Free Agent Primer: Will Johnathan Hankins Return to Seahawks in 2025?

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins celebrates after making a tackle against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Credit: Johnathan Hankins/Instagram

After narrowly missing out on the postseason despite finishing with 10 wins in their first season under coach Mike Macdonald, the Seattle Seahawks have plenty of roster questions to address in coming weeks and months as they aim to improve their roster with the goal of returning to the playoffs in 2025.

With the new league year set to begin on March 14, Seattle will have 10 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents along with two restricted free agents and four exclusive rights free agents, while veteran starters such as quarterback Geno Smith and receiver DK Metcalf could be due for contract extensions. Complicating the process to re-sign and extend players, general manager John Schneider has his work cut out for him creating financial flexibility before free agency tips off next month, as the franchise currently sits more than $6 million over the salary cap.

Over the next several weeks, using statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, I will break down each and every one of the Seahawks' unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2024 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, breaking down an ideal contract, and making an early prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2025.

Up next in the series, the Seahawks brought veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins on board to help anchor a defensive line as a much-needed traditional nose tackle. Will there still be a spot for him in the rotation next season?

Season in Review

Reunited with defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who coached him for multiple seasons with the Cowboys, Hankins signed with the Seahawks on a one-year deal and wound up starting eight out of 17 games played while logging 389 defensive snaps, his highest total since 2021. Seeing extensive action both as a 1-tech nose tackle and a 3-tech defensive tackle with over 100 snaps in both alignments in coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, including logging 40-plus snaps in three consecutive games from Week 4 to Week 6, he produced 28 combined tackles with eight quarterback pressures, one sack, and his first career interception in a road win over the 49ers to help jumpstart a four-game winning streak.

Why Seattle Will Re-sign Him

For the better part of the previous two seasons, the Seahawks lacked a true behemoth in the middle who could gobble up double teams while also occasionally getting his hands on ball carriers, but Hankins filled that void and then some. Finishing tied for fifth on the team with 15 run stops, his presence at the nose tackle position proved to be a catalyst for the NFL’s most improved run defense, jumping from 30th in 2023 to 16th last season with him holding serve at the line of scrimmage. He also wasn’t simply a space eater, as he generated five tackles for loss in the backfield, his highest total since way back in 2019 when he had seven such tackles with the Raiders.

A seasoned veteran who has the respect of coaches and teammates alike, Hankins took youngsters such as rookie Byron Murphy II under his wing from the jump, helping the first round pick get acclimated quickly to Macdonald’s system and showing him the ropes for facing off against NFL offensive linemen. His value as a mentor cannot be overstated and assuming the Seahawks draft another defensive lineman in April, it would be wise to retain him for that reason alone.

Why Seattle Will Let Him Walk

While Hankins did have a solid statistical season and deserves acclaim for his contributions in the locker room, on film, the 330-pound defender uncharacteristically found himself out of position too many times in regard to gap fits, particularly in the first half of the schedule when the run defense continued to resemble Swiss cheese, and he left seven tackles on the field with a 15.2 percent missed tackle rate. That’s too many missed opportunities for a nose tackle whose impact is mostly predicated on defending the run on early downs before rotating out of the lineup in passing situations.

In the past, Hankins has offered surprising efficiency as an interior pass rusher, but he regressed substantially in that department for Seattle last season. On 166 pass rushing snaps, he posted a 3.8 percent pass rush win rate, which ranked 95th out of 109 qualified defensive tackles. This led to a decrease in snaps as the season progressed, including seeing the field for fewer than 17 snaps in six of the final eight games.

Ideal Contract

One year, $1.8 million

Prediction

Like any quality nose tackle in the NFL, Hankins’ true value can’t be evaluated through a box score, as he has long been the consummate pro handling the dirty work in the trenches to keep linebackers and safeties behind him free to make plays against the run. For the most part, he did what the Seahawks asked him to do last season in that regard, playing a role in the success of linebackers Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight down the stretch, while also chipping in with nearly 30 combined tackles and approaching half a dozen tackles for loss.

With his 33rd birthday approaching shortly after the start of free agency, the front office may not be in a rush to re-sign Hankins, especially with a deep defensive line draft class featuring several intriguing nose tackle prospects that could be brought on board on cheap rookie deals with four years of club control. It’s possible he could be waiting for his next contract several weeks into March or even go unsigned into April.

Still, looking towards 2025, Seattle would be more than happy to have similar production from a nose tackle again, and though Schneider has typically leaned towards youth over aging players, the organization has a strong track record of squeezing out quality play from veterans at the position. Given his relationship with Durde and the fact he shouldn’t cost much more than a veteran minimum contract to retain as a popular veteran leader, there’s a good chance the two sides will strike another one-year deal at some point this offseason.

Previous Free Agent Primers: Jarran Reed | Laken Tomlinson