The ESSENTIAL Football Show 
Top 51 Cap Space (per Spotrac): 2026: $25.8 million | 2027: $28.2 million | 2028: $203.8 million
Draft Picks: 2027: 1-3, 5-7, ATL 7 | 2028: 1-6
Football Decision Makers: GM John Schneider | HC Mike Macdonald | OC Brian Fleury | DC Aden Durde | ST Jay Harbaugh
State of the Team
Fresh off a Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks are set to pick up where they left off.
There’s change, headlined by the losses of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, running back Kenneth Walker, and cornerback ‘Riq Woolen, but Seattle’s most talented players on both sides of the ball are still in the fold, and Mike Macdonald is still running one of the more dominant defenses we’ve seen.
The last Super Bowl run was by no means easy, and a repeat won’t be either, but ultimately, Sam Darnold proved that he can rise to the occasion in the biggest moments, and the defense should continue to do their thing if the foundation players continue to produce. Their cap situation is relatively boring; they are in a sound position to make any moves they need to make, with the bulk of their draft picks, $25-$30 million in cap space the next two years, and plenty of flexibility in 2028, with their current cap space over $200 million. There will be an ownership swap, which is often treacherous for the front office and coaching staff, but the John Schneider-Mike Macdonald tandem could well be the exception to that rule.
Offense
Kenneth Walker put this team over the top in their playoff run, but the bigger overall impact from a season level came from Kubiak; a year after Seattle had one of the more disjointed offenses in the league, and a bottom-five offensive line, Kubiak’s scheme and coaching help turn the fortunes for the tackle tandem of Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, who were at something of a crossroads after showing immense promise as rookies, to unearth a contributor at a spot of need in center Jalen Sundell, and to transition an immensely talented first-rounder - Gray Zabel - into a high-end NFL guard out of the gate.
On top of that, Kubiak solved a preseason conundrum - namely, Seattle’s apparent lack of high-end star power and depth at receiver - by fully unlocking Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who established himself as one of the league’s elite receivers, and by finding roles for players such as Cooper Kupp or tight end AJ Barner.
The good thing is, the blueprint is there now, and their new offensive coordinator, Brian Fleury, is coming over from a San Francisco organization where the offensive coordinator is Klay Kubiak - Klint’s brother, if you’re wondering - so he should be relatively well-versed in the concepts Klint was running in Seattle last season. Whether Fleury can continue to evolve the offense remains to be seen, but the scheme is going to be rooted in Shanahan-style principles, and this group has shown they can execute that at a fairly high level.
The running back position will be of interest; first-round pick Jadarian Price will get the opportunity to shine early while veteran Zach Charbonnet works back from the knee injury that knocked him out ahead of the playoffs; the organization also speaks highly of backup George Holani, and Emanuel Wilson was a capable backup in his opportunities for Green Bay, so the room should be in decent shape, provided that Price is as advertised and can replace some of the explosive plays they lose in Kenneth Walker, because the rest of the room is less equipped to do that.
An X-Factor for Fleury out of the gate will be how he uses receiver Rashid Shaheed, who had a markedly larger impact as a returner than as a receiver after he was acquired from New Orleans last season. Sam Darnold likes to go big-game hunting, and Shaheed is among the league’s best at getting over the top, particularly on post routes, but that seemingly obvious connection never materialized last year. Perhaps an offseason of work and more familiarity leads to more production, but it was a bit curious to see Seattle extend Shaheed given his seeming lack of fit on offense.
As for Darnold, there are mistakes, but there are big plays as well, and ultimately, his current balance allows him to play winning football. I think there’s a lot of Brett Favre in Darnold; I don’t think that we’re ever going to reach the stage where Darnold is among the league’s best at protecting the football, but he makes enough big plays to win despite that.
Defense
Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and nickel Nick Emmanowari all make the mark as “blue” players in my grade book, and defensive tackle Byron Murphy has a strong argument for that designation as well. Macdonald does a great job with his scheme, but ultimately, that quartet is driving the dominance more than anyone else.
That said, this is a group effort, and there are all sorts of really good players who allow that group to shine. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed played really solid ball for Seattle last year, finishing out the three-man line with Williams and Murphy to bully opponent offensive lines, while the edge rotation of DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, and Derrick Hall provide an incredibly physical presence; given how well players tend to perform in this defense, it’s easy to see free-agent addition Dante Fowler put together another quality season off the edge. Ernest Jones is the key player at off ball linebacker, while Drake Thomas slots in as a solid run-and-hit player next to him.
On the back end, Emmanowari brings ridiculous underneath cover skills for a man with linebacker size and allows the Seahawks to use a “nickel” look as their base. In that look, Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe will man the outside corner positions, leaving Julian Love and Ty Okada to hold down the back end.
The one question is whether Seattle can find an outside cornerback who can step in for dime looks and allow Witherspoon to kick to the slot, where he is even more dominant than he is on the outside, but those are champagne problems; even if Witherspoon winds up having to stay outside, Seattle is likely to find a player to fill out their dime personnel.
Final Takeaways
The Seahawks were relatively quiet in their ascent last year, and they’ve been relatively quiet this offseason, but that way of operating doesn’t make them any less dangerous. This is a high-end roster led by an outstanding defensive coach, and while things didn’t go Macdonald’s way with his first offensive coordinator hire, the through lines between Kubiak and Fleury indicate that he has a much better chance his third time around.
I’m also interested to see where Sam Darnold’s career goes from here; in terms of a player getting a monkey off his back, I’m not sure we’ve seen anything quite like Darnold, whose efforts in Minnesota were consistently undersold as he led the Vikings to 14 wins despite playing behind a below-average offensive line the entire year, and who was run out of town after the offense collapsed in the last two games, seemingly in part because he wasn’t someone the front office believed could win championships.
Darnold has laid all that to rest now, and heads into a season as a truly established franchise quarterback for the first time in his career. Given that he doesn’t lack for arm talent, and that he has a receiver like JSN to keep happy, it could be an interesting second act coming up for Darnold in the years to come.