Camp Takeaways: Sam Darnold, QBs Ace Situational Ball in Seahawks’ 14th Practice
RENTON, Wash. - Returning to the field after a deserved day off following Thursday’s 23-23 tie against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Seattle Seahawks got back to work for their 14th training camp practice, putting an emphasis on pace in a somewhat shorter session.
“Good to be back on the practice field. A little bit shorter of a practice today coming off the game and then we're practicing in the morning,” coach Mike Macdonald said afterward. “Got the blood flowing, breathing pretty heavy. Got some good situation stuff, flying around, good execution, so good day, and we'll regroup and get back at it tomorrow.”
What went down at the VMAC? Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s latest camp session:
1. Sam Darnold, Seattle’s quarterbacks close in on perfection during fourth down drills.
Poor situational performance wasn’t the only reason why the Seahawks chose to move on from former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb immediately after the 2024 season, but there’s no question underwhelming results on third and fourth downs played a role in the decision. Last year, the team finished 21st in third down conversion rate (37.62 percent) and 21st in fourth down conversion rate (52.63 percent), sitting in the bottom third in both categories and contributing to a dreadful 28th ranked average time of possession (28:49).
Thus far, the arrival of play caller Klint Kubiak has already shown significant signs of progress on both fronts. In the preseason opener against the Raiders last Thursday night, the Seahawks converted on seven out of 10 third down opportunities before halftime. Even after a far rougher second half on that front with third and fourth-string players in the lineup, they still converted 53 percent of their 15 third down opportunities for the game.
Fast forwarding to Saturday’s practice, the focus shifted to decisive fourth downs for Seattle in the “Play, Delay, Turnover” period, though Macdonald didn’t seem to know it was called that according to the video board on the sideline. Nonetheless, he was fired up about how “all three groups executed,” seeing that success translate into other situational periods in the second part of practice.
Facing 4th and 3 just past midfield on the 43-yard line, Darnold kicked off the situational team drill by taking a quick three-step drop from under center before zipping a bullet to rookie Tory Horton on a curl route from the slot just over the hash marks, connecting with him two yards past the marker to move the chains before trying - and failing - to get the defense to jump on the second and third reps.
When Drew Lock checked in with the second-team offense, he dropped back out of shotgun and held onto the ball as long as he could before two rushers came bearing down on him, delivering a strike over the middle to tight end Elijah Arroyo, who managed to separate from fellow rookie Nick Emmanwori at the final split second to catch a 10-yard reception and pick up the first down. Rookie Jalen Milroe also got the job done on his lone fourth down rep, hitting speedy receiver Tyrone Broden on an out route to get five yards and enough for a new set of downs. If not for a penalty on Jalen Sundell with the second team, it would have truly been a perfect drill for the offense with all three units.
2. Macdonald and the coaching staff aren’t ready to name starters at center or right guard just yet.
Based on how reps have been divvied out over the past week in practices and the preseason opener, the Seahawks appear to be trending towards making a decision at right guard with Anthony Bradford continuing to gobble up the vast majority of first team reps. Before dealing with a tight back that caused him to miss a trio of practices, Olu Oluwatimi also looked to have center on lockdown competing against Jalen Sundell.
But according to Macdonald, at least publicly, Seattle won’t be making any declarations on starters at either position until after Friday’s second preseason game against Kansas City. Oluwatimi returned to practice on Saturday, only to exit for precautionary reasons midway through the session when his back tightened up again, allowing Sundell to receive all the first-team reps again. At this point, the coach called the competition still open once Oluwatimi returns, with the hope he will be able to resume practicing on Sunday or early in the week.
Meanwhile, second-year blocker Christian Haynes jumped back in as the second-string right guard on Saturday after seemingly being demoted last week swapping over to the left side with Sataoa Laumea, suggesting he might still have one more shot to try to climb back into the battle against Bradford. Sundell hasn’t been a factor in that race due to Oluwatimi being out, but that could change when the latter returns to practice in full, putting his helmet back in the ring trying to land a starting spot with his excellent versatility.
Macdonald has been adamant since the offseason program concluded that the Seahawks don’t want these competitions to drag on into the regular season like right guard did between Bradford and Haynes last summer. Keeping that in mind, the next week will be crucial in each of those respective races, including Friday’s second preseason tune-up at Lumen Field.
3. Making spectacular grabs look easy, Elijah Arroyo lights the fireworks with big plays galore.
Since the start of Seattle’s offseason program, Arroyo has demonstrated soft hands as a reliable target in the passing game with the first and second-team offenses, a trend that has more than continued in training camp. But he turned in easily his best practice as a pro so far on Saturday, generating three catches that netted 25 or more yards, with each of them coming courtesy of Lock, who was constantly looking in his direction and for good reason.
