaking down strengths and areas of concern, here are grades for all five positional groups heading into the bye:

*\*Statistics and advanced data courtesy of Pro Football Focus and TruMedia unless otherwise noted.*

### Defensive Tackle

**Areas of Strength**: Only two teams in the NFL have more than one defensive tackle among the top 10 in pressures, with the Seahawks being one of them thanks to Leonard Williams (24) and Byron Murphy II (23) frequently harassing quarterbacks. The prolific duo hasn’t just been racking up pressures in bunches, however, as Murphy leads all defensive tackles with 4.5 sacks and Williams isn’t far behind him with three of his own. Even while seeing a slight reduction in snaps on passing downs, Jarran Reed has also been rock solid in the pass rushing department with a respectable 13 pressures and 8.3 percent Pass Rush Win Rate to give Seattle a three-headed monster in the interior that rivals any group in the NFL.

Away from turning up the heat on quarterbacks, Murphy has been equally dominant stuffing the run, currently ranking sixth in run stops (11) and seventh in run stop rate (10.5 percent). While he has missed three tackles, Williams has been nearly as effective with nine run stops and an 8.6 percent run stop rate, while Reed has yet to miss a tackle defending the run and Mike Morris has posted a strong 13 percent run rate in limited action as a quality rotational reserve in his third season.

**Areas of Concern**: If there’s a reason for concern with this group, away from an uncharacteristic off game for the whole unit in a loss to the Buccaneers in Week 5, the Seahawks have been heavily reliant on the trifecta of Williams, Murphy, and Reed with no other interior defenders producing more than four pressures and offering no sacks or tackles for loss. The lack of depth hasn’t been an issue to this point, but it bears watching as the season progresses, especially if veteran nose tackle Johnathan Hankins or rookie Rylie Mills don’t return from injury for the second half playoff push.

**Grade**: A-

### Outside Linebacker/EDGE

**Areas of Strength**: Finally able to stomp the injury bug that nipped him numerous times in the past two seasons, Uchenna Nwosu has rounded back into his 2022 form with five sacks, 23 pressures, and an impressive 17.6 percent Pass Rush Win Rate, ranking in the top five among edge defenders in sacks and top 20 in win rate. Proving to be an invaluable addition in free agency, veteran Demarcus Lawrence has been a thorn in the side of opposing offensive lines both as a rusher and a stout edge setter against the run, racking up three sacks, six quarterback hits, and seven tackles for loss to go with a top-10 ranking in run stop rate (10.7 percent).

Along with generating 21 quarterback pressures, Boye Mafe has done his job dropping occasionally into coverage on zone blitzes and sim pressures with a pass breakup and a forced incompletion. Collectively, including Derick Hall and Nwosu not missing any tackles against the run, the quartet of primary edge defenders for the Seahawks have missed a grand total of three tackle attempts.

**Areas of Concern**: Entering this season with lofty expectations after productive 2024 campaigns, though both players have respectable enough pressure rates north of 12 percent, Mafe and Hall have yet to register a single sack and only generated six combined quarterback hits. Missed tackles have been more problematic rushing the passer with Lawrence, Nwosu, Hall, and Mafe totaling six missed tackles on quarterbacks already through seven games. While misfortune has played a role, including Mafe having a strip sack in Week 7 wiped out by a penalty, the group also has yet to force a single turnover with no forced fumbles or fumble recoveries.

**Grade**: B-

### Inside Linebacker

**Areas of Strength**: Making his new three-year, $33 million contract look like one hell of a bargain for the Seahawks, Ernest Jones has staked a claim for All-Pro consideration with elite all-around play, racking up 58 tackles, a sack, and three interceptions, tied for the second-most by a linebacker behind only Devin Lloyd of the Jaguars. Regularly making plays at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield, his 2.3 average yards of depth per tackle against the run ranks seventh-best at his position, while his passer rating against in coverage (77.3) also ranks inside the top 10.

