Camp Takeaways: Running Backs to Take on Bigger Role in Seahawks’ Passing Game Under Brian Fleury

RENTON, Wash. - On the way to the second Super Bowl victory in franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks put up sizzling offensive numbers, including setting a new single season record for points scored and finishing eighth in the league in passing yards.

Leading the charge, Jaxon Smith-Njigba recorded 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, joining Shaun Alexander as the second Seahawk to win Offensive Player of the Year honors. Away from the rising superstar, Sam Darnold had plenty of other capable weapons at his disposal, including Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, and standout tight end AJ Barner.

But for as much success as Seattle had attacking opponents through the air last season with former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak calling plays, the team managed to do so without relying much on running backs as receivers. Contrasting from Kyle Shanahan’s offense in San Francisco, the Seahawks finished 31st in targets (63) and 28th in catches (53) without a single touchdown reception from running backs in 2025, only utilizing former starter Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet sparingly in that fashion.

With a new play caller in Brian Fleury now at the wheel replacing the departed Kubiak, however, as Bob Dylan once wrote, the times they are a-changing in the Pacific Northwest.

Since camp opened on July 25, Darnold and the rest of Seattle’s quarterbacks have seemed to force feed rookie Jadarian Price, George Holani, and others out of the backfield, peppering them with constant targets. While someone who hasn’t attended practice at the VMAC could jump to the conclusion that these results came primarily from checkdowns, that hasn’t been the case at all with Fleury making a concerted effort to shift the approach of the passing game to be more back-friendly by design and with a purpose to force the defense to account for yet another weapon next to Smith-Njigba and company.

In Thursday’s fifth practice, it was Holani who stood out as the biggest benefactor of this development, as the third-year back out of Boise State hauled in a quick Texas route over the middle with tons of grass in front of him for a 25-yard gain. For Darnold, it’s just another way the Seahawks can make life challenging for defenses with more playmakers to worry about.

“It helps the quarterback a ton because it does present a different problem for the defense,” Darnold explained after Thursday’s first padded practice. “I think sometimes the defense assumes, especially on third down, that the running back's gonna stay in and protect so they can kind of build their pressures off of that. But when you're getting five guys out on a route and you're in scat protection, sometimes you gotta throw hot and the defense is gonna make you [throw] hot, but if you get the protections right and you're not hot, and the running back's out on a route, sometimes that's a mismatch with a linebacker, especially with a guy like JD [Price], George [Holani].”

Coming out of Notre Dame, Price entered the league with questions about his readiness as an every down back, particularly due to being a reserve behind Heisman finalist Jeremiyah Love. Not starting a single game in South Bend, he didn’t get many chances to prove himself as a capable receiver in the passing game, catching a total of 15 passes in three seasons on campus.

Price didn’t help himself trying to silence critics on this front in his first camp practice, dropping several passes during individual position drills and drawing a few groans from the crowd. But since that point, he has rebounded nicely and handled a heavy workload as a receiver, including catching a pair of long touchdown passes from Darnold and Jalen Milroe on wheel routes, providing tangible evidence that he can be more than just a dump off artist out of the backfield and has explosive play talent beyond his exploits as a runner.

Far more polished as a receiver, Holani already has exhibited his pass-catching chops on the biggest stage, catching four passes for 34 yards in wins over the Rams and Patriots in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LX. Soft, reliable hands have long been one of his biggest strengths, as he reeled in 90 catches during his college career at Boise State, using his all-around skill set to prevent future top-10 pick Ashton Jeanty from stealing the starting job from him during his last year on campus.

Even veteran Emanuel Wilson, who at 230 pounds projects as a bruising short-yardage specialist rather than much of a threat as a receiver, caught 15 passes for 99 yards with the Packers last season and has been active in the passing game thus far in training camp.

“We got a ton of backs in the backfield this year that can make linebackers and safeties miss,” Darnold added. “So it's gonna be really fun to kind of see what those guys can do coming out of the backfield.”

Regardless of who has been next to Darnold or the other quarterbacks, there’s been a high probability the ball will be thrown their direction this summer. If the first five days of practice for the reigning champs serve as any indication, it looks like that tendency will be here to stay for the Seahawks come the regular season in Fleury’s offense.

What else jumped out from the first padded practice of the summer? Here are four additional takeaways from the VMAC:

1. Getting physical in the trenches, one matchup stood out above the rest as Seattle’s offensive and defensive linemen dueled.

The return of pads to the practice field belongs near the top of the holiday food chain for sports fans, bringing an end to the monotony of non-contact practices and replacing them with a far more genuine football environment. While receivers and defensive backs can still accomplish quite a bit in OTA-style sessions, linemen on both sides of the ball have to bide their time before they can start battling at the line of scrimmage, and that process always begins in earnest with the intense 1-on-1 blocking drill.

Typically, one offensive lineman and one defensive lineman match up against each other for two consecutive reps. But on Thursday, an epic showdown between guard Anthony Bradford and defensive tackle Rylie Mills warranted a rare “grudge match” finale, as offensive line coach John Benton signed off on a third snap to determine a winner after two incredibly close reps that could have gone either way.

On the first snap, Bradford initially held his ground with heavy hands into Mills’ chest, but the second-year defender responded with an effective rip move to his left, powering past the blocker and into the backfield. In the ensuing play, Mills looked primed to win again, as he spun past Bradford and had a straight beeline to the quarterback in front of him, only for the guard to display improved lateral footwork to slide and recover, knotting up the score at one apiece with an impressive victory.

“Like all of our players, there’s parts of his game we want to attack and we want to try to take it to another level,” Macdonald said of Bradford’s development. “But what you can respect is his work ethic and his attitude is really great.”

