![\"Seattle](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2242292801_4f18d2.jpg\")
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Through the first 10 weeks of the\u00a0NFL\u00a0season, it is clear that the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks\u00a0are one of the best teams in the league.<\/p>\n
If anything, they have made a strong claim as the most complete team in the league. Seattle is top five in points scored and points allowed per game, has the second-highest point differential in the NFL (+105), and enters Week 11 as the top-ranked team in\u00a0total DVOA.<\/p>\n
This Seahawks squad looks the part of a championship contender. Their impressive roster depth is a big driver behind their success.<\/p>\n
Sure, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Sam Darnold grab the headlines, and deservedly so. But Seattle would not be\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most of the Seahawks\u2019 key players are under contract entering 2026. However, two high-level defenders \u2014 Tariq Woolen and Boye Mafe \u2014 are in line to enter true free agency, and Seattle may not be able to match their highest offers. After all, the NFL is a salary cap league, and teams have to prioritize who to re-sign and who they let walk.<\/p>\n
ESPN NFL writers Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler\u00a0ranked the top 25 upcoming free agents\u00a0on Nov. 12, and Woolen and Mafe made the list. Here\u2019s what they had to say about each Seahawk defender:<\/p>\n
Woolen came in at No. 18 in Bowen and Fowler\u2019s list. The lengthy cornerback is in his fourth season with the Seahawks, and after some rough moments early in the season,\u00a0his name popped up in trade rumors.<\/p>\n
He was\u00a0never worried\u00a0about getting shipped out of Seattle, but the noise was out there. One could also argue that he was made expendable when Josh Jobe took his spot as a starting cornerback.<\/p>\n
These things lay the bedrock for trade speculation. Add in his incongruent role in the Seahawks\u2019 defensive structure, and it makes sense why he might leave in free agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoolen\u2019s elite traits and Pro Bowl talent should create a strong market. His two pass breakups Sunday against the\u00a0Cardinals\u00a0were a good reminder of that,\u201d Fowler wrote on ESPN.com. \u201cExpect Woolen to hit be available in free agency as opposed to a re-signing with Seattle, which hasn\u2019t been a scheme fit for him under coach Mike Macdonald. But for teams that need man coverage help, he has tremendous upside.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0speedy\u00a0Woolen had six interceptions and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2022. He has five interceptions over three seasons since then.<\/p>\n
Mafe, another member of Seattle\u2019s 2022 draft class, appears like he may not be in Seattle\u2019s future plans.<\/p>\n
The sturdy Seahawks linebacker has drawn interest from around the NFL. He is a solid overall outside linebacker and really popped as a pass rusher in 2023 when he had nine sacks.<\/p>\n
ESPN ranked Mafe as the 22nd-best upcoming free agent, and\u00a0Fowler thinks he\u2019ll have a strong market:<\/p>\n
\u201cMafe had interest at the trade deadline. His numbers are down \u2014 one sack in 2025 compared to 15 through his first three seasons,\u201d Fowler wrote. \u201cBut as one NFL coordinator said, \u2018He can win one-on-one in pass rush, he\u2019s strong at the point of attack and versatile enough to drop in coverage.\u2019 Others think he needs to get stronger against the run. The\u00a0Chiefs\u00a0were among the teams inquiring last week. Perhaps they will make a move for him in March.\u201d<\/p>\n
With such a loaded defensive front already in place in Seattle, Mafe could be the odd man out this offseason.<\/p>\n
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks on during a game against the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Denver Broncos\u00a0rank fourth in fourth-quarter points per game through 10 weeks this season. However, Broncos head coach\u00a0Sean Payton\u00a0is concerned with how his team has performed during the other three frames in games, which rank no better than 15th (1Q).<\/p>\n
The Broncos face their AFC West rivals, the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs, in Week 11, and Payton has already\u00a0set the tone\u00a0for how significant this matchup is.<\/p>\n
They have much larger goals, though, and reaching them will require cleaning up their issues.<\/p>\n
GettyDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks on during a game against the\u00a0Houston Texans.<\/p>\n
Payton was again presented with a question about the Chiefs, this time regarding the differences between this year\u2019s team and those of seasons past. There was not much to critique.<\/p>\n
That is particularly true with wide receiver\u00a0Rashee Rice\u00a0back from a six-game suspension.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a reason this team has won for a long period of time,\u201d\u00a0Payton told reporters\u00a0on November 12. \u201cIt\u2019s talent, it\u2019s coaching, it\u2019s a program, it\u2019s a GM, it\u2019s ownership, and that\u2019s where we\u2019re aspiring to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first thing Payton cited was the Chiefs\u2019 \u201cconsistency\u201d through the years.\u00a0He also noted that they are playing good \u201ccomplementary football.\u201d<\/p>\n
They have been frequent visitors to the red zone this season.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs have the third-highest conversion rate on the fifth-most red zone trips,\u00a0per Pro Football Reference. The Broncos have frequently been lauded for having many, if not all, of the components Payton mentioned for KC.<\/p>\n
Putting it all together for a full 60 minutes is their next challenge. A win in Week 11 could vault Payton and the Broncos into another stratosphere mentally.<\/p>\n
To get it, they must properly address the issues they have encountered early in games.<\/p>\n
GettyDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to his team during a game against the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n
Payton and the Broncos are 8-2, atop the AFC West standings, and tied for the best record in the\u00a0NFL\u00a0heading into the Chiefs game. The head coach met with the media on Wednesday, and he spoke highly about the team\u2019s ability to emerge victorious in tight contests.<\/p>\n
The Broncos are 6-2 in one-score games this season, and their two losses came in Weeks 2 and 3, against the\u00a0Indianapolis Colts\u00a0and\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers, respectively.<\/p>\n
However, presented with a question regarding the Broncos\u2019 slow starts, Payton was frank.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our jobs to, offensively, put ourselves in a position of starting faster. And when I discussed this after the game, there aren\u2019t many times when a game\u2019s over \u2013 when you win, even \u2013 where you\u2019re fully satisfied. There\u2019s something bugging you. There\u2019s something. And certainly, getting that balance and the time of possession, also to help our defense. And so, I like that this year we\u2019re doing better in these one-score games,\u201d Payton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you gained some confidence. And if you tried to pick when did that turn, you might look at\u00a0Philly. But to go where we want to go, there has to be improvement. And certainly we understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Broncos enter this game riding a seven-game win streak. The Chiefs lost in their last outing against the\u00a0Buffalo Bills before their bye in Week 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Through the first 10 weeks of the\u00a0NFL\u00a0season, it is clear that the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks\u00a0are one of the best teams in the league. If anything, they have made a strong claim as the most…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t