As one of the major perks that appealed about the Seattle Seahawks coaching vacancy, Mike Macdonald has inherited an uber-talented, young secondary led by Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen that he can build his disruptive defense around.
If there are any question marks for Macdonald and his new coaching staff to address at cornerback, given Witherspoon’s playmaking ability as a do-it-all slot defender, the Seahawks will have to figure out who will be the best fit to pair with Woolen as a boundary corner in nickel and dime sets. Luckily, the team has no shortage of capable options, starting with seasoned veterans Tre Brown and Mike Jackson, who have combined to start 28 games over the past two seasons.
With a starting job at left cornerback potentially up for grabs, who will receive the gig across from Woolen? Stating the cases for Brown and Jackson to win the job with a projection for who will be starting for the Seahawks against the Broncos on September 8:
Injuries have been a problem for Brown since Seattle drafted him in the fourth round out of Oklahoma in 2021, including missing most of his second season recovering from a torn patellar tendon in his knee. But when he has been healthy, he has brought physicality, toughness, and ball skills to the secondary, performing well in limited action as a starter. Last year, he set career-highs with 34 tackles and two interceptions, returning one of those picks for a pivotal touchdown in a Week 2 win over Detroit, while also adding five pass breakups on 378 coverage snaps.
