Mike Macdonald Wants Revamped Seahawks Defense To “Build A Wall Up The Middle”

ORLANDO—We don’t yet know what a Seahawks defense led by Mike Macdonald will look like, and that’s no doubt by design.

Yes, there are likely plenty of clues to take from what his defenses were doing in Baltimore the last two years, but one of the advantages of being a new head coach is that opponents don’t entirely know what to expect come September.

But there are a few things Macdonald is willing to be open about when it comes to the key components of his defense that he did discuss on Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting. For starters, Macdonald wants his defense to be strong up the middle on all three levels, something the Seahawks have worked to do this offseason.

The Seahawks will definitely look different in that regard, having lost linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner in free agency and having released safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, but they’ve also attacked those spots in free agency, signing linebackers Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson and safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace.

The Seahawks could still add to those position groups in the draft or free agency, but as things currently stand, all four of those players figure to play prominent roles in the defense, especially if Macdonald plans to use three safeties, as he frequently did in Baltimore.

“It’s still coming together, but the middle of the defense is really, really important,” Macdonald said. “You need a strong spine and we’re excited about the guys we have. Guys that I haven’t coached yet, but watching them on tape and the relationships that some of our coaches have with them, feel really strongly about it and I think we’ll be really strong up the middle.”