In this second part of our Seattle 4-EYED TEAM PREVIEW, we’re going to be covering the Seahawks IDPs that you should consider rostering for the 2021 fantasy football season.
The Legion of Boom. I mean, the team formerly known as the Legion of Boom, enter the 2021 season on the heels of an NFC West title, but a Wild Card loss to divisional foe, Los Angeles. The offense in Seattle was dominant at times, but the same can’t be said about the defense. It wasn’t long ago that Seattle was known as the Legion of Boom, but it feels like an eternity.
The defense, as a whole, ranked 15th in points allowed, 22nd in yards allowed, 31st in passing yards allowed, and allowed the 6th most first downs to opposing offenses. While this may not be the recipe that the members of the 11th Man want to see, it does make for some appetizing IDP options. Linebacker KJ Wright, at the time of writing, is still not going to take a “home-town discount”, so the LB core could still be in flux.
So what gems are hiding in Emerald City that will help you win you a fantasy title?
Find out now in our Seahawks IDP 4-EYED TEAM PREVIEW!
*This season at Fantasy In Frames we’ll be using IDP123 scoring as our default scoring rubric when talking about the fantasy relevance of IDP player performance.*
Defensive Line
*Positional Eligibility and ADP brought to you by Sleeper
Carlos Dunlap (Current ADP: DL56)
If you watched the Carlos Dunlap with Cincinnati and failed to watch any of his games after the trade to Seattle, this recommendation is going to seem very odd to you. In Dunlap’s 7 games with Cincinnati, he totaled a measly 1 sack and was losing out in snaps to both Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson. He wasn’t motivated and a change of scenery was the shot in the arm he needed. In the 8 games with the Seahawks, Dunlap registered 4.5 sacks, 6.5 TFL, and 12 QB hits. Over that span, he was a more than serviceable DL3. The same holds true for this year. If Dunlap can keep the fire lit, and return to his 2019 form which resulted in 9 sacks and 17 TFL, he might be worth a flier at his current ADP.
Kerry Hyder Jr (Current ADP: DL46 per FantasyPros ECR)
Landing spot can sometimes be the key to IDP relevance. In this situation, it appears that Kerry Hyder Jr may have found that spot. It hasn’t been easy sledding for Hyder Jr over his career. He was definitely noticed last year with SF when he was thrust into a starting role after the loss of both Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. Hyder Jr. played the most snaps of his career (694) and record the most sacks (8.5). This productive season turned into a 2yr/$6.5M contract with Seattle. Reunited with Kris Kocurek, the Lions coach who believed in him enough to give him 600+snaps, Hyder Jr is on a mission to build off of last year.
The coaching staff in Seattle believe he can fill the Michael Bennett role (large shoes). That means he will line up opposite the speed rusher and slip inside when they don’t need the big DT bodies on pass rush formations. His high motor, and situation gives me optimism that he can be a solid DL3
Linebacker
Bobby Wagner (Current ADP: LB15)
Bobby Wagner LEVELED two blockers and got the sack 🤯
— ESPN (@espn) November 2, 2020
(via @thecheckdown)pic.twitter.com/CYEMFOuyc1
The absolute epitome of consistency at the LB position. Wagner finished as the LB8 last season after tallying 138 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. To be fair, this is the lowest finish he has had since 2015. Yes, the age curve is real, and Wagner is on the back nine as he turned 31 a couple of weeks ago. Let me be clear, I do not believe that he is anywhere near the end, but it does have to be taken into consideration. What also has to be taken into consideration is the fact that Seattle let KJ Wright walk, and there is no true LB threat to battle for tackles. This just elevates the already penthouse high floor as one of the safest LB1 values to be had at his current LB15 draft spot.
Jordyn Brooks (Current ADP: LB66)
Let’s give Brooks’ 2020 season a mulligan. The lack of OTA’s and just the general season as a whole was difficult on all rookies. With the depth at LB for Seattle, the 1st round selection had to battle, not only playing time but fans’ doubts. His final season at Texas Tech should have been pretty encouraging for the fanbase (108 tackles, 20 TFL, 2 Sacks), but it took a while for them to see his true potential with never playing more than 77% of the defensive snaps. What he did with those snaps was encouraging over the final 5 games, which included an 11 tackle game in Week 13 vs the Giants. On the season, he totaled 57 tackles, 2 TFL, and 2 pass breakups.
So let’s take focus on 2021. KJ Wright is currently a free agent and unwilling to take the “hometown discount” This thrusts Brooks into a projected full-time role on a middle-of-the-road defense. If he steps up and can handle the nickel responsibilities, etc, he has legit LB2-3 upside.
Defensive Back
Jamal Adams (Current ADP: DB1)
Many will debate the overall DB1 between Adams and Budda Baker, but there is no denying that they are definitely in a tier all alone. If there is any drawback to Adams, I would have to say the amount of missed games is a little concerning. Last year Adams started 11 games and had the lowest snap total of his young career. Don’t let the missed games fool you, he was an absolute beast in the games he did play. In his first full season with Seattle, Adams set career highs in tackles for loss, sacks, and QB hits. With Seattle and Adams not in agreement on a contract extension, I guess it is something to pay attention to, but I would have no problem with selecting Jamal Adams as my DB1 this season.
