Seattle, WA
Insider: Seattle Seahawks could have league’s No. 1 defense
Heading into Year 2 of the Mike Macdonald era, the expectations are high for the Seattle Seahawks’ defense.
And for good reason.
After some initial growing pains last year, the unit evolved into one of the league’s best over the second half of the season. Over the final nine weeks, Seattle ranked fifth in scoring defense, fifth in defensive EPA and fourth in total defense.
And now, with nearly every key contributor returning, the Seahawks can build on the foundation they set during that second-half surge. On top of that, they bolstered the unit with more talent this offseason, adding four-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence in free agency and ultra-athletic safety Nick Emmanwori in the second round of the NFL Draft.
So, just how good can this Seahawks defense be? The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen, co-host of The Athletic Football Show, thinks the sky is the limit.
“I think there’s a chance that they can be the best defense in the league,” Klassen said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.
Macdonald’s brilliance
The biggest reason for Klassen’s optimism centers on the 38-year-old Macdonald, who he termed as “one of the most brilliant play callers in the league” on the defensive side.
Macdonald quickly developed a reputation as a defensive mastermind in Baltimore, where he excelled during his two-year stint as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator. Running an innovative scheme that flustered opponents, Macdonald’s Ravens finished third in scoring defense in 2022 and then made NFL history in 2023, becoming the first defense to lead the league in points allowed, sacks and takeaways.
And as a first-time head coach last fall – after inheriting a struggling Seattle defense that ranked 25th in scoring each of the past two seasons – Macdonald turned the Seahawks into top-five defense over the back half of 2024.
“It just feels like they are never in the wrong call,” Klassen said. “And that’s kind of a hard thing to quantify, but you watch other defenses, and every now and then you just feel like, ‘Ah man, they shouldn’t have blitzed there. Ah man, they really shouldn’t have ran man (coverage) there.’ It feels like Mike Macdonald does the opposite. … It just all feels like they have the right answers at the right time.
“There are very few defensive coordinators where it feels like they are on the front foot against the offense. And Mike Macdonald, to me, is one of those guys. I think he teaches the secondary very well, and then he brings his pressures in a way that is very smart.”
Strength in the trenches
Klassen likes the overall collection of talent on Seattle’s defense. But of all the position groups, he’s most excited to watch the defensive tackles.
The Seahawks’ interior defensive line is led by 31-year-old Leonard Williams, a two-time Pro Bowler who is coming off a sensational season that featured 11 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, three pass deflections and a pick-six. Seattle also has 32-year-old veteran Jarran Reed, who totaled 11.5 sacks over the past two seasons. And then there’s 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy II, who could be poised for a step forward in Year 2.
“This defensive tackle unit might be insane,” Klassen said. “Leonard Williams, last year, obviously was one of the best defensive tackles in the league. He played at truly an All-Pro level. … And then I think there’s a chance that Byron Murphy really takes a step and is something similar to what Mike Macdonald had with (second-team All-Pro) Justin Madubuike in Baltimore.
“There are obviously some other good players on the defense. … But I really think that defensive tackle room, if this is the best defense in the league, it’s gonna be because of those guys.”
Listen to the full conversation with The Athletic’s Derrik Klassen at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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