Mike Macdonald's Seahawks Defensive Front Explained
Explaining Mike Macdonald's defensive scheme shows there are front similarities to Seahawks past. A smooth transition is vital, yet Seattle's front office has struggled rostering players for systems:
We are at that stimulating point of the NFL offseason where the combine is done, the first free agency contracts are signed, and the draft will soon be upon us. This is only more exciting for a team like the 2024 Seattle Seahawks. Following the sweeping regime change, it’s now harder to project free agent and draft fits. We are in new territory.
Specifically, the defensive scheme introduced by new head coach Mike Macdonald raises unknowns. Here are three reasons we should focus on the defensive front:
The team achieved their priority free agent move, re-signing defensive tackle Leonard Williams to a three-year $64.5million deal
Seattle is coming off consecutive years of terrible run defense, which Macdonald also struggled with in the second half of 2023
Most importantly, the front contains the tactical roots of any defense, offering insight into the whole plan while carrying various impacts on success or failure
So, what does Macdonald want from his defensive front scheme and personnel? Transition-wise, will this match any schematic goals of Seattle’s previous era? And how will the plan mesh with the already rostered players?
Background
Pre-combine, Seahawks director of player personnel Matt Berry confidently described Seattle’s front office history. “For 14 years, we had a pretty good feel for the scheme, what they like in the scheme,” Berry told Seahawks.com’s John Boyle.
The past, however, provides reason for concern. Over the last four seasons, Seattle’s decision makers have not rostered defensive front personnel well-suited to the coaching staff’s systems.
In 2020, the Seahawks planned to use bear fronts as their most-used approach, ideally requiring a pair of starting edge players who were genuine rush-or-drop threats. They ended up with Carlos Dunlap and KJ Wright as starters, Jordyn Brooks then playing some edge in nickel. Occasional change-up call or not, it was obvious which edge was pass rushing and which was dropping into coverage.
Come 2021, Seattle looked to continue their bear-heavy focus and went for a better edge fit, ultimately missing with Aldon Smith. Even though Darrell Taylor also represented a real pass-rush-or-pass-drop option, the Seahawks still lacked a genuine pass rush threat from their second edge, with Benson Mayowa starting opposite.
By 2022, Seattle had finally rostered better rush-or-drop edge options (Taylor, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe). The issue was that, schematically, the Seahawks shifted their approach to more nickel, four-down over fronts. After fitting more bear fronts, Seattle’s lack of size on the edge of their four-down defense became a challenge.
Meanwhile, their interior players were so bad at the Vic Fangio-style of front mechanics that they went as far as to request an in-season change. This was something the Seahawks coaching staff agreed to in base defense, where they achieved some mid-season improvement.
Following Uchenna Nwosu’s Week 6 injury, the 2023 run defense collapsed with a lack of size on either edge, and a lack of big end size, notable factors in the nickel, four-down, over front regression.
With a fresh Macdonald system, can the Seahawks’ front office adjust in time? A continuation of what we have seen from 2020 to 2023–damaging lag in coaching thinking to Seattle personnel decisions—would be disastrous.
Berry was aware Macdonald’s newness poses a challenge.
“There's some difference that we'll have to iron out post-combine all the way through April as we talk through players,” Berry admitted.
“It's a really interesting discussion, because the bottom line is it's our job to get the players that fit his scheme and what he's looking for, that's how it works best, and in alignment with our culture.”
“Culturally, we're in pretty good alignment from where we've been,” Berry continued.
“We're still looking for highly competitive guys that are about football, about the process, smart, tough and reliable, none of that changes.”
The encouraging news is that there is also a lot of scheme-fit similarity: what Macdonald seeks up front has commonality with the Seahawks’ past. This should further ease the transition for Seattle.
“Base”
Macdonald is heavily influenced by the defensive system that was already established in Baltimore, basing out of a 3-4 personnel and under front families. “We structure it as a 3-4, we’re really an under team,” he explained to Fox 13’s Aaron Levine. This approach has strong parallels to Carroll’s Seattle.
Macdonald’s two edge, outside linebackers are called the “Rush” and the “Sam”. The Rush aligns away from the call (in basic “Under” away from the tight end to the “open”/ “flex” side) the Sam aligns to the call (in basic under to the tight end and the “closed”/ “solid” side).
Previous Seattle (2010 to 2021) called these edge positions the “Leo” and the “Sam”. And, just like those Seahawks defenses, Macdonald has his Rush edge defender accompanied by the 3-technique defensive tackle (as Seattle did with its Leo), while his Sam linebacker goes with the “defensive end” (as Seattle joined their SAM with a “5-technique” or “big end”).
The final defensive lineman is the nose tackle, who in an under front shades to the tight end, the closed/solid side.
Macdonald, like many members of the Ravens’ coaching tree before him, also utilizes “Rock/Laser” mechanics to set a type of under front. This can be purely directional, “right/left”, or it can be setting the front to the field or boundary. Sam, End, Nose, and Mike travel to the call; Rush, Tackle, and Will go away. When the offense’s formation aligns its run strength away from the call (like into the boundary), you can get what looks like a 4-3 over front.
