Only so much can be learned about an NFL team in non-padded practices, but that doesn’t mean some questions about the Seahawks weren’t answered over the past three weeks during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, including having a ways to go for the offense to level up to the defense.

Practicing in front of the media for the first time in OTAs on Monday, Sam Darnold had an up-and-down session running the Seahawks first-team offense, while a fired up defense capitalized with several red zone turnovers.

The Seahawks continued to struggle in the trenches on offense last season, but with a young core returning a year older and a proven veteran offensive line coach now in town, the team hopes to see the unit take a big step forward this spring.

Set to kick off OTAs later this month, the Seahawks will break in a new 11-player draft class with some veterans benefiting from that group’s arrival and others closely watching the rearview mirror.

While the Seahawks have only used 18 percent of their draft picks on players who visited the team on 30 visits, those meetings at the VMAC have still been quite significant landing talent on draft weekend.

Since taking the reins as Seahawks general manager in 2010, John Schneider has been as active moving up and down the draft board as any executive in the NFL. What moves rank as his best? And which ones left him with the most remorse?

When it comes to competing for an NFC West title and a return to the postseason, all eyes will be on Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp as newcomers filling big shoes. But the Seahawks will only go as far as their most maligned unit, which looks largely unchanged, performs under a new coaching staff.

It’s a tale as old as time, but the Eagles provided the blueprint for the Seahawks to get back to Super Bowl contention and it starts with the trenches.

Offering more than 20 years of coaching experience in the NFL, John Benton will be tasked with fixing one of the league’s worst offensive lines as part of a new-look Seahawks coaching staff.