PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Seattle Seahawks are within the midst of a full-blown transformation on offense. With the 2025 NFL draft nonetheless three weeks away and extra additions within the offing, they’ve already changed their beginning quarterback and two of his high three receivers. They’re going to be operating a brand new scheme by a brand new coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who introduced a number of handpicked assistants with him.
That sea change was on the coronary heart of a query to second-year coach Mike Macdonald, who was requested Tuesday on the annual league conferences whether or not their offense has improved.
“I feel it is totally different,” he stated. “I imply, we now have an extended solution to go. We have now totally different gamers within the constructing, and we’re actually enthusiastic about these guys. However as a soccer group, we now have to do an incredible job all through the offseason program of putting in our course of once more, not skipping steps, being linked as a soccer group, doing all of the issues the suitable method so we hit the bottom operating in September. However you may’t consider the place we’re in comparison with final 12 months as a result of there’s so many alternative items.”
The Seahawks seemed to be headed for merely a retool on offense, nevertheless it grew to become a rebuild when common supervisor John Schneider traded quarterback Geno Smith and star receiver DK Metcalf in a span of three days earlier than the beginning of free company. These surprising strikes adopted the anticipated launch of Tyler Lockett, the second-most prolific go catcher in franchise historical past. Schneider then signed Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as their respective replacements.
The query posed to Macdonald is finest answered by viewing the massive image, as a result of that new trio is arguably much less proficient than the outdated one.
Ove the previous two seasons, Darnold began 14 fewer video games than Smith and had the next touchdown-to-interception ratio (2.8 in contrast with Smith’s 1.7) and off-target share (13.8% in contrast with Smith’s 12.3%). For the reason that starting of 2023, Metcalf and Lockett mixed for 65 video games, 55.4 receiving yards per sport, 3,600 receiving yards, 20 touchdowns and 982 yards after catch. In the identical timeframe, Kupp and Valdes-Scantling mixed for 54 video games, 40.2 yards per sport, 2,173 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns and 818 yards after catch.
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Regardless of the numbers, the Seahawks are hoping to nonetheless be higher off for these swaps when factoring monetary financial savings, scheme matches, group tradition in addition to the second- and third-round picks they added within the Metcalf and Smith trades.
Darnold’s three-year, $105.5 million deal can pay him $37.5 million in 2025. The Seahawks despatched Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders for the 92nd general choice as soon as they deemed him unwilling to have interaction in contract talks after their preliminary provide. It included $40 million in 12 months 1, in response to sources acquainted with the negotiations, a determine that simply may have grown had negotiations progressed.
However when Smith balked, Schneider and Macdonald pivoted to Darnold, who was coming off a Professional Bowl season with the Minnesota Vikings and had a earlier relationship with new offensive coordinator Kubiak from the 12 months they spent along with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
“You come from all these totally different angles from folks within the constructing which have labored with him even all the best way again to his USC days and actually, to a person … they love the individual, they love the chief, the teammate,” Macdonald stated. “The movie form of speaks for itself together with his accuracy, capable of push a ball down the sector. Particularly with us, we transfer the pocket bit now, so Sam’s an incredible thrower on the run and he is capable of make numerous performs that method after which in these important downs within the pink zone and third down, particularly final 12 months, he had such an incredible 12 months and that we will be relying on him to return via in these conditions.”
Metcalf had been sad in Seattle earlier than he requested a commerce final month, which led the Seahawks to ship him to the Pittsburgh Steelers in trade for the 52nd general choice and a swap of late-round picks. In line with group sources, he had requested out a number of occasions in current offseasons. That was an element the Seahawks needed to weigh along with the inherent threat in giving him a large third contract just like the four-year, $132 million extension he received from Pittsburgh.
That deal can pay Metcalf $35 million this season. Lockett was set to make $17 million if he stayed with the Seahawks. Kupp’s three-year, $45 million deal can pay him $17.5 million in 2025 whereas Valdes-Scantling will make $4 million on his one-year deal.
Schneider stated Kupp had three or 4 groups who have been considering signing him, and that the Yakima, Washington, native “needed to return dwelling.” The overall supervisor referred to as it “an enormous get for us.”
“You possibly can have him coated on paper, however he is nonetheless going to get open,” Macdonald stated of Kupp, a one-time Professional Bowl choice. “That is one thing that you must expertise in-game. So he is a man that you must account for in numerous the possession downs and high-leverage conditions the place you have to have two guys on this man. It is a bit bit totally different than some straight-line vertical guys the place you need extra of a high-low double, you need them surrounded as a lot as potential and also you’re allocating assets over there. It form of shifts the place the stress factors are in the remainder of the sector. So yeah, he is a ache within the butt.”
The Seahawks may nonetheless add a receiver early within the draft, however for now, Valdes-Scantling initiatives because the No. 3 behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Kupp. The veteran deep risk spent the second half of final season taking part in for Kubiak with the New Orleans Saints.
“You’ll be able to actually have a look at their offense final 12 months in New Orleans and form of image it now, particularly with MVS being right here,” Schneider stated. “We thought it was going to be DK, however right here we’re, so now MVS is the take-the-top-off man, JSN can take the highest off after which Cooper provides us a deceptively quick dude working the center of the sector, setting folks up. These two guys working with one another are going to be actually exhausting to defend with the tight splits and all the pieces.”
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The inside of the Seahawks’ offensive line stays a serious query mark. The group was ready to spend massive cash on guard Will Fries earlier than he signed with the Vikings, however he was the one high-priced veteran lineman they have been planning to pursue. They’ve visited with lower-cost choices corresponding to Teven Jenkins, Dillon Radunz and Lucas Patrick, who later signed elsewhere.
“We introduced a number of guys via and it simply hasn’t been a match,” he stated.
The shortage of urgency to deal with the inside spots is tied to the group’s confidence in its younger in-house choices over the out there veterans, which, in response to Schneider, is shared by each the teaching workers and personnel division. He believes these gamers will probably be in higher positions to achieve Kubiak’s scheme — with its emphasis on the outsize zone dashing assault and under-center performs — than they have been in former coordinator Ryan Grubb’s pass-first, shotgun-heavy offense, which completed twenty first in scoring and 14th in yards final 12 months.
Schneider volunteered that it will likely be exhausting to seek out an improve at middle within the draft given how the Seahawks do not view this 12 months’s class as being significantly sturdy at that place. That means their finest likelihood at discovering a blue-chip expertise for brand spanking new line coach Mike Benton’s unit will probably be at guard. Schneider remains to be open to including a veteran lineman in some unspecified time in the future, however he stated it in all probability would not occur till after the draft, and that it could possibly be somebody who turns into out there as a cap casualty.
The Seahawks have 5 picks within the high 92 and 10 picks whole. OverTheCap.com estimates their out there cap area at nicely over $30 million. So whether or not it is via the draft or the veteran market, Schneider and Macdonald could have ample assets to maintain their offensive transformation going.
