Camp Takeaways: Running Backs to Take on Bigger Role in Seahawks’ Passing Game Under Brian Fleury
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.
Seahawks Place Rookie DT Deven Eastern on PUP List to Open Training Camp
Bringing their incoming rookie class in early for the start of training camp with a July 17 report date, the Seattle Seahawks will start practicing without one of their eight draft picks participating on the field.
The team announced on Saturday that seventh round pick Deven Eastern, a defensive tackle out of Minnesota, will start camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, meaning he counts against the 90-man roster but will not be able to practice until medically cleared by the team. Coach Mike Macdonald did not disclose any details on his injury when he sat out mandatory minicamp last month.
Per NFL rules, the Seahawks can activate Eastern at any time, but once he returns to active status, he cannot go back on the PUP list again.
Dominant Seahawks’ Front Line Ready to Take Disruptive Nature to Another Level for ‘Dark Side' Defense
Adequately coining themselves as the “Dark Side” defense during the midst of a historic 2025 season, the Seattle Seahawks deployed Death Star-worthy weapons of mass destruction from all three levels of coach Mike Macdonald’s unit on the way to a Super Bowl LX victory.
Playing the quarterback of the defense with elite cerebral whit, a commanding demeanor, and playmaking prowess, Ernest Jones may as well have been wearing Darth Vader’s mask rather than a football helmet. Playing seemingly every position except nose tackle during a spectacular rookie season, safety Nick Emmanwori pulled off a football-equivalent feat to Darth Revan mastering both the light and dark side at the same time. Bringing tenacious ferocity and fearless aggression snap after snap, Devon Witherspoon’s relentless style and penchant for dishing punishing, bone-jarring hits makes him a worthy Darth Maul clone.
But while all of those players starred for Seattle’s No. 1-ranked scoring defense and helped the empire reign supreme over the rest of the NFL, Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II anchored the true foundation of the unit’s dominance up front, collectively holding the title of Emperor Palpatine while unleashing ruthless terror on opposing offenses that caused disturbances in the force that sent shockwaves all across the league.
Ranking Seahawks: Special Teams Aces Vying for Roster Spots Headline No. 60-56
With the calendar recently flipping to July and offseason workouts wrapped up league-wide for the summer, the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will soon descend upon the Virginia Mason Athletic Center for the start of training camp, kicking off a much-anticipated 2026 season.
To celebrate the new incoming season, I will be ranking every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks leading up to report day, providing detailed profiles, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and breaking down what to expect from each player entering the 2026 campaign.
Continuing with No. 60-56 on my annual rankings, two core special teamers will look to lock up spots on the roster and a pair of second-year linemen have sights on expanded roles in the trenches.
Analysis: Investigating Seahawks’ Key Defensive Position Battles Entering OTAs
Set to kick off OTAs next week at the VMAC, the Seattle Seahawks will welcome back plenty of familiar faces from their Super Bowl squad. Even with Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant, and Boye Mafe gone, 11 of the 13 players who logged at least 700 defensive snaps in 2025 remain under contract heading into the new season, presenting rare continuity for a defending champion.
Thanks to the minimal changes, Seattle will open the final phase of the offseason program without many starting jobs up for grabs on defense, leaving rotational reserve roles as the main competitions to play out over the summer. The entire interior defensive line and linebacker corps will return from last year’s Super Bowl squad along with the majority of key starters back in the secondary, headlined by All-Pro Devon Witherspoon and rising star Nick Emmanwori.
But while few starting jobs may be on the line, the Seahawks should still have some enticing competitions on tap on the defensive side of the football when they hit the practice field next week, including a pair of significant openings to replace Woolen and Bryant in the secondary that will be buoyed by using four draft picks at the two positions last month.
Which battles offer the most intrigue with two months until the start of training camp?
