It can be a little too easy to look at the success Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald had coaching the Baltimore Ravens’ defense and assume he is trying to recreate that system in Seattle. Good coaches tailor systems to players rather than the other way around.
Still, it’s not a stretch to say that when he arrived last season, he found a defensive lineman in Leonard Williams who was an upgrade over the Ravens’ very good Nnamdi Madubuike, and in Devon Witherspoon, a defensive back with the versatility of Kyle Hamilton.
The draft picks John Schneider has made since bringing Macdonald in would seem to confirm there is at least a partial move toward replicating that Baltimore system.