Seattle, WA
5 Bold Predictions For Riq Woolen, Seattle Seahawks Defense Entering 2024 Season
After more than a month of training camp and preseason dress rehearsals, the real bullets will finally start flying when the Seattle Seahawks officially open the Mike Macdonald era with a Week 1 home clash coming up against the Denver Broncos on September 8.
While Macdonald arrived in the Pacific Northwest as a first-time head coach at any level, he inherited a Seahawks squad with no shortage of talent that just missed the postseason with nine wins in 2023. Defensively, the team limped to a 25th overall ranking in points allowed and plunged back to the bottom of the NFL in rushing yards allowed, but the unit returns a fun blend of experienced veteran stars such as Leonard Williams as well as high-upside talents such as Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon, setting the stage for the group to make a dramatic bounce back.
Can Seattle’s defense emerge as one of the NFL’s most improved under Macdonald’s watch? Here are five bold predictions heading into the start of a new season in the Emerald City:
Coming off a spectacular rookie season where he tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions, Woolen wasn’t able to come close to replicating that performance last season in part due to injuries. Meanwhile, while Witherspoon put up a historic stat line tallying pass breakups, sacks, and tackles for loss, he only picked off one pass as a rookie, so double-digit combined picks between the two would be a massive, maybe even implausible jump from a year ago. With that said, the two players combined for 24 pass breakups between the two of them, regularly getting their hands on the football as active disruptors in coverage. If training camp serves as any indicator, more of those plays will be bound to turn into picks, especially in Macdonald’s aggressive defense predicated on speeding up opposing quarterbacks through post-snap disguise and a wide array of pressure packages. With both players healthy and presenting excellent fits for the scheme, look for a massive jump in the turnover department as the two young cornerbacks push for superstardom.
The Seahawks have come up just short of landing their first Defensive Rookie of the Year award the past two seasons with Woolen and Witherspoon finishing third and fourth in final balloting respectively. Being the second defender drafted in April, Murphy already has surfaced as a front runner to win the award and end a 48-year drought for the franchise, but depth and talent around him may limit his opportunities enough that he won’t be able to stack sack numbers likely necessary to take home the trophy. Still, easing him into a bigger role with Williams and Jarran Reed ahead of him has a great chance to present a less is more scenario, and by the end of the season, he will be wreaking havoc for opposing offensive lines with his elite first step and underrated power. Expect him to live up to the early hype contributing in a myriad of ways mucking things up at the line of scrimmage and making frequent visits into the backfield, even if he doesn’t quite have the sack numbers to garner Rookie of the Year honors.
Leading up to the season, the Seahawks have had to play a bit of musical chairs at linebacker with veteran Jerome Baker missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury. The former Dolphins starter returned to practice last week and looks to be trending in the right direction to play in Week 1, but his extended absence has granted Macdonald and his staff an extended opportunity to evaluate Knight, who has made tangible strides over the past month as he becomes more comfortable in a new scheme. After recording tackles in bunches in the preseason, it shouldn’t be a surprise if the fourth-round pick sees some defensive action early with Baker unlikely to be ready for a full workload and if he continues to play well against starter competition, it’s going to become harder to keep him out of the lineup as the season progresses. Possessing all the traits Macdonald prefers at linebacker, it feels like Baker may only be keeping the seat warm until the rook is ready, which has a chance to be much earlier than anticipated when he was drafted out of UTEP.
Several players have come close to double-digit sacks for Seattle in recent years, including Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe coming within a sack of the achievement each of the past two years. But the team still hasn’t had a player reach that mark since Frank Clark and Reed each enjoyed career years in 2018, standing out as the longest such drought in the entire NFL. Fortunately for Macdonald, he doesn’t have anything close to a bare cupboard in the pass rushing department to work with. Nwosu and Mafe already have been in striking distance of 10 sack seasons in the past and should benefit further from moving around more to create ideal matchups, while second-year defender Derick Hall could be a dark horse to watch for a breakout after a strong preseason. Even in the interior, Reed hit seven sacks last year and could surpass that number playing in Macdonald’s defense, while Dre’Mont Jones’ inside and outside versatility presents the potential to push for a career high in sacks as well, making this an exciting group to watch hunt down quarterbacks.
When it comes to reasonable expectations, nobody should expect Macdonald to work a miracle overnight and suddenly transform the Seahawks into a top-10 defense. While there’s plenty of talent, there are still notable question marks at linebacker and safety that must be answered, and learning a complex new scheme will undoubtedly have growing pains early in the season, especially in the communication department. But as things round into form, assuming injuries don’t hit the team too hard, the pieces are in place for Seattle to be dramatically improved under Macdonald’s watch, starting with a diverse defensive line and a talented cornerback group that stacks up favorably against any other team in the league. It likely will be asking too much for the team to allow less than 21 points per game after ranking 25th in that category a year ago, but don’t be shocked when the team approaches that threshold as a top-12 unit by end of the season either.
Seattle Mariners fans got their first looks at top international prospect Yorger Bautista on Monday, as he took the field with the Dominican Summer League Mariners in their season opener.
Bautista, who is the No. 13 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline, went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. The M’s signed him this past winter out of Venezuela and he’s not projected to make his major league debut until 2030.
The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:
A left-handed hitter and thrower, Bautista utilizes an unusual swing and set up, resting his bat on his back shoulder until he strides forward. It’s worked for him so far, with elite bat speed and double-plus raw power that he’ll be able to continue to get to consistently as he gets more reps.
Bautista’s arm strength matches his power as one of the strongest in the class. He has the chance to be a plus defender, and he should get the chance to play center field with his plus speed as he gets his pro career underway this summer.
