The Seahawks re-signed veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins on Wednesday, adding experienced depth to their interior line.
Hankins, who signed with the Seahawks as a free agent last year, is heading into his 13th season in the NFL, having come into the league as a second-round pick in 2013. He started eight games last season and appeared in all 17, recording 30 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss and his first career interception.
"Being here last year, the success we had, the group we had defensively, and now we have D-Law (DeMarcus Lawrence) here, and some more key guys—we drafted a D-tackle—I just feel comfortable here," Hankins said after signing Wednesday. "I like it here. Everything made sense. To be able to still be playing in Year 13, and obviously the organization wanted me back, so it just made sense."
While the Seahawks already featured plenty of talented players on their interior line before this signing, including Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed and Byron Murphy II, Hankins brings a different element to the line as a true run-stuffing, A-gap player.
"This guy is a heck of a player," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said during rookie minicamp when asked about the team agreeing to a deal with Hankins. "We're excited to get him back. I wouldn't say it's a major void because we have guys that can play in the A gap, but, yeah, when you watch tape last year, he played some pretty dang good football for us. Excited to get him back."
Prior to joining the Seahawks last season, Hankins spent time with the Giants, Colts, Raiders and Cowboys, and during those two seasons in Dallas, Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde was his defensive line coach. In Dallas, Hankins was also teammates with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who signed with the Seahawks earlier this offseason.
"Oh man, he's a monster," Hankins said of Lawrence. "He's a guy who can stop the run, obviously get after the quarterback, and just overall a great person, great man and great leader. He definitely adds value to our team."
Hankins has appeared in 169 games with 142 starts over 12 seasons, recording 433 tackles, 18.5 sacks, 44 tackles for loss and 52 quarterback hits.
"It's exciting," Hankins said of preparing for his 13th season. "To be healthy enough to still go out there, but also passionate enough that I can still go out there and play, it's a blessing. At this point I kind of just go year to year, because you never know what can really happen. But just talking to AD and Mike, they always stayed in contact and said that if everything worked out, there's a chance I could come back, and now I'm here."
Like everyone else on Seattle's defense, Hankins is expecting the Seahawks to be a force on that side of the ball after making big strides in the second half of last season in their first season under Macdonald.
"I think we can be one of the best (defenses)," Hankins said. "I think we were close to being the best last year… I think we're going to have a much better season than we did last year, even though last season was pretty good."
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins totaled 30 tackles, one sack and his first career interception in his first season in Seattle. Check out the best photos Hankins from his 12th season in the NFL.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during 2024 offseason workouts.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during 2024 training camp.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during 2024 training camp.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during 2024 training camp.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during practice.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 2 win at the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 3 win vs. the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 3 win vs. the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 3 win vs. the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 3 win vs. the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 4 Monday Night Football matchup vs. the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 4 Monday Night Football matchup vs. the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 4 Monday Night Football matchup vs. the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 5 matchup vs. the New York Giants at Lumen Field
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 3 win vs. the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup vs. the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup vs. the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 8 matchup vs. the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 8 matchup vs. the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 11 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 11 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) celebrates the Week 11 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 12 win vs. the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 14 win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 14 win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 14 win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 14 win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 14 win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) celebrates the Week 17 Thursday Night Football win over the Chicago Bears at Solider Field
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 18 win over the L.A. Rams at SoFi Stadium.
Seahawks defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (97) during the Week 18 win over the L.A. Rams at SoFi Stadium.
