SEATTLE — Although it ended on a sour note, the Seahawks gave fans and the city of Seattle a lot of reasons to be hopeful going forward.
A season that many expected to be full of losing after Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner's departures instead became a playoff campaign that saw the Seahawks put a scare into arguably the NFL's best team, the San Francisco 49ers, in the Wild Card Round.
Let's look at the four main reasons Seahawks fans should be excited about the team's prospects in 2023 and beyond.
Elite rookie class
General manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll's haul from the 2022 NFL Draft is one of the best groups the franchise has ever had overall.
It began with tackle Charles Cross, the No. 9 overall selection. Cross started every game of his rookie season at left tackle but had a pretty significant learning curve after playing in a pass-heavy college offense. He wasn't perfect by any means, but it appears the Seahawks have their left tackle of the future.
In the second round, the Seahawks grabbed Boye Mafe and Kenneth Walker. Mafe played 17 games, tallied three sacks and was one of the better run defenders on a unit that struggled in that regard.
Walker secured the starting job after Rashaad Penny's injury early and wound up putting together one of the better seasons of any offensive rookie in the NFL. The Michigan State product ran for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns and is among the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Abraham Lucas went to Seattle in the third round and the former Washington State Cougar started 16 games at right tackle for the Seahawks. Lucas was one of two Seahawks to make the Pro Football Focus All-Rookie Team and likely is the future of the right tackle position with Cross holding down the left side.
The Seahawks' next two picks were cornerbacks. Each outperformed their draft slot in their rookie seasons. Coby Bryant went in the fourth round, and while his coverage skills could improve, the Cincinnati product did an impressive job defending the run and even racked up a few sacks in pass-rushing situations.
The rookie who made the greatest impact in Year 1 was drafted in the fifth round. Tariq Woolen and his incredibly rare set of physical tools stole a starting spot from several veterans in training camp and he ended up as one of the top candidates for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Woolen was in a tie for the league lead in interceptions (6) at season's end and is the first Seahawks rookie to earn a Pro Bowl spot since Lofa Tatupu in 2005.
Eventually, several of these players will command expensive contract extensions. However, the next few years offer the Seahawks an opportunity to have a number of key contributors playing on cheap rookie contracts.
Pete Carroll's vindication
The last few years of Wilson's tenure in Seattle had many fans and NFL pundits questioning whether Carroll and the Seahawks should have conceded to the star quarterback and adjusted the offense to his reported liking.
Two of Carroll's three losing seasons as the head coach in Seattle came before Wilson's arrival. There was doubt as to whether Carroll still had it in him to revamp the Seahawks' offense with No. 3 taking his talents to Denver.
Instead of the Seahawks imploding without Wilson, it was the Denver Broncos that ended up with one of the worst seasons in the NFL. Wilson's first new head coach since his college days was fired after less than one season at the helm and Denver ended up with a 5-12 record.
Meanwhile, Carroll handed Geno Smith the reins and guided the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth. Entering the offseason, the vibes are dramatically better in Seattle than they are in the Mile High City.
Carroll has cemented himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL, and even at age 71, does not seem to be interested in slowing down anytime soon. As long as he is the head coach, Seahawks fans know they will have a competitive team each and every week.
Geno Smith's career renaissance
There were two big individual winners of the Seahawks' 2022 season: Carroll and Smith.
After a disastrous start to his career with the New York Jets, Smith was humbled through stints with multiple teams as a backup quarterback, eventually finding his way to Seattle in 2019.
Smith backed up Wilson for three years before being given a shot to earn the starting job in training camp this past August. Not only did Smith earn the starting nod despite many doubters, but he led the NFL in completion percentage and got invited to his first Pro Bowl at age 32.
With a contract that is set to expire in March, Smith could command an exorbitant salary from a team in desperate need of a veteran upgrade at the quarterback position. However, Smith has strongly indicated his desire to return to Seattle next season after Saturday's playoff loss. Carroll has also emphasized the team hopes to have him back.
It won't be cheap, but the most likely scenario is the Seahawks re-signing Smith to a fair contract and then selecting a quarterback at some point in April's 2023 NFL Draft.
Either way, expect to see Smith back under center come Week 1 of the 2023 season.
Valuable draft capital
Finally, the Seahawks have a plethora of draft picks coming up in 2023. The Seahawks have the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft courtesy of the Broncos. They'll also have the No. 20 overall selection after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to end Super Wild Card Weekend.
The Seahawks also received Denver's second-round draft choice, giving the team nine draft picks in 2023.
The No. 5 pick in particular offers the Seahawks several enticing avenues to improve the roster.
Seattle could choose one of the top quarterbacks available to learn and compete with Smith over the next few years. Or the franchise could choose to focus on another area of need, such as interior defensive line or linebacker. The pick even could be traded to set the Seahawks up with additional future selections and further bolster the team's supply.
There are a number of tantalizing options available to the Seahawks in the upcoming draft, but overall there is a lot to look forward to as a Seattle fan over the next few years.