Seahawks could potentially fall in love with these…

The Seahawks need to ramp up their pressure game if they’re going to catch up with the Rams, who just rode Yakima MVP Cooper Kupp and a ferocious four-man rush to a Super Bowl win over the Bengals. Pete Carroll is aware of the problem and has set out on a clear path to create a more attack-minded defense in 2022 – a journey that begins in the trenches. Carroll has admitted his team’s pass rush needs to improve and is reportedly promoting defensive line coach Clint Hurt to defensive coordinator.

There are several big-name free agent edge rushers who are worth a look and the organization should have enough cap space to sign at least one of them. However, it’s more likely they’ll fill this need via the draft. While top prospects in the 2022 edge class like Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux will be far out of reach, this group should be deep enough for Seattle to get a good one at No. 41.

With an assist from the Pro Football Focus draft big board, here are seven edge prospects who might be available on Day 2 for the Seahawks to (potentially) fall in love with over these next couple months.

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Seattle has been known to roster DL from Michigan, most notably drafting Frank Clark in round two of 2015 and more recently signing UDFA Bryan Mone in 2019. If Carroll dips back into that well, he could take a chance on Ojabo. While it’s a small sample size he had an explosive 2021 season, posting 11 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss with the Wolverines.

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The Seahawks also have an extensive history of taking on prospects from the Aztecs, including Eric Pinkins and Rashaad Penny. According to PFF, Thomas finished second in pressures and third in total stops among edge defenders last season.

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Carroll could also look to his old haunting grounds at USC to improve his team’s edge rotation. Jackson finished with the 2021 season with an 87.7 pass-rushing grade and totaled five sacks plus eight tackles for a loss.

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Across the country, Enagbare racked up 15 sacks and 24 tackles for a loss during his time with the Gamecocks (39 career games). PFF gave him an 89.2 pass-rushing grade in 2020 and a 92.5 grade this year.

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Edge rushing should be the priority over an already-strong interior, but it helps for prospects to be able to do both. Down in Houston, Hall put up six sacks and 13 TFL this past season. PFF gave him high grades (84.9) and (90.2) in interior pass-rushing each of the past two years.

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After only playing in 16 games in his first three seasons at Temple, Ebiketie transferred to Penn State, where he had a breakout year. Ebiketie had 9.5 sacks, 18 tackles for a loss and 52 pressures in 2021.