With a chance to settle the score, the final spar between Bradford and Mills lived up to the hype that comes with an uncommon best of three scenario between two of the strongest behemoths on the roster. Mills knocked the blocker several steps off the ball with a ferocious bull rush before Bradford recovered, setting a firm anchor to neutralize the power move. At a stalemate, Mills managed to use a quick swim move to barely sneak by, earning a hard-fought victory on a rep that drew cheers from teammates and coaches watching on.

2. Coming off a breakout year, Byron Murphy II proved to be an unblockable object dominating the 1-on-1 and scrimmage periods.

While all three snaps pitting Bradford and Mills against each other could easily be called toss ups trying to determine a winner, the same couldn’t be said for the poor souls tasked with trying to block Murphy. Putting his entire skill set on display for everyone to see, including ridiculous lateral quickness for a 300-pound defensive tackle, he easily won all four of his lopsided reps with a barrage of power and finesse moves.

In his first pair of rushes, Murphy lined up across from fellow 2023 draft pick Christian Haynes, who managed to knock the defender onto one knee on the initial snap, which usually would mean game. But in this case, Murphy quickly bounced back up with tremendous pop behind his pads, managing to stay low and slip past the blocker to devour the coach setting up in the pocket. The next snap was a football equivalent to a bloodbath, as he shot out of his stance and promptly bullied the guard back into the coach’s lap for a rapid fire sack.

Moments later, in the marquee matchup of the afternoon, Murphy put his skills to test against second-year guard Grey Zabel. Continuing to dominate, he attacked Zabel’s left side on the first snap, ripping past him and turning the corner to collapse on the quarterback. Catching the guard leaning on the second snap, he deployed a filthy swim move off of a bull rush, leaving Zabel with nothing but air as he shot into the backfield again for another decisive victory.

“I really expect Murph to have a spike in productivity rushing the passer,” Macdonald said afterward, acknowledging he didn’t get to see the 1-on-1 dominance while watching 7-on-7 on the other field instead. “He’s earned it, but he does it every day. It’s great work for our offensive line. He is in a great spot.”

Adding a couple of pressures during the scrimmage period, Seattle’s offensive line as a whole didn’t have an answer for Murphy, who continues to get better and better. Already one of the top young defensive tackles in the sport next to Leonard Williams, there’s no question he has a chance to elevate his standing into the discussion as a top-five player at his position in 2026, and building off of his seven-sack season from a year ago could be the pathway to his first All-Pro nod.

3. While still “swimming” learning a complicated new playbook, emerging rookie cornerbacks ace their latest test.

For incoming rookies new to the NFL, making plays during non-contact practices pales in comparison to making plays once the real bullets start flying with pads back on for the first time. Thursday presented a new challenge for the entire 2026 draft class, including seventh round picks Andre Fuller and Michael Dansby, who have made positive first impressions in the early stages of camp but still had much to prove.

Not backing down from the moment at all, however, Fuller and Dansby stood out as two of the biggest stars on Thursday, albeit doing much of their damage against backups. During 1-on-1 drills between receivers and corners, which typically lean in heavy favor of the receiver, Dansby stayed in rookie wideout Rachad Rochelle’s hip pocket all the way downfield on a go route, skying into the air to intercept Darnold in the end zone as a sprinting Devon Witherspoon flew down the sideline to celebrate with him.

Once Seattle transitioned into the team period, Fuller took center stage, starting with a pass breakup where he punched the ball out of the hands of receiver Montorie Foster Jr. Moments later, he narrowly missed out on an interception while jumping a pass from Milroe over the middle, knocking the ball down for an incompletion. He would add a third pass knockdown in coverage towards the tail end of practice, denying a deep ball down the left sideline to the delight of defensive teammates on the sideline.

“It was exciting to see today. When you do put pads on, it’s more playing football again. To see them make plays, playing football, it’s great. It’s an indication of the work they have put in,” Macdonald said. “They’ve done a great job up to this point. They’re rookies, so they are swimming a little bit schematically, but that’s as expected, and they just got to kind of work through the fog until we start making plays, like today, and gain more confidence and just keep rolling.”

With fellow rookie Julian Neal nursing a leg injury, Fuller and Dansby should continue to receive increased opportunities in a wide open competition for the No. 3 cornerback spot in coming days. If they continue to stack quality practices with pads on, it will be only a matter of time until those efforts will yield a chance to raise the stakes against better competition, providing the stepping stone necessary to truly vie for playing time as rookies.

4. Back on the sideline, Macdonald provides minimal clarity on Nick Emmanwori’s recovery timeline from ankle surgery.

Making an appearance for the first time since going on the PUP list days before the start of camp, it remains to be seen when Emmanwori will actually return to the field or if he will be available for the start of the regular season as initially hoped. Staying mum on injuries in general, Macdonald’s latest update provided little insight on where the player may be at in his recovery timeline a little over a week after surgery.

“He's in an adverse situation. He's attacking it. That's all you can ask him to do,” Macdonald remarked. “He’s made a lot of progress, which is exciting. It's one of these things where you don't want to put a timetable on it because you don't want to limit him but just go rip it every day. We got great people surrounded by him and let's go see where we get. He’s returned so far. He’s done a great job. It’s not going to be easy, but he's just the man for the job."

Without Emmanwori able to practice at the moment, the Seahawks continued to mix in veterans D’Anthony Bell and Rodney Thomas with the starters on Thursday, while rookie Bud Clark has taken some of the slot reps in recent practices to go with his work at free safety.

On the positive side of the equation, Seattle welcomed seventh round pick Deven Eastern back into action off the PUP list and the rookie defensive tackle out of Minnesota participated in most of the team’s drill work, leaving only Emmanwori and running back Zach Charbonnet on the PUP list. Set to ramp up his workload, he did not see any snaps during team drills or participate in 1-on-1s.