Getty The Seahawks could target Commanders DT Daron Payne.
The Seattle Seahawks could sign one of the top players on the market.
As mentioned by Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger, one defensive free agent the Seahawks should pursue is Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne. Spielberger attributes Payne’s versatility and his ability to rush the passer from the interior as reasons why Seattle should pursue the defensive tackle.
“Seattle showed various different alignments with their defensive front in 2022, not as beholden to head coach Pete Carroll’s typical 4-3 base as in years past, but Payne has also played in a 3-4 and 4-3 and can line up as a zero-technique all the way out to a three-technique depending on the front,” said Spielberger. Payne earned back-to-back 70.0-plus pass-rush grades over the last two seasons while his early career run defense prowess suffered, but he’s shown he can win in many different ways depending on what he’s asked to do, with 96 quarterback pressures and 16 sacks over the last two seasons.”
Why the Seahawks Would Target Daron Payne
Payne clinched his first Pro Bowl campaign in 2022, racking up a career-high 11.5 sacks. His sacks total ranked second among all defensive tackles, behind the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Chris Jones. In addition to his ability to rush the passer, his 18 tackles for loss ranked fourth in the league.
While the Seahawks actually ranked among one of the better teams in the league when it comes to rushing the quarterback, they’re lacking a true dominant pass-rushing presence. Their leading pass-rushers in 2022 were linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (9.5 sacks) and Darrell Taylor (9.5 sacks). Considering Nwosu had never racked up more than five sacks and Taylor had never posted more than 6.5 sacks in a single season prior to this year, it may be foolish to expect that type of production for a second straight season.
There’s little doubt that Payne’s pass-rushing prowess is among the best of any player at his position. According to Pro Football Focus, the 25-year-old registered a 72.0 pass-rushing grade this season, ranking 21st among all defensive tackles. However, his 58.4 overall defensive grade was less than impressive.
PFF Explains Why Payne’s Defensive Grade is Average
Prior to the end of the 2022 season, Payne’s mediocre defensive grade was explained by PFF’s Senior Data Analyst Nick Akridge.
Via Jamual Forrest of Hogs Haven:
“I think Daron Payne is severely underrated in our system; I get asked about it all the time,” said Akridge.
“A lot of times in what I talked about with him, his job is kind of a nose tackle – – to eat up blocks,” Akridge continued. “So a lot of times when you see him or the defense playing well, you see [Cole] Holcomb or [Jamin] Davis being able to shoot their gaps because Payne is eating blocks. So for our system, if you are taking on a double-team and just holding the double-team, you are a zero [grade] for us.”
Long story short, Payne’s ability to draw double teams isn’t showing up in the final grade. Furthermore, he does struggle when it comes to making tackles at times, missing 12 tackles this season, a missed tackle rate of 17.4 percent. His 12 missed tackles was the highest total among defensive tackles.
Despite some shortcomings, Payne is easily one of the elite defensive tackles in the league.
“Daron Payne has been one of the premier interior defensive linemen of 2022, racking up 15 tackles for loss which is tied for 1st in the NFL among defensive tackles with Jonathan Allen,” said Forrest on Dec. 13. “Payne also has 8.5 sacks on the season, which ranks 3rd among defensive tackles in the NFL. Payne is undoubtedly having the best season of his career at an essential time of his career.”
If the Seahawks are able to land Payne, they could potentially lift their underwhelming defensive unit — 25th in the league in 2022 — to a top-tier one.