Seahawks Free Agency: Is Jordyn Brooks Foundational Piece of Seattle's Defense?

On the heels of a disappointing 9-8 season that ended without a playoff berth and the departure of long-time coach Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks have plenty of roster questions to address heading into a crucial offseason with a new regime in place.

When the new league year opens on March 13, Seattle will have 14 players scheduled to hit the market as unrestricted free agents. Four players will be restricted free agents and five will be exclusive rights free agents, while several other key veterans such as Pro Bowl safety Julian Love will be entering the final season of their respective deals ready to negotiate extensions.

Over the next several weeks, I will break down each and every one of the Seahawks’ unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2023 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, breaking down an ideal contract, and making an early prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2024.

Without a single linebacker with starting experience currently under contract, will Seattle look to open up the checkbook to re-sign Jordyn Brooks as a building block for new coach Mike Macdonald’s defense?

Season in Review

Capping off a remarkable recovery from a torn ACL suffered in January 2023, Brooks managed to return in time for Seattle’s season opener and played in 16 out of 17 games, tallying 111 tackles, a career-best 4.5 sacks, and eight tackles for loss despite seeing a decrease to 72 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. He also contributed a quartet of pass breakups and returned an interception for a touchdown while forcing and recovering a fumble.

Why Seattle Should Re-Sign Him

Only 26 years old, Brooks has been one of the NFL’s most productive off-ball linebackers over the past three seasons, racking up 456 combined tackles, the sixth-most among any defender in the league since 2021. While he only finished 35th out of 48 qualified linebackers in run stops last season, he tied for first in the same category in 2022 and 11th in his first full season as a starter in 2022, consistently performing at a high level getting downhill and running sideline to sideline to make plays against the run.

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Away from Brooks’ obvious ability to amass tackles in bunches, the former Texas Tech standout has grown in the passing game both as a cover linebacker and blitzer. Though he saw diminished snaps due to increased dime usage with six defensive backs on the field for the Seahawks, he finished 16th out of 52 linebackers in passer rating in coverage and didn’t allow a touchdown while producing a pick six and three pass deflections. As a blitzer, he ranked in the top five among linebackers with sacks (4,5), pass rush productivity (23.8), and pass rushing grade (85.0).

Why Seattle Should Let Him Walk

As well as Brooks has played throughout his four years in Seattle, he never has truly made the jump to elite at his position. In his first three seasons, per PFF charting, he allowed a whopping 13 touchdowns in coverage and never posted a passer rating against lower than 100. Missed tackles have also been a growing issue, particularly last season when he whiffed on 21 tackles, missed 16.5 percent of his opportunities, and ranked fourth in highest missed tackle rate against the run. Though he showcased improvements in several areas of his game last year, if he’s seeking top-10 linebacker money, that may be a bit rich based on track record.

Ideal Contract

Four years, $42.5 million

Prediction

Reiterating his stance a couple of times during the 2023 season, Brooks has made it clear he wants to re-sign with the Seahawks. But as is always the case, money will be a driving factor behind negotiations and after the franchise opted to decline his fifth-year option last May, he will be free to test the market where his value to other teams could surpass the team’s preferred price point on an extension. At the same time, with general manager John Schneider now in full control of personnel decisions and veterans Bobby Wagner and Devin Bush also unsigned, his youth, production, athleticism, toughness, and competitive juices should make him the top priority to invest in long-term as a centerpiece of Macdonald’s defense for years to come.

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