Resets or rebuilds seem to be the trend on the west coast in the NFL. In addition to the 49ers, the Seahawks have also made noticeable changes to their squad, which result in far -reaching consequences. But do you go the right way with it?
The Seahawks have attracted a lot of attention when they submitted the Free Agency Quarterback Geno Smith shortly before the start of the Free Agency. He went to the Las Vegas Raiders by trade, after Head Coach Mike Macdonald had actually explained publicly that the 33-year-old would still be the team’s Starting Quarterback in 2025.
This is not enough, because team legend Wide Receiver Tyler Lockett was released before that the team was both the cap hit and the salary too high. And to make matters worse, there was also a trade, which sent DK Metcalf to Pittsburgh – because the powerful X -Receiver did not really want to reward again.
A complete reset for an offense that Guard Laken Tomlinson and Tackle George Fant also handed over on the offensive line. The latter made sense, because the interior offensive line has always been a construction site in the northwest. In the previous year, the Seahawks allowed the seventh -roof pressure rate of the NFL (37.4 percent) according to “Next Gen Stats”. Upgrades are therefore urgently required.
Seahawks: Darnold The quarterback of the future?
However, such did not come on this front. Rather, the Depth Chart was first filled with its own plants, which so far were only used sporadically.
So far, only the big names from the offensive have really been replaced. The best – or the least bad when we are honest – Free Agent in Sam Darnold, which was equipped with a three -year contract for $ 100.5 million, came up with the best. In truth this is of course only A one -year contract for 37.5 million, which makes things very team -friendly and safe,, contrary to expectations, it should not be successful with him.
In order to replace Lockett, Altmeister Cooper Kupp was finally pulled ashore after his release at the Los Angeles Rams. He came for three years and $ 45 million details about the deal are not yet known – and for Metcalf and its vertical speed, it was possible to acquire Marquez Valdes scantling. At first he also only comes for one year.
If you look at 1: 1, what these changes mean, you first have to state that there can be no question of an upgrade. The well-known O-Line problems, for example, actually have to make the alarm sirens in Washington shrill, because unlike Geno Smith, who got rid of the ball on average in 2.83 seconds and so that the pressure problem could compensate reasonably, this could become a problem with Darnold. He got rid of the ball on average in 3.08 seconds.
Sam Darnold has certain problems under pressure
Seahawks: Darnold needs better protection
In general, Darnold is considered a less pressure resistant than Smith. Smith received 50 sacks in the previous season and had a pressure-to-sack rate of 19.9 percent. Darnold? 57 sacks and 21.7 percent P2S%. The obvious recommendation is that the Seahawks still urgently need to add up to the protection for Darnold, especially since all of his last appearances in the service of the Vikings should certainly be in mind. In Detroit he only conceded 2 sacks, but already made some mistakes in view of many lightning, in Arizona against the Rams in the Wild Card Game it was even nine sacks. In both cases, he kept the ball too long (3.14 and 3.15 seconds).
As could be heard, the Seahawks had tried in vain in front of the trade with the Raiders to extend the Smith contract beyond 2025. That then led to this move. The decision for Darnold was then logical, after all, the new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will have a similar scheme played like Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota or Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, where Darnold 2023 had already stabilized its performances as a backup. It is therefore obvious that he could now also work in Seattle.
As far as the wide receiver, which came for the two stars, it is more difficult to find rational explanations. Kupp is an established and big name in this league, but he will be 32 years old at the start of the season – he is only a little more than a year younger than a lock. And he has missed 18 games with various injuries in the past three seasons.
After his historical season 2021, in which he won the Receiving Triple Crown and later the Super Bowl as his MVP, he went downhill for him. In the past three years, his ability to be “open” has decreased, according to “ESPN” data.
Seahawks: Trend not Kupps Friend
In addition, he brought it to negative values at Catch Rate Over Expected (-5.8 and -0.2) for the first time in his career in his career. And his Yards After Catch Over Expected also decreased steadily and only came to +21 in 2024, by far the worst value of his career. At the end of his Rams time, Kupp was hardly a factor and was rarely sought by Matthew Stafford – and certainly not only because Puka Nakua put him in the shade.
To make matters worse in Seattle, he actually has to play on the rather unpopular role as an outside receiver, since Jaxon Smith-Njigba played in the slot and was last blossomed there. Kupp brings a lot of experience and should help in this way, but you shouldn’t expect that he will still tear out a lot of trees in the field.
And then there would be MVS. He has always been fighting butter fingers. He is probably the greatest downgrade in this squad compared to Metcalf. First of all, he is a pure deep threat and, apart from a few screens, will surely only be possible for vertical Routes – something that is not necessarily the largest weapon in the West Coast Offens. And it just catches too few balls. According to “NGS”, his Catch Rate Over Expectede has been -11.0 percent each in the past two years (Bills/Saints, Chiefs). Metcalf, on the other hand, was last +4.8 percent.
As far as the defense is concerned, a few changes have been made there. The most striking is the departure of the Dre’mont Jones converted into Edge Rusher, which one has ultimately replaced with cowboys veteran Demarcus Lawrence. This could be an upgrade on paper, but Lawrence is no longer the most reliable due to injury.
Seahawks have to plan long -term
However we want to turn it and want to turn it, the Seahawks with their maneuvers in the previous offseason did not necessarily have to do a favor. For the moment, the plan therefore seems to be the plan to save money and possibly better position itself in the long term. They have a total of ten picks in Draft 2025, including five on the first two days. So it is conceivable that further reinforcements will come across this rail.
However, it must be doubted whether Seattle can be a team with this realignment for the 2025 season with which you have to expect. Despite three Winning Seasons in a row-2024, the season even ended at 10-7-the last playoff feed was succeeded until today in 2022 (9-8). This dry spell could stop a little longer.