The ESSENTIAL Football Show 2025 Cap Space: $29.4 million
2026 Cap Space: $85.8 million
2027 Cap Space: $174.8 million
2026 Draft Picks: Own Picks, Rounds 1-5, plus 6th Rd CLE
For all the discussion over the Seattle Seahawks trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders in order to sign Sam Darnold at quarterback, I think the two players they swapped out have a lot more similarities than differences. They’ve had success in different styles, but ultimately, both are talented passers who operate primarily as pocket quarterbacks and have a tendency for making costly mistakes in the wrong moments.
Darnold will be operating in different circumstances in Seattle, but the change might not be as stark as some make it out to be; by the time the Vikings faced off with the Seahawks in a Week 16 game that had both teams in the thick of the playoff run, Darnold and Smith were both playing behind below-average offensive lines with inconsistent run games. The big difference between now and then is that the Seahawks no longer have D.K. Metcalf, and while the Metcalf-Jaxon Smith-Njigba might have been a muted version of the Justin Jefferson-Jordan Addison duo in Minnesota, the pairing was still in the discussion as one of the league’s better tandems.
The Seahawks are presumably relying on a shift in structure with a change to new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who, as the family name suggests, is going to marry up the run game and pass game the way the Shanahan/Kubiak style is famous for. Klint Kubiak did a good job with his offense in New Orleans before injuries derailed them, and the Seahawks have a talented backfield the electric Kenneth Walker and the steady, shifty Zach Charbonnet. How it all fits together remains to be seen, but the general vision for the offensive shift is clear, even if the details aren’t, and the defense is already a year deep in the shift to the Mike Macdonald years.
Quarterback
Starter: Sam Darnold
Backups: Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe (3rd Rd)
Running Back
Starters: Kenneth Walker III
Backups: Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Damien Martinez (7th Rd), Robbie Ouzts (FB, 5th Rd)
Wide Receiver
Starters: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Backups: Tory Horton (5th Rd), Ricky White (7th Rd), Jake Bobo, Steven Sims
Tight End
Starters: Noah Fant
Backups: AJ Barner, Elijah Arroyo (2nd Rd), Eric Saubert
Offensive Line
Starters: Charles Cross, Grey Zabel (1st Rd), Olu Oluwatimi, Christian Haynes (2024 3rd), Abraham Lucas
Backups: Josh Jones, Anthony Bradford, Sataoa Laumea, Michael Jerrell
Offense Overview
In addition to Darnold, the Seahawks made two big-name acquisitions on offense, one who is an obvious fit and the second less so.
The obvious fit is offensive lineman Grey Zabel, who played tackle at North Dakota State, but was flagged throughout the draft process as a player who would excel kicking into guard in this system. It’s not a particularly aggressive approach to a line that struggled badly last season, so part of the equation is the hope that Kubiak’s system makes life easier on the players up front, allowing them to get more out of left tackle Charles Cross and, given health, right tackle Abe Lucas, who looked as if they would be a competent bookend pairing when they entered the league together in 2022. The talents filling the other spots are less heralded; center Olu Oluwatimi strikes me as being not quite athletic enough as an undersized player, and the fact that 2024 3rd-rounder Christian Haynes couldn’t get on the field ahead of 2024 6th-rounder Sataoa Laumea down the stretch is downright alarming, because Laumea was close to unplayable. Anthony Bradford certainly brings some size, but he missed the second half of last season due to injury, and has been just ok in his appearances so far.
The other big-name acquisition is Cooper Kupp, which has generated a lot of debate, given the overlap in his skillset with Smith-Njigba. While I acknowledge that modern NFL offenses have blurred the lines between slot receivers and outside receivers with motions and condensed formations, the reality is that Kupp and Smith-Njigba are pegged as slot receivers because of a lack of explosive speed or size, which leaves Marquez Valdes-Scantling to threaten defenses down the field. I’m far less concerned with the Seahawks finding ways to deploy Smith-Njigba and Kupp at the same time than I am about how unexplosive that offense sounds, even with a juiced-up runner like Walker in the backfield.
Valdes-Scantling was a good value once the Metcalf and Kupp moves had played out - MVS is coming off a strong year working with Kubiak in New Orleans - but in an ideal world, I’d pair Smith-Njigba with a more explosive receiver, and while 5th-rounder Tory Horton may wind up being that, the odds are long on that dice roll. The Seahawks did add Elijah Arroyo in the second round, but while the Miami product is purported to bring upside as a receiver, juice at the tight end position isn’t the same as juice at the wide receiver position.