There are other adjustments baked into the fronts, such as stunts to make a certain coverage assignment for an inside linebacker to a slot work, or if the offense lines up with pair tight ends (YY)/a wing.
“Soak” fronts are similar to under, instead calling for a head-up nose tackle and featuring some slightly different formation checks. Meanwhile, “Odd” fronts can be set to the solid side or to the field/boundary (as is shown in the drawing).
Player Types
The Rush defender is more of a pass-rushing type edge who rarely gets tasked with pass coverage (again matching Seattle’s old Leo role). For that reason, this was the base edge position that Jadeveon Clowney exclusively played in 2023. Odafe Oweh, limited coverage ability, also stuck to the Rush spot. You want speed, length, and size here.
The Sam edge defender is another player who has to be able to set a strong edge on the line of scrimmage, but is more often asked to drop into coverage when they get pass—another match to Seahawks history, remember Bruce Irvin? When Baltimore really needed this zone drop skillset, and also an ability to line up off-the-ball in those over front looks Rock/Laser can create, they put Malik Harrison on the field. Obviously, though, you want some pass rush ability still.
The 3-technique defensive tackle is tasked with more one-gap assignments, generally lining up on the outside shoulder of the guard and power-stepping downhill. The star of this for Baltimore was Justin Madubuike.
The defensive end is tasked with more two-gapping stuff—like Seattle’s 5-technique/big end—remember Red Bryant in under fronts? Brent Urban spent the vast majority of his snaps in this role, playing what is called a 4-technique in the defense but really lining up most of the time as a 4i on the inside shoulder of the tackle.
Importantly, though, because of Baltimore’s 3-4 rostering and front office quality, it was able to get added positional flexibility out of its group. This made the defense less predictable and more able to play match-ups, while also allowing rotation. For instance, Kyle Van Noy would play some Sam and some Rush. Tavius Robinson played some Rush and some Sam. Broderick Washington Jr. was able to play the defensive end position and the 3-technique defensive tackle.
Note the size and the length on that interior. 2023 Seattle had just two defensive linemen over 300 pounds (nose tackle Jarran Reed listed by team website at 306 pounds and defensive tackle Cam Young at 304), before their November 1 trade for Williams (300).
Nickel
Per Sports Info Solutions, Macdonald called in five-defensive back packages on 79% of 2023 defensive snaps. He is likely to try continue this in Seattle especially with how NFL offenses operate.
In nickel, Macdonald’s defense becomes a four-down, over front team—like the last two years of Seattle. Additionally, Baltimore often looked to involve its nickel as the seventh run defender before the safety, and this is another equivalency to 2023 (and 2010 to 2021) Seahawks football.
Macdonald’s nickel over fronts feature two edge rushers and two interior defensive linemen, a nose and a 3-technique. The defensive mind utilizes two main fronts for run and neutral downs: “Flex” and “Plus”. Most of the time, the closed call is done to the tight end, but for various reasons can also be set to the field/boundary. 3-technique goes to the call, nose away.
Nickel looks to feature the best two edge defenders, regardless of whether in base they play more on the inside or man the exterior. For instance, when playing the Flex front versus the Rams and struggling in run defense, Urban—the base big end—featured as the 6-tech. Most of the time, nickel deploys the two best edge pass rushers on the day, usually playing left and right. For instance: Clowney and Oweh was the most used pairing.
This should act as further motivation for greater edge size in Seattle. Remember that Clowney is no small outside ‘backer (he’s long, every bit of 266 pounds, with a violent, tenacious style) and that the Seahawks experienced issues in 2022 and 2023 stemming from a lack of this.
It could be that the second year Mike Morris is utilized outside—as he was in his final year at Michigan under Macdonald. He was reportedly 300 pounds as a rookie before his season-ending preseason shoulder injury (currently listed at 295), possibly making him an Urban-type in the system.
Seattle may also continue trying to unlock Dre’Mont Jones by placing him on the edge of their nickel four fronts, as they did in 2023 post-Williams acquisition.
The nickel nose tackle bumping out from a shade into a 2i-technique when the offense comes out in shotgun is designed to accommodate a lot of two-high presentation at the snap, plus it also matched the skillset of Michael Pierce.
This mechanic is a difference to most of Seattle’s 2023 snaps (note Mario Edwards Jr. played a 2i rather than a shade in his limited nickel nose snaps), but a similarity to 2022 and even some of Seattle’s two-high look stuff before the Fangio switch. This may require the Seahawks to get a bigger nose more appropriate for this.
2024
It is going to be fascinating to see how Macdonald applies these schemes to the guys already in Seattle. We can look back at his time with the Ravens and find reassurance.
“It's just the willingness to just try to keep putting your players in the best position so they can succeed,” Macdonald said when he was unveiled as Baltimore defensive coordinator back in February 2022.
"If you let that kind of guide your decision process, you end up at a pretty decent spot.”
The following two years saw Macdonald practice what he preached and he was widely praised for his adaptation to Ravens players.
What Macdonald requires in Seattle is new defensive linemen for his system. Right now, his current roster looks frighteningly light compared to his past. Can the Seahawks’ personnel department get it right?
This article was edited by my former editor at FieldGulls Alistair Corp.
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