As for the rest of the Mariners prospects in the system, most of them are off on Monday. The ACL Mariners are in action but the Single-A Modesto Nuts, High-A Everett AquaSox, Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers are all off.
The Mariners themselves are off as well and will resume play on Tuesday when they open up a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park.
First pitch is 6:40 p.m. PT. Seattle is 32-26 on the season.
NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of “Refuse to Lose,” as he talks about the disappointing loss on Thursday against the Nationals and the bullpen decisions that took place in it. Furthermore, where has the offense from April gone? How concerned are we about George Kirby? And what are all the big roster decisions that this team has to make moving forward. CLICK HERE:
HISTORIC DEBUT: Cole Young debuted on Saturday night, hitting a walk-off fielders choice for the M’s and making some special history. CLICK HERE:
NO QUESTION: According to ESPN researcher Paul Hembekides, there’s “no question,” that Cal Raleigh is the best catcher in the league. CLICK HERE:
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.
Tani Oluwaseyi scored two goals in the second half and Minnesota claimed its first-ever win in Seattle with a 3-2 victory over the Sounders on Sunday.
Minnesota (8-3-6) beat the Sounders (7-5-5) for just the second time in 16 meetings — and won in Seattle for the first time in nine tries. The Sounders also knocked out Minnesota in the 2020 Western Conference championship.
Seattle (7-5-5) dropped its first game at Lumen Field this season, moving to 5-1-2. FC Cincinnati is the only MLS team yet to lose at home.
Minnesota and Seattle combined for four goals in seven minutes, marking the ninth time in MLS history that two teams had four goals in eight-or-fewer minutes in a half.
Oluwaseyi opened the scoring in the 51st minute when he was left alone at the penalty spot for a redirection of Robin Lod’s back pass. Oluwaseyi scored again in the 58th on a rebound attempt for a 3-1 lead.
Lod scored on a penalty kick in the 54th for a two-goal advantage.
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Nicolás Romero scored for Seattle.
The Seattle players wore T-shirts before a match that read “Club World Cup Ca$h Grab” to demand a share of the prize money for participating in the upcoming international tournament.
SEATTLE – On the eve of his major league debut, as he unsuccessfully tried to get some sleep, Cole Young’s mind raced through all the various scenarios he might find himself in the next day.
But there was one situation that never crossed his mind.
Perhaps because it would’ve seemed too good to be true.
Young delivered a walkoff in the 11th inning of his first big league game, chopping a grounder to first base that brought home Miles Mastrobuoni for the winning run in the Seattle Mariners’ 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday evening.
“That was unreal,” Young said, still trying to grasp the dream-like whirlwind that had just ensued. “I can’t even describe it. The past 24 hours, it has been insane. I mean, I never thought I would be in that situation hit a walkoff in my debut. That was unreal.
“I didn’t sleep last night,” he added. “I was just thinking of every scenario that could happen, (but) a walkoff was not in my mind.”
Young also picked up his first career hit in the ninth inning. After falling behind 1-2 against Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax, Young dipped down and pulled a low-and-inside sweeper into right field for a single.
And in the 10th, Young helped turn an inning-ending double play that prevented a run from scoring.
It was all part of a highly impressive debut for the 21-year-old second baseman, who was promoted earlier in the day after a scorching month in Triple-A Tacoma, where he hit an astounding five home runs, three triples and 10 doubles over his final 24 games.
“He’s a big league player,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s why he’s here, and he made the plays. He did an outstanding job. And that’s not easy to do when it’s your first big league game.
“He was able to go out there and just be Cole Young. It’s just an outstanding ballgame for him and it led to a big win for us.”
Young, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 43 overall prospect, was drafted by the Mariners as a first-round pick out of high school in 2022. He was highly productive at every level of the minors, all while being one of the youngest players at every stop.
Young was widely expected to reach the majors at some point this season. And after his recent tear in Tacoma, his promotion began to feel inevitable.
But still, Young was caught off-guard when he was pulled in the middle of Tacoma’s game on Friday night.
“Our manager came up to me after the third inning and he was like, you’re going to Seattle tomorrow,” Young said. “And I had him repeat it. I’m like, what? Because I couldn’t believe it. And then he told me (again).
“And so last night I didn’t sleep at all. I was just thinking about what would happen today.”
When Young came to the plate in the 11th inning, the winning run was on third with one out. He fell into an early hole, fouling off three of the first four pitches from Minnesota reliever Cole Sands.
Young then got his bat on a 1-2 splitter and sent a one-out chopper to former Mariners first baseman Ty France. France barehanded the ball and threw home, but Mastrobuoni slid in safely.
It was actually stunningly identical to Young’s walkoff on Thursday night in Tacoma, when he hit a high chopper to first that plated the winning run for the Rainiers.
“It was like the same exact hit, which is crazy,” Young said. “I’m just glad I put the ball in play and good things happen.”
After his walkoff on Saturday, Young was mobbed by his new teammates in shallow left field. Meanwhile, his family and friends celebrated from the T-Mobile Park stands, along with some 37,000 other ecstatic Mariners fans.
“I still haven’t wrapped my head around the game,” Young said, “but it’s been an unreal 24 hours.”
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Cal Raleigh moves into tie for MLB HR lead, then fire alarm goes off
• Cole Young to make MLB debut, start at 2B for Seattle Mariners
• Three reasons behind the Seattle Mariners’ May swoon
• Seattle Mariners prospect Harry Ford continues tear with massive HR
• Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh details his key improvement at the plate
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