One of the biggest surprises so far for Seattle, Drake Thomas usurped Tyrice Knight as the starter at WILL linebacker in Week 4 and has been nearly as impressive as Jones making an impact in a variety of ways. An outstanding pass rusher from the second level, the third-year defender has already recorded two sacks and three quarterback hits as a blitzer to go with three tackles for loss. In coverage, he has gotten his hands on a league-high four pass breakups and forced five incompletions on 28 targets, allowing a 64 percent completion rate that ranks sixth among qualified linebackers.

**Areas of Concern**: While both Jones and Thomas have stacked the season-long box score so far, those numbers would be significantly better without the high total of tackles left on the field between them. Thomas ranks first out of 60 qualified linebackers with an ugly 26.7 percent missed tackle rate, while Jones has missed three percent more tackles (10.8 percent) than he did last year thus far. Whether defending the run or bringing down receivers after the catch, both of them will have to work on wrapping up ball carriers and making sure to get them to the ground with more proficiency in the second half.

**Grade**: B

### Cornerback

**Areas of Strength**: Building off unexpected success off the waiver wire a year ago, Josh Jobe has been Seattle’s most consistent cornerback in the first half, ranking in the top 12 in the league in passer rating against (66.5) and completion rate against (52.1 percent) while having no missed tackles as a run defender. In addition, on just three blitz attempts from the boundary, he has tallied a sack and two pressures. Thrust into the lineup after being claimed off waivers from the Rams with Devon Witherspoon battling a knee injury, Derion Kendrick thrived in his first action as a slot corner in the league, picking off two passes and recording three pass breakups while allowing a 19.9 passer rating in coverage.

**Areas of Concern**: Losing out on snaps for a few games and likely fueling ongoing trade rumors in the final year of his rookie contract, Riq Woolen endured a challenging first half, failing to record any interceptions while giving up a game-winning touchdown in a Week 1 loss to the 49ers, allowing a passer rating just under 100, and missing 29.2 percent of his tackle attempts. Meanwhile, Witherspoon played in just two of the first seven games with a knee injury and allowed two touchdowns in limited action, struggling to get into a rhythm while playing at well below 100 percent health.

As a group, the Seahawks have also struggled to finish off plays in coverage, as lamented by Macdonald on multiple occasions following games. Leading in a category that isn’t ideal, Jobe and Kendrick both have two dropped interceptions apiece, failing to capitalize on turnover opportunities with cornerbacks contributing just three picks in seven games.

**Grade**: C-

### Safety

**Areas of Strength**: Dealing with a litany of injuries, including Julian Love missing four games with a hamstring strain and Nick Emmanwori sitting out three games with a high ankle sprain, the Seahawks have managed to continue playing quality football on the back end of the secondary as well as in the box with their safeties. Leading the group, Coby Bryant picked off a pair of passes while adding a pass breakup in coverage and tallying 34 combined tackles. Next to him, Ty Okada ran with his first chance to start multiple games in the NFL in Love’s place, producing two pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, and 23 tackles while logging significant snaps at free and strong safety positions.

Coming back from his early injury with a vengeance, Emmanwori has been an exciting addition to Macdonald’s defense as an athletic 6-3, 228-pound Swiss army knife who can play both safety spots as well as the slot, making his presence known with 16 tackles, six pressures, and two pass breakups in the past four games. When called upon for a handful of defensive snaps this year, veteran D’Anthony Bell has also been a factor with a sack, a tackle for loss, and a blocked punt.

**Areas of Concern**: Much like the off-ball linebacker position, tackling consistency from the safety group has been fleeting at best. Before his injury, Love had a surprisingly 21 percent missed tackle rate, while Bryant has the 12th highest missed tackle rate among qualified safeties at 17.1 percent. Keeping the unit healthy will be critical in the second half, as Love returning to Pro Bowl form and Emmanwori continuing to grow on the fly as he gains experience will be key to Seattle’s defense playing up to full potential.

**Grade**: A-