The Seattle Seahawks aren’t exactly the golden child of the NFL in 2025. Plenty of question marks surround the team heading into Mike Macdonald’s second season with the franchise, especially with a new quarterback under center.
Still, it’s not as though the team didn’t finish 10-7 despite its offensive shortcomings last season with Geno Smith at quarterback. The team did miss the playoffs, but Macdonald has already put in the work on his defense, raising it from the No. 25 scoring defense to No. 11 last season.
Nonetheless, a recent power rankings from our friends at NFL Spin Zone left Seattle near the bottom of the heap at No. 21. Notable teams that ranked immediately ahead include the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins, in that order.
Perception of the Seahawks still trails their potential
The Seahawks' poor ranking came down to a lack of trust in Sam Darnold, especially with DK Metcalf sporting a new uniform. It’s fair to question Darnold after one great season with a quarterback-friendly coach, scheme, and the best receiver in the NFL.
But Seattle proved during the preseason that Klint Kubiak’s offense isn’t going to ask Darnold to be a savior, instead relying on a strong run game and calculated play action with typical West Coast underneath throws found in a Kubiak system.
Even if Kubiak does open up the offense compared to what we saw in the preseason, it’s not as though Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp are a couple of scrubs on the outside. Those two and the tantalizing talents of rookies Tory Horton and Alijah Arroyo should more than make up for Metcalf’s absence in Seattle this season and beyond.
Even still, the offense's questions rest with the offensive line. Grey Zabel already looks like a home run of a first-round pick, but Jalen Sundell and Anthony Bradford will have to back up their preseason performances to keep the momentum going. If the offensive line has turned a corner in Seattle, then Kubiak’s offense stands to make a huge improvement on the 18th-place finish in points from a year ago.
But even that doesn’t touch on the defense. Macdonald’s improvements in his first season have already been noted, but he’s added more firepower this offseason with veteran DeMarcus Lawrence and potential rookie superstar Nick Emmanwori.
The pass rush depth is some of the best in the league, and the young linebacker and defensive back groups are poised to take another step in the right direction.
It’s fair to lump Seattle in with other playoff hopeful teams. After all, the question marks surrounding the team aren’t unfounded, and the NFC West remains one of the more difficult divisions in the NFL. But surely, 21st in the NFL is much too low ahead of the season, especially with the much more alarming question marks surrounding the four teams that rank just above them.