The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2014 season atop the NFL world. After stomping the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII, the Seahawks cemented their place as the best team in the NFL. The Seahawks lost a few players over the offseason, but they retained the majority of their roster heading into this past season.
Well, things didn’t start too smoothly for the defending champs. After a sound victory over the Green Bay Packers to begin the season, the Hawks went to San Diego and lost their first road game of the season. The Chargers seemed to expose a fatal flaw of the Seahawks—playing on the road.
The Seahawks low point in 2014 came in Weeks 6 and 7. In Week 6 the Seahawks hosted the Dallas Cowboys. The team that usually wins every one of their home games looked sad. The Cowboys played like they were the defending Super Bowl champs on route to a 30-23 victory over Seattle. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Seahawks travelled to St. Louis the next week to play the Rams. A 28-26 loss to the Rams left Seattle at 3-3. That was the turning point in the Seahawks season.
After their loss to the Rams, the Seahawks lost only one more game the rest of the season. The Seahawks finished 12-4, and pulled off an amazing playoff run to get back to the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks had no problem defeating the Carolina Panthers, but the Green Bay Packers seemed to have their number in the NFC Championship Game. With five minutes left, the Seahawks pulled off an amazing comeback scoring two touchdowns to force overtime. The Seahawks got the ball first and never looked back.
In Super Bowl XLIX, the tables were turned. The Seahawks defense fell apart in the fourth quarter, and the New England Patriots snagged a 28-24 lead. The Seahawks then drove all the way down the field to the New England one yard line. It was then that Russell Wilson threw an interception, losing the game. Head coach Pete Carroll received a ton of backlash for the call which was soon labeled the worst in Super Bowl history.
The Seahawks don’t have many pressing needs, but there is always room for improvement. If they would like to make it to the Super Bowl for a three consecutive season, the NFL Draft is the perfect place to find some talent to help. Here are the Seattle Seahawks biggest needs heading into the 2015 NFL Draft:
Running Back: Marshawn Lynch announced that he will be coming back this season, which is good because the Seahawks didn’t have much of a backup plan. Lynch is 28 right now, which is definitely old for a running back, especially one that gets nearly all his team’s carries. The Seahawks will need to turn to the draft this season to find his successor, and possibly even someone able to share the carries. In fact, if the Seahawks find a good enough back, they may be able to reduce Lynch’s workload enough to convince him to come back for one more season.
Linebacker: Heath Farwell, O’Brien Schofield, Michael Morgan, and Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith are all free agents this offseason. The Seahawks can’t keep them all, so they will certainly be low at the position this coming season. The Hawks need to address this in the draft. They do not necessarily need to find the next Brian Urlacher here, but they do need some more depth in case anything happens in 2015.