The Seahawks enter the offseason again considered one of the favorites for the Super Bowl, currently listed at 15-1 to win it all next February in Minneapolis, the fifth-best odds in the NFL.
But they also enter the offseason in a seemingly more precarious state since 2012.
That spring the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson, which proved to be the launching point of their greatest run of success as a franchise, winning 10 or more games five straight years since then and one Super Bowl.
The wheels hardly fell off in 2016 with Seattle going 10-5-1 and winning the NFC West for the third time four seasons.
But the fast track to another Super Bowl that seemed at hand after a win at New England in early November ground to a halt with a flurry of losses the rest of the way, culminating in a blowout loss to Atlanta in the divisional round.
So now, as the Seahawks get set for the offseason to pick up steam with next week's NFL combine leading into the free-agent signing period March 9, the question is how Seattle patches over the vulnerabilities that became apparent during the late-season swoon.
The Seahawks have roughly $27 million in cap space, according to OvertheCap.com, which might sound like a lot until you realize it's 22nd in the NFL and that half of the NFL has $36 million or more. In other words, a lot of teams have a lot of money to spend, and the Seahawks _ who generally try to stay out of bidding wars _ will likely again be selective in what they spend, especially considering this is considered a lackluster free agent class overall.
The Seahawks, though, have few marquee free agents of their own they need to re-sign (at this point, tight end Luke Willson looms as the biggest question), meaning Seattle should have a little room to splurge if it wants.
Most vital for Seattle will be getting some hits, if not a few home runs, in the draft April 27-29. After selecting seven players who have made the Pro Bowl from 2010-12, the Seahawks have drafted just one since _ Tyler Lockett as a return specialist.
Given that the core group can no longer be considered young, adding some premium talent to bolster the depth and add to the competition is as critical as ever.
Seattle currently is expected to have seven draft picks, which would be their fewest of the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era _ compensatory picks are not announced until the league meetings in March _ but it won't be a surprise if the Seahawks make some trades to add more.
Here's a list of the Seahawks' top five areas of need this offseason and how Seattle may be able to address each one.
