Uchenna Nwosu Already Looks Like Top Seahawks Free Agency Signing
It's only eight games into Nwosu's Seattle career, yet the OLB is already excelling on and off the field, in all defensive facets. Let's dive into the quotes, tape, and data:
Uchenna Nwosu is looking like a contender for a top 5 John Schneider-Pete Carroll Seahawks free agency signing.
Added this offseason to a 2-year, $19million deal, the 26-year-old Nwosu has already excelled at outside linebacker through 8 games of the 2022 season. With presumed number 1 edge rusher Darrell Taylor starting this year slow—perhaps due to a new system, possibly due to being hurt, maybe due to the dreaded “sophomore slump”—Nwosu has become the key outside linebacker in Clint Hurtt’s defense.
Per Sports Info Solutions, Nwosu’s 25 pressures are 19th in the NFL but lead the Seahawks, 7 more than second-place Quinton Jefferson’s 18. Nwosu’s 13.2% pressure percentage also leads Seattle’s pass rush group, as do his 5 sacks—3 behind league leaders Micah Parsons, Matt Judon, Joey Bosa, and Za’Darius Smith. Meanwhile, Nwosu’s 10 tackles for loss are tied for 5th-best in the NFL and again top his teammates.
This is what a mid-tier contract hitting looks like.
“Uchenna has been having such great success,” assessed Pete Carroll on Monday.
The Seahawks head coach was asked about where Nwosu’s toughness shows up on Wednesday. “It shows up in the consistency, it’s in everything because it’s who he is,” Carroll answered. “It’s pass rush, run, finish, tackling, pursuit, it’s all that stuff. He’s just a hard-nosed football player. He’s really instinctive and has a really natural feel of the game. His position and style of play has really leaned itself well to him and I’m really fired up about it.”
That style even helped veteran edge defender Bruce Irvin acclimatize quickly to this Seahawks defense. “Uchenna has kind of opened up the doors to us a little bit and the day Bruce got here, ‘Let’s go, we’re cutting it loose,’” described Carroll on Wednesday.
Nwosu’s leadership earned high intangible praise—comparable to Irvin—from Carroll: “Uchenna is an older player on our team, he has only been around for five years or something like that, he has a similar presence [to Bruce].”
With Seattle figuring their early season issues out on defense—both from an execution and play-calling standpoint—the Seahawks should enjoy more obvious situations to defend as the season progresses, meaning Nwosu should continue this form without regression factors.
His most recent performance—a two-sack, week 8 game versus the New York Giants—benefitted from Daniel Jones and company pretty much being in heavy pass mode throughout the fourth quarter. The tape, though, matches Carroll’s “everything” toughness assessment. It shows how valuable Nwosu’s all-round, outside linebacker game is to the Seahawks defense on all three downs, in all game states.
Edge Setting
The OLBs in Seattle’s defense have to be big contributors in the run game, most often setting the edge of the D and letting everyone else fit off their force.
On this 1st and 10 early in the second quarter, Nwosu took three for the price of one.
Aligned to the cover 2 side of Seattle’s call (the Seahawks running cover 4 opposite) Nwosu knew he had a cloud cornerback force, courtesy of Mike Jackson, to the outside of him, and to the nub tight end.
This Giants’ formation allowed/required Nwosu to take an inside stunt from the D-Gap into the C-Gap. From there, he managed to beat his primary tight end inside, disrupt the other tight end across the formation, and then join the tackle on the running back carrying the split inside zone hand off. Tenacious work.
Helped by Al Woods and more, Seattle’s defense made the stop for no gain, bringing up 2nd and 10.
Nwosu’s understanding of when he can take “shots” when edge-setting, basically inside moves, is what really has him shining as a run defender. It’s testament to his overall comprehension of the Seahawks’ system but also his rapid in-game recognition.
This 2nd and 6, third quarter tackle for loss—with the game still close—is a great example.