Seahawks' Keys to Success in 2021 NFL Season

The Seattle Seahawks tried to address one of their biggest issues in the offseason.

And in Week 1, we will find out if they really did enough to protect Russell Wilson after three consecutive seasons with 47 or more sacks suffered.

Seattle traded for veteran offensive guard Gabe Jackson in the offseason to join forces with Duane Brown.

However, any attempt at building interior chemistry in the preseason went away with Brown's contract situation and injuries to a few offensive linemen hovering over the franchise.

The Seahawks will be asked to protect their franchise quarterback better than they did in 2020 regardless of what happened in training camp. If they are unable to keep Wilson upright, it could be another long season in the pocket for him.

Keep Russell Wilson Upright

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The events of the preseason did not help to inspire confidence in the team's ability to keep Wilson upright.

Brown is the team's top protector, but there are questions surrounding his status for Week 1 because of the ongoing contract negotiations. Additionally, starting center Ethan Pocic and backups Jamarco Jones and Cedric Ogbuehi dealt with injuries in training camp.

Due to the preseason mess, the Seahawks' starting offensive line for the Week 1 clash with the Indianapolis Colts will not have played a ton of snaps together. That is not good news for an offense that has to go head-to-head with Darius Leonard off the bat.

Seattle's offensive line conceded 47 or more sacks in each of the last three seasons, and Wilson was taken down on 45 or more occasions once in his first six seasons.

If the Seahawks patch things together and Brown returns, they have a chance of improving on their dismal 2020; but until they prove they can keep Wilson up in the pocket, there have to be concerns about their ability to do that.

Provide Support for Jamal Adams in the Secondary

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Despite having Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs patrolling the secondary, the Seahawks conceded the second-most passing yards in the NFL last season.

The loss of Shaquill Griffin to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency added to the team's concerns going into the new campaign.

A case could be made that Seattle's cornerback group is its weakest collection of players at a single position. Ahkello Witherspoon, D.J. Reed, Tre Flowers, Tre Brown and Damarious Randall made the 53-man roster cut, but other additions can always be made depending on who is available.

For Seattle's secondary to be effective, its group of corners needs to provide the coverage support for Adams and Diggs, who are aggressive in every layer of the defense.

If the Seahawks are unable to cover the flanks of the gridiron, they could be in for another long year in the passing defense.

With Matthew Stafford entering the NFC West, Jimmy Garoppolo back to full strength and Kyler Murray continuing to improve, the Seahawks need a secondary capable of keeping up with all of the dangerous passing attacks throughout the division to land a playoff position.

Contributions In Passing Game Outside of Top Two Receivers

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Wilson has one of the best one-two wide receiver duos at his disposal in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

However, Seattle needs to have a contingency plan in place in case either gets silenced at any part of the season.

The Seahawks have some potentially good pieces in place with rookie D'Wayne Eskridge, Freddie Swain, Gerald Everett and Will Dissly.

At the moment, though, none of those players can be viewed as ones who can take over an entire game when the top two guys are limited or hurt.

A year ago, there was a massive drop-off from Metcalf and Lockett to David Moore, who finished with 417 receiving yards and six touchdowns. No other player had more than 300 receiving yards. Running back Chris Carson was the only other Seahawk with over three scoring catches.

Seattle found a way to finish the 2020 regular season with a 12-4 record, but its offense produced more than 25 points just once in the final five regular-season contests. In the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Metcalf and Lockett were responsible for seven of Wilson's 11 completions.

If Eskridge, Swain or one of the tight ends emerges as a consistent third or fourth threat through the air, Seattle won't go through many offensive lulls and could provide the edge in one or two games.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.