After a full-scale makeover on offense, the Seattle Seahawks open their 2025 campaign on Sunday afternoon against the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers.
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Heading into the season opener, what are the Seahawks’ biggest lingering questions? Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton were posed that question Monday on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.
Wyman: Center and right guard
Wyman focused on center and right guard, which were the two open position battles along the offensive line in training camp. Anthony Bradford ran away with the starting right guard job, while Jalen Sundell earned the starting center job after Olu Oluwatimi missed time with a back issue.
Bradford and Sundell both had strong preseasons in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s scheme. Bradford posted a standout 81.0 Pro Football Focus grade this preseason, while Sundell wasn’t far behind with a 77.0 grade.
But as Wyman pointed out, there’s a big difference between preseason football and the NFL regular season. And after all of Seattle’s interior O-line struggles last year, Wyman still needs to see proof that the Seahawks have improved at those two positions.
“I still have to see it at center and right guard,” Wyman said. “I still think that’s the biggest question mark. … I’m not being negative. You just want to see it in something other than a preseason game.”
Stelton: QB Sam Darnold
Stelton went with Darnold, who is undoubtedly be the biggest storyline for the Seahawks heading into Week 1.
Darnold, a former No. 3 overall draft pick, resurrected his once-disappointing NFL career with a breakout Pro Bowl campaign last fall. He led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 regular-season record and five game-winning drives, while finishing fifth in the league in both passing yardage and touchdown passes.
However, the luster of Darnold’s breakthrough came crashing down in the final two games. Darnold struggled in a pivotal Week 18 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions and had an rough showing the following week in an ugly NFC wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“My biggest question is still Sam Darnold,” Stelton said. “I mean, I’m fascinated. I don’t know what we’re going to get. … Is he gonna be that guy that for the majority of the season last year looked like one of the best in the league? Or is he gonna look like the guy the six years previous to that and the few games at the end of last year when he looked like the old Sam Darnold.
“So I know it’s a chalky answer, but that’s the biggest question for me.”
Listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune into Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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