Dante Fowler Jr signs with Seahawks: Can he help Seattle repeat?

The veteran edge rusher is signing with the Seahawks on a one-year deal.

He plugs the hole left behind after Boye Mafe signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency, but is Fowler enough for a team that needs to be on their 'A' game if they are to defend their title?

We ran the numbers.

Fowler's career in a nutshell

The third overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, Fowler has made a career out of being a situational pass rusher.

He missed his entire rookie year with a torn ACL, but has missed very little time since.

Over 159 career games, he's put up 58.5 sacks, peaking with 11.5 sacks for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019.

Fowler at 31: still a force or fading?

Fowler is only one season removed from a 10.5 sack campaign with the Washington Commanders in 2024.

But after only managing three with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, the question may be asked whether one of the worst sack outputs of his career signals that he's slowing down.

It's important to give those numbers some context, starting with Fowler's playing time, which was limited to only 358 snaps.

And while his three sacks are a poor return, he was unfortunate not to have more after generating 30 pressures (sacks, hits, and hurries combined).

His resulting 12.1% pressure rate, while not superb, ranked in the 53rd percentile among all edge rushers and ahead of more highly-regarded players such as Brian Burns (11.3% and 16.5 sacks) and Maxx Crosby (10.3% and 10 sacks).

Fowler clearly isn't on a par with those two names, but he's not as far behind them as might first appear, and his numbers were better than the much more expensive man he's replacing.

In addition to that, Fowler's 20.2% pass rush win rate, in other words, his percentage of 'wins' versus the blockers he faced, was higher than any other Seattle edge rusher in 2025.

Why the Durde factor matters

For a rotational edge rusher, being in the right system matters as much as raw ability.

Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde has worked with Fowler twice already, in Atlanta in 2020 and in Dallas during 2022 and 2023.

Some would argue that Durde knows what he's getting and how to use Fowler, but is it truly the right system?

Durde may not have been the defensive coordinator in those years with Fowler, but the veteran produced only 13 sacks in those three campaigns combined.

But there's more to this than just Durde's scheme...

Why Fowler's still a good fit for the Seahawks

Fowler slots in as the third or fourth option behind DeMarcus Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu, and alongside Derick Hall.

If he stays healthy, he's a good bet to eclipse 500 snaps, a number he's only surpassed once in the last four years.

That gives him every opportunity to make more of a mark than he did with the Cowboys, perhaps even enjoy a bounce-back year, and in doing so, make a valuable contribution to the imposing Seahawks' defense.

Another reason to believe he'll make a good impression is the same point that likely appeals to Fowler: the dominant secondary.

While the likes of Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori lock up receivers and tight ends, Fowler should be afforded more time than he's had in recent years to get after the quarterback.

Jane Gershovich / Stringer

Is Fowler's addition enough for the Seahawks?

A double-digit sack season is a lot to ask for, but that's not what's expected.

Last year, no Seattle defensive player had more than seven, and they still tied for seventh among all teams in the sack column.

When you're defending a Super Bowl, you don't need every signing to be a splash. A veteran who knows the coordinator, on a one-year deal, in front of one of the league's best secondaries, is sometimes enough.