Best/Worst Case Scenarios For Every 2026 Seahawks Draft Pick
Now officially embarking on their NFL careers, the Seattle Seahawks unveiled their latest draft class for the first time earlier this month at their annual rookie minicamp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, providing an opportunity to begin evaluating first-round selection Jadarian Price and the rest of the team's 2026 draft picks before the start of OTAs next week.
While Price and his 2026 draft cohorts won't be playing in game action for several months, it's never too early to prognosticate how they may perform in their first season with the Seahawks. As they prepare to begin competing against veterans in the final phase of the offseason program during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, what can the franchise realistically expect from the third draft class of the Mike Macdonald era?
Looking into the crystal ball, with potential injuries not in consideration, here are best and worst case scenarios for all eight of Seattle's incoming draft picks in 2026.
Ranking Seahawks Draft Picks By Readiness to Contribute Early in 2026
With the Seattle Seahawks selecting eight players in the 2026 NFL Draft, not all of them will be ready to make an immediate impact. Patience will be required for a few prospects at least. Some might impress in training camp and earn early playing time on special teams, rather than their traditional offensive or defensive positions.
Let’s rank the eight draft picks of the Seahawks’ 2026 class by their readiness to make an early impact during the 2026 season.
8. Michael Dansby, CB, Arizona
First off, the defensive back group is now absolutely stacked with three cornerbacks being selected out of eight picks. Breaking through will be extremely difficult for Dansby as the last pick of Seattle’s draft, late in the seventh round. He is a man-coverage specialist but not as physically gifted as Julian Neal or Andre Fuller. He likely will need to fight for a special teams role, but in all likelihood, he’s headed to the practice squad in the fall.
Seahawks Announce Jersey Numbers for Jadarian Price, 2026 Draft Class
Set to kick off their two-day rookie minicamp on May 1, the Seattle Seahawks announced jersey numbers for their entire incoming rookie class, including signed undrafted free agents.
With few numbers to choose from due to 75 players already under contract before the 2026 NFL Draft, first round pick Jadarian Price will don No. 8 as he begins his NFL career in Seattle. His predecessor, Ken Walker III, wore No. 9 during his four seasons with the team, and second-round pick Bud Clark will wear that digit as the newest safety on coach Mike Macdonald’s defense.
‘That Guy is a Monster’: Seahawks Banking on Deven Eastern Bringing Violence to Trenches
From a supply and demand perspective in the NFL, offensive and defensive linemen don’t grow on trees, and it’s even tougher to find 300-plus pound prospects who offer quality athletic traits to go with their sheer size.
As they built their Super Bowl LX-winning squad over the past few seasons, the Seattle Seahawks have pulled a 180 degree turn on that front, particularly on the offensive line. Since 2022, general manager John Schneider has drafted long-term starters in tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas as well as guard Grey Zabel while also unearthing an undrafted gem in center Jalen Sundell. On the opposite side of the ball, he traded for All-Pro defensive tackle Leonard Williams, re-signed veteran Jarran Reed, and drafted a budding star in Byron Murphy II, a trio that now anchors arguably the best defensive front in the league.
Not to rest on his laurels, Schneider continued to build in the trenches in the 2026 NFL Draft, including trading down three times in the final two days to recoup a trio of seventh round draft picks, using one of those selections on versatile Minnesota defensive tackle Deven Eastern to further fortify a stout defensive line for the future.
Seahawks Wrap Up 2026 NFL Draft With Trio of Seventh-Round Selections
Stocking up on seventh round picks with a pair of Day 3 trade downs, the Seattle Seahawks put a bow on their latest draft class by getting a jumpstart on the priority undrafted free agent process, selecting a trio of players with the 236th, 242nd, and 255th picks of the 2016 NFL Draft.
After acquiring picks from the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers with trade downs from 188th and 216th overall, the Seahawks continued to add to their secondary by snagging Toledo cornerback Andre Fuller and Arizona cornerback Michael Dansby while also investing a mid-seventh round pick on versatile Minnesota defensive tackle Deven Eastern to wrap up their eight-player haul.
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