NFL Notebook: 2025 Seattle Seahawks Preview
The Seattle Seahawks had a nice year under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald. They may have come up short of the postseason, but with a 10-7 record that’s just a bad break. For better or for worse, Seattle made some major changes. Geno Smith and D.K. Metcalf were shipped out. Sam Darnold and DeMarcus Lawrence are in. Will Year 2 of the Macdonald Era see improvement, regression, or more of the same?
MAC’S DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY
Macdonald built his reputation as the defensive coordinator in Baltimore, and this side of the ball ranked 11th in the NFL in points allowed. The 3-4 scheme has good defensive ends in Leonard Williams and Javvan Reed. Boye Mafe is solid on one edge. That’s where the signing of Lawrence comes in. The veteran outside linebacker did not have a good year in Dallas last season. At age 33, that certainly raises an eyebrow. But he was productive as recently as 2023, so hoping for a revival in a system well-suited for him is a reasonable bet.
The secondary is also a strength. Julian Love is one of the game’s top free safeties, and Coby Bryant is steady at strong safety. The corners aren’t great, but they aren’t bad. Moreover, they will be in a defense that probably rushes the passer effectively and can provide a lot of help over the top. Seattle’s D should be good again.
DARNOLD & A CHANGING OFFENSE
That defense will have to be really good, because the offense just looks like a problem area. Swapping out Smith for Darnold at the quarterback spot looks like just dealing one journeyman veteran for the other. While Smith had some good games last year, the Seahawk offense still ranked just 18th in points scored. Until Darnold strings together two consecutive good years, he has to be considered a question mark, in spite of his strong year for Minnesota in 2024.
Seattle used their first-round draft choice to address the offensive line, taking guard Grey Zabel out of North Dakota State. That’s the right priority because this unit is a major issue. If Zabel develops fast, he and tackle Charles Cross could make a good left side. But even this best-case scenario still leaves three other significant holes and makes the Seahawk offense basically lefthanded. What’s more, running back Kenneth Walker III had injury problems a year ago and his ability to cover for a weak line is declining.
AN INTERESTING WIDE RECEIVER ROOM
Where the Seahawks are interesting is at wide receiver. They have a good building block in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who caught 100 balls a year ago. Seattle made two notable pickups in the offseason. Marquez Valdez-Scantling is a legitimate big-play threat but was never a primary target in Kansas City or his other stops. Can he produce in something beyond a support role and without Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback? The Seahawks also signed Cooper Kupp. The former Ram is as good as anyone at working underneath—when he’s healthy. But that last qualifier has been a pretty significant stumbling block over his career.
If Valdez-Scantling can step up and Kupp can remain healthy, Darnold will have some targets and Seattle’s offense can be good enough to win. If not, the interception-prone version of Darnold could easily return.
OUTLOOK
Seattle’s Over/Under is 8.5. Like division rival Arizona that we previewed yesterday, it’s an up-or-down referendum on whether or not it’s a winning season. My basic instinct is that this number is right on—the Seahawks look like a 9-8 or 8-9 team. I’ll reserve final judgment for our final preview when we can put everyone in context.