This offense could certainly come together, but if the Seahawks were set on winning this year, it might have made more sense to place some different bets in the draft. The first-rounder on Zabel slotted perfectly, but I might have taken another swing on an interior lineman with a second or third rounder, and targeted one of the many receivers available in that range, rather than drafting Arroyo and a project quarterback in Jalen Milroe. If the Seahawks are playing for more of a two to three year window, and keeping their options open, this approach makes a little more sense, but I also don’t think you’re ever hurting your long-term plans by investing, even over-investing, in your offensive line.
Defensive Tackle
Starters: Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Jarran Reed
Backups: Johnathan Hankins, Mike Morris, Rylie Mills
Edge
Starters: Uchenna Nwosu, Demarcus Lawrence
Backups: Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Tyreke Smith
Linebackers
Starters: Ernest Jones, Tyrice Knight
Backups: Drake Thomas, Josh Ross
Safety
Starters: Julian Love, Coby Bryant
Backups: Nick Emmanwori (2nd Rd), D’Anthony Bell
Slot
Starter: Devon Witherspoon
Backups: Damarion Williams
Outside CB
Starters: Tariq “Riq” Woolen, Josh Jobe
Backups: Nehemiah Pritchett, Shemar Jean-Charles
Defense Overview
The conventional wisdom is that this Seahawks defense found their footing in the back half of the season - specifically, after their bye - but my take is that they just played a lot of mediocre offenses.
On the plus side, Seattle seems to match up well with the division-rival Cardinals, but when they had to play the Packers and Vikings with the playoffs on the line in Weeks 15 and 16, they got handled, particularly in the Green Bay game, which they lost 30-13.
To me, the problems start at linebacker, where Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight are just ok. Against weaker opponents, the tandem was solid, but I felt that the Packers in particular went after them, and they did not stand up to the test against the run or the pass.
It doesn’t help that they aren’t dominant in the front or back end. Leonard Williams is getting better with age, and is coming off an utterly dominant 2024 campaign that should have seen him push for more postseason honors, and the hope is that Byron Murphy can add some more juice in his second year, but they are just ok on the edge, where they will hope Uchenna Nwosu and Demarcus Lawrence have healthier campaigns than they did last season.
The back end offers some upside; Tariq Woolen rebounded from a down second season and flashed better highs in Year Three, even if there were some inconsistent games, but Devon Witherspoon didn’t seem to bring the same high-wire energy he provided as a rookie, and a return to the elite playmaking we saw from him as a rookie would definitely boost the back end.
That still eaves a gaping hole at the second outside cornerback spot in their nickel, where Josh Jobe got picked on throughout 2024. The Seahawks didn’t add anything in the way of competition, so while second-round pick Nick Emmanwori could help the middle of the defense if he beats out Julian Love or Coby Bryant, that still leaves an issue on the outside. If the Seahawks feel they can live in “big nickel” with that trio, maybe that fills the gap, but that also means leaving Witherspoon on the outside full-time, and there’s a question of if that’s the way to maximize him.
Overall Outlook
His season with the Vikings didn’t end in fairy-tale fashion, but Sam Darnold firmly established himself as an average to above-average NFL starter last season. Yes, there’s a tendency for turnovers at some rough moments, but that’s true of the other middle-of-the-pack pocket quarterbacks who aren’t afraid to turn the ball loose, whether you’re talking Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, or even Geno Smith.
Things are going to have to go right around him, but it’s not as if Darnold was playing in some “training wheels” offense last season; he made his presence felt on throws down the field and outside the numbers, and showed that he is going to stretch the defense to all three levels. He’s no sure thing, but at the end of the day, I’d rather be paying the price tag on a Darnold or a Baker Mayfield than a Lawrence, a Goff, or a Brock Purdy, who all arguably fall into a similar bucket of quarterbacks, even if some have more draft pedigree or playoff success.
There might not be enough talent in-house for the Seahawks to push for a Super Bowl this season, but if they are in the thick of the playoff race again, which seems perfectly reasonable, then they will be well-positioned to add another layer of talent to a fairly sound roster, and who knows where that takes off to.