Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald walks to the locker room following a loss against the Minnesota Vikings at Lumen Field. Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Seahawks insider: Trey Hendrickson trade would make Mike Macdonald's defense elite

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated May 29, 2025 9:25 AM ET

Just how close are the Seattle Seahawks to competing for a Super Bowl this year? According to the average NFL analyst the answer is not very much, and further than they were last season. Most projections for the 2025 campaign have Seattle finishing with an 8-9 record, good for third place in the NFC West and once again missing out on the playoffs.

Some analysts have the Seahawks performing even worse than that, with Sports Illustrated projecting a 6-11 finish, last place in the division. If they're going to prove those predictions wrong, Seattle might have to make a bold trade or two.

According to Mike Salk at Seattle Sports radio, the Seahawks should trade for Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last season.

"In fact, Hall (eight), Mafe (six), Lawrence (three) and Nwosu (one) accounted for atotalof just 18 sacks last season. Yes, those four players together essentially equaled Hendrickson’s production on his own. Williams was the only Seahawk in double digits. Sacks aren’t everything, but the best defenses put tremendous pressure on quarterbacks, and the Seahawks don’t currently have edge rushers that do that at an elite level. Hendrickson does."

It's certainly possible that adding a piece like Hendrickson would guarantee that Seattle finishes the year with a top-five scoring defense - and there's always a case to add more pass-rushing firepower. However, from where we're sitting generating pressures and sacks is not going to be this team's problem - preventing them on the other side of the ball will.

Macdonald's own schematic genius will generate plenty of pressures on its own, and the Seahawks have a pretty strong defensive front-seven in place already. Meawhile, on the other side of the line of scrimmag ethey still have one of the game's worst interior offensive lines, even after adding the top iOL prospect in the 2025 NFL draft with Grey Zabel.

If the Seahawks are going to pull off an ambitious trade for anybody, we'd prefer they target a star guard or proven center who can help stabilize what is likely to be their greatest weakness rather than piling on one of their roster strengths.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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