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Seahawks Defense Wants 'To Put The Team On Our Back'

Coming off a strong finish to last season, Seattle’s defense has high expectations heading into the 2025 season.

Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27), cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21), defensive end Leonard Williams (99) and safety Coby Bryant (8) participated in a workout on day four of OTAs on Monday, June 2, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27), cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21), defensive end Leonard Williams (99) and safety Coby Bryant (8) participated in a workout on day four of OTAs on Monday, June 2, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

While the Seahawks fell short of the ultimate goal last season, barely missing the postseason after a 10-7 finish, there was a lot to like about their first season under head coach Mike Macdonald.

And one of the biggest positives was the play of Macdonald's defense which, in helping the Seahawks finish with six wins in their final eight games, developed into one of the league's top defenses in the second half of the season.

Now, the goal is to sustain, if not exceed, that level of play for an entire season, something the Seahawks believe is possible for a defense that showed a lot of promise last year, then retained almost all of its top players, while also adding talent, this offseason.

"My personal goal, my opinion, which I think everybody will back me on this, is that we want to be number one," veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed said after Monday's session of organized team activities. "We want to be number one in every category. That's what we're striving for. We're hungry. Every game may not be perfect, but that's what we're striving for, that's what we're working hard to get to."

Cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who has made two Pro Bowls in as many seasons in the NFL, also is expecting big things on his side of the ball.

"Us being together, we set the standard for ourselves, then we hold everybody to it," he said. "I believe every one of those guys in the locker room knows what we're trying to do and knows what we're trying to build, and I think everyone is buying in.

"We've definitely got to build on it. We're chasing to be the number one defense in the league, so that's where we're going."

The fact that veteran starters like Reed, who is heading into his 10th season, and Leonard Williams, who is beginning his 11th season, are in uniform and on the field for a voluntary workout in June is just part of why Seattle expects this defense to be a force in 2025.

"It says a lot about the people that we have in the building," said defensive coordinator Aden Durde. "They're people that want to improve, they want to grow, no matter what type of situation they are at in their career. I talked to J-Reed about little things we can do, he teaches me stuff that he sees. Leo, the same thing, Law (DeMarcus Lawrence), the same thing. Guys want to do it the right way here, and if we can keep doing that, we can make those jumps, especially with everyone here."

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Top 50 Players Reveal

The Seahawks Top 50 Players are being announced this week and some of the names have been revealed already. Head over to Seahawks50.com to find out if your favorite Seahawks of all time made the list and stayed tuned to see the entire list of 50 players be revealed on June 6.

Asked about showing up for offseason workouts in his 10th season, Reed said, "Just to build that chemistry, and to be around the teammates. I like being here. It's actually fun. When you're away and you're watching film, you're missing a lot. You missing that camaraderie, that togetherness, building that connection with your teammates."

After starting from scratch last season under a new coach, Seattle's defense feels like it's so much further ahead at this time last year.

First and foremost, players have a much stronger grasp on what can be a pretty complex defensive scheme, an it also helps that, in re-signing Reed and middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, the Seahawks are bringing back nearly every starter from last season, as well as a lot of their key depth players.

"It feels a lot different," Durde said of these June workouts. "Just the energy, the understanding, there's a lot of similarities, it's just you know the people better, there's a lot more trust built, the communication is smoother. It's fun.

"From the defensive perspective, it allows them to connect more, it allows the coaches to connect with them more. You have to go back to square one. No matter what foundation you've built, you have to go back to square one, re-teach it and build it up again. We've got a stronger foundation this time. Last year we were doing it from brand new, but now we're building on the same thing. So now it allows connection, and then we can teach some of the whys within the plays."

The continuity and expected growth is a big reason why the Seahawks have much higher expectations internally than those being placed on them externally both by pundits and Las Vegas oddsmakers, not that players are particularly concerned about any outside opinions.

"We don't pay attention to what Vegas is talking about," Witherspoon said. "We just worry about what we've got going on in our building.

They're going to do whatever they've got to do, and we're going to do what we've got to do. They can say whatever they want."

And for Seattle's defense, those internal expectations couldn't be much higher.

"Everybody on my side of the ball wants the defense to be the reason why," Reed said. "Defense wins championships, offense wins games, that just is what it is. We want to put the team on our back, and we want to be the reason why we win games."

The Seahawks began the second week of OTAs on a perfect afternoon at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Monday, June 2, 2025. Single game tickets for the 2025 season are available now.

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