For the Seahawks, Hankins gives the team a space eater at 320 pounds to potentially pair with Leonard Williams on the middle of the defensive line. Hankins started 14 games last season posting 27 tackles, 3 quarterback hits and 3 sacks.

Seattle is slowly revamping their defense under new head coach Mike Macdonald. Despite heading into free agency with more than $40 million in cap room, the Seahawks have mostly made budget-friendly deals such as the addition of Hankins. The defender played on a one-year, $1.1 million deal with Dallas in 2023.

Some of the Cowboys’ losses have been related to the team’s tight salary cap constraints. The loss of Hankins could have been more of a team decision based on play.

“It’s possible that the Cowboys thought Hankins was a declining player,” Pro Football Focus’ Marcus Mosher noted in a March 19 message on X. “He has now posted three straight seasons with a PFF run defense grade 52 or worse.”

ESPN’s Todd Archer believes the Cowboys are also in danger of losing starting corner Stephon Gilmore. This loss would be more financially related than based on the former Pro Bowler’s ability.

“This year, they drew lines on how much money they could pay Smith, Pollard, Biadasz and Armstrong and did not budge,” Archer wrote in a March 19 story titled, “Why do the Cowboys go about free agency the way they do?” “The departures might not be over. Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins might leave. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, could sign elsewhere, too.

The Cowboys could certainly add cost-effective players in the coming days and weeks, but they are hanging their hat on their ability to draft. Since vice president of player personnel Will McClay took over the draft in 2014, Dallas has had 13 draft picks named to at least one Pro Bowl.”

Hankins represents another potential new starter on the Seahawks defense. Few positions will look more different than at linebacker.

Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks are no longer with Seattle; Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker were later signed as possible successors.According to Brock Huard of Seattle Sports, this might be an improvement at linebacker in 2024.

Huard stated, “It will be different to your eye, just the size,” on the March 18 episode of “Brock and Salk.” “After all, Bobby weighed a whopping 250 pounds. Even Brooks was a big guy—he was like, 235? They were little larger; I believe he even reached approximately 240.

For Heavy.com, Jonathan Adams writes about the NFL and NBA, concentrating on the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Philadelphia Eagles. Numerous publications, including NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated, have highlighted his work.