In Seattle’s first 11-on-11 team session, Arroyo appeared to be covered tightly by cornerback Josh Jobe on a corner route, and from a sideline vantage point, it didn’t look like Lock’s throw would be a catchable one for the second-round pick as it faded towards the sideline. However, he turned on the jets once he began tracking the ball through the air, accelerating out of his break like a speedy receiver to make up ground rapidly before reaching up with his left paw for a remarkable one-handed grab, turning upfield for a 27-yard gain.
Later in the same team period, Lock showed off his elite arm talent on a bootleg play action pass rolling out to his left. Throwing across his body as he sprinted outside of the pocket off the play fake, he fired a 45-yard dart to Arroyo, who astutely decelerated as he closed in on the sideline to allow himself to plant both of his feet inbounds for a completion, a play that Macdonald made sure to revisit in his post-practice presser.
“Drew had a great throw today moving to his left, on the sideline, threw a dime with a guy in his face, and that was a heck of a throw [to Arroyo]. I can't wait to see that one again.”
Moments after hauling in his first down catch from Lock during the fourth down situational drill, Arroyo struck again as a vertical threat, this time beating safety Ty Okada on a slot fade and managing to reel in Lock’s throw with his arms fully extended. The play was blown dead with Okada touching his jersey from behind for a 25-yard gain, but in a game situation, he might have had a shot to go the distance for a score.
4. Tyreke Smith continues to make the most of his second chance in the Pacific Northwest.
A hip injury derailed the start of Smith’s career after the Seahawks invested a fifth-round pick in him coming out of Ohio State, causing him to miss his entire rookie season. Though he returned healthy the following summer, even after impressing as a run defender in his first full preseason, the Cardinals eventually signed him off the practice squad to their active roster, and his time in Seattle appeared to be all but finished.
But after the Cardinals waived Smith last August, the Seahawks came running back to sign him to their own practice squad, and the fourth-year player returned on a future/reserve deal in January, indicating Macdonald and his staff saw enough to warrant a more extended look. With Uchenna Nwosu still recovering from offseason knee surgery, that decision now looks to be an incredibly wise one, as Smith has been one of the pleasant surprises of training camp and the preseason.
“You've seen Tyreke Smith make a lot of great plays, doing it. He’s improved on the things that he needs to improve on in the run game and you felt him in the past rush the other day,” Macdonald remarked.
In Thursday’s preseason opener, Smith created significant problems for the Raiders from the outset, helping stuff rookie Ashtyn Jeanty for a short gain on the second series to help set up a punt. He later added a quarterback hit and a pass deflection to force a second down incompletion and drew a holding penalty that wiped out a 24-yard gain for Las Vegas, making his presence felt even when he didn’t finish with a tackle or sack.
On Saturday, Smith continued to stand out with more opportunities, sprinkling in a few reps with the first-team defense along with his second-team snaps. In the opening team session, he slanted hard through the B-gap to wrap up Zach Charbonnet on what likely would have been a tackle for loss in a game situation. He also had an excellent speed rush upfield against left tackle Josh Jones where he dipped around the edge and forced Darnold to eat the ball in the pocket, leading to the play being whistled dead for a “sack.”
5. Shaquill Griffin returns, just in time to watch Josh Jobe tally breakups in bunches.
Prior to the start of camp, in non-starter related duels, the return of Griffin to battle against Jobe for the third cornerback spot stood out as an enticing competition to watch. Unfortunately, Griffin’s return to Seattle for a second stint with the team has been a delayed one, as he missed 10 practices for personal reasons before finally returning late last week.
Suiting up with a helmet and jersey for the first time since July 24, Macdonald laughed and admitted Griffin may have snuck a few extra reps on Saturday that he wasn’t scheduled to on the practice plan, as Seattle wants to ease him back into action given his lengthy absence away from the team. But after seeing how Jobe performed in Thursday’s preseason contest with an interception and then on Saturday, it’s not difficult to see why he may feel pressure to see more action on the practice field in a last gasp effort to climb back into the competition.
While Griffin didn’t make any noteworthy plays on Saturday, Jobe proved to be incredibly active in the secondary. Arroyo got the better of him on the aforementioned one-handed catch, though the defender had excellent coverage on him for most of the rep and he was more a victim of a remarkable play than anything else. He came back ready to rebound, however, generating four pass breakups on the afternoon and forcing two other incompletions along the sideline due to tight coverage, including a high throw from Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba where he had the receiver draped along the sideline.
Standing out as highlights, Jobe reached out in front of Cooper Kupp to pop a ball straight up in the air in the final team segment, creating an opportunity for multiple teammates to try to intercept the pass. Safety Julian Love wasn’t able to secure the deflection, though linebacker Drake Thomas seemed to believe that he got his hands underneath the ball after Love popped it back into the air. Officials didn’t agree, but nonetheless, it was a fantastic play by Jobe that almost resulted in a turnover, capping off an outstanding day that will only make it tougher for Griffin to try to play catchup vying for defensive snaps.
