SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

OFF SEASON CHANGES

The off-season brought the natural fallout that follows any title team: five members of the 2022 draft class departed this offseason, most notably Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker, and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak left for the Raiders' head-coaching job. The Seahawks drafted RB Jadarian Price in the firstround to replace Walker and they also have George Holani as RB depth. Zach Charbonnet will return at some point this season too. Seattle retained its two most important pieces, Darnold and the core of its historically great defense.

QUATERBACKS

Sam Darnold completed one of the most remarkable career turnarounds in recent NFL history leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory against the Patriots last season. He formed an unbelievable partnership with Jaxon Smith-Njigba last year who won Offensive Player of the Year. Seattle was third in scoring offense (28.4 points per game) last season, though only ninth in offensive success rate and 18th in EPA per play, a genuinely big-play-dependent formula. Darnold can’t be doubted anymore after winning the Super Bowl, but he’s still not considered in the top quarterbacks in the league in terms of pure talent. He averaged 238 passing yards per game last season and most of those went to JSN. It’ll be interesting to see if he spreads the ball more this season.

RUNNING BACKS

This is an interesting RB room with Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker leaving in free agency to the Chiefs and Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a season ending injury suffered last year. The Seahawks drafted RB Jadarian Price with the final pick of the first round and they have high hopes for him to step into a big role immediately. He should get plenty of opportunity from Week 1 and I don’t mind him at +950 for Offensive Rookie of the Year. George Holani will likely be RB2 to start the season but once Zach Charbonnet is cleared for a return he will have a prominent role in the offense too. It’s a high powered offense but the RB room feels weaker this season than it was in their Super Bowl winning season.

RECEIVERS

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league in receiving yards, and Cooper Kupp returns as a complementary veteran target behind him. Rashid Shaheed was re-signed for $17 million per year and I expect him to move above Kupp in the pecking order this season. That gives Darnold a genuinely deep group to work with in year two of this partnership. Seattle ranked fourth in 20-plus-yard play rate and fifth in 10-plus-yard play rate last season, an explosive, if slightly boom-or-bust, identity that fits Darnold's aggressive downfield style well. Shaheed is a great deep threat and I can’t believe his receiving line for the season is only 475.5 yards. This passing game's continuity into year two, after a title-winning first season together, should only help this already explosive unit take another real step forward.

DEFENCE

Mike Macdonald's defense was the No. 1 unit in the NFL during the championship run, per Sharp ranking first in points allowed per drive, first in explosive-play rate allowed, and second in yards allowed per play. Losing edge rusher Boye Mafe to Cincinnati in free agency is a real subtraction, but Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence, and All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon anchor a unit that returns largely intact into this title defense.