> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Analysis: Investigating Seahawks’ Key Offensive Position Battles Entering OTAs - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/investigating-seattle-seahawks-key-offensive-position-battles-entering-otas-2026/ - Published: 2026-05-19T19:14:59.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:52:55.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Ricky White III, Jadarian Price, George Holani, Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Emanuel Wilson, Beau Stephens, Christian Haynes, Bryce Cabeldue, Kenny McIntosh, Cody White, Montorie Foster Jr., Organized Team Activities \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="6556"\] ![ Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricky White III (86) walks across the field during mini-camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_26425816-format-original.jpg) Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricky White III (86) walks across the field during mini-camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images \[/caption\] 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. In fact, all 11 players who logged at least 700 offensive snaps in 2025 remain under contract heading into the new season, presenting rare continuity for a defending champion. Thanks to the minimal changes, with running back being the lone exception to the rule after losing Ken Walker III to Kansas City in free agency and drafting Jadarian Price with the 32nd overall pick, Seattle will open the final phase of the offseason program without many starting jobs up for grabs on offense. All five offensive linemen who started last year will return, as will quarterback Sam Darnold and a dynamic receiving corps headlined by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, and Cooper Kupp. But while few starting jobs may be on the line, the Seahawks should still have some enticing competitions on tap on the offensive side of the football when they hit the practice field next week, including a pair of fun depth contests looming at guard and receiver further bolstered by selections made in the 2026 NFL Draft. Which battles offer the most intrigue with two months until the start of training camp? Considering projected favorites, top threats, X-factors, and dark horses, here’s a close look at what to watch at three particular positions this spring: ### Running Back **Favorite**: Jadarian Price **Top Threat**: George Holani **X-Factor**: Emanuel Wilson **Dark Horse**: Kenny McIntosh The Seahawks won’t ever hand a job to a player by virtue of where he was selected. Still, expectations understandably will be incredibly high for Price out of the gate after the team invested a first round pick on the talented back out of Notre Dame. Early impressions have been positive on the practice field, including demonstrating soft, reliable hands during rookie minicamp. But with several months until the pads come on and he can truly flash his skills as a runner, he will have to continue showing a well-rounded, three-down capable skill set throughout OTAs into training camp to begin distancing himself from the competition. Among those who could make Price sweat things out this spring, Holani performed well as Zach Charbonnet’s replacement behind Ken Walker III in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl, drawing consistent praise this offseason from Schneider and Macdonald. He hasn’t had many chances to run the ball since entering the league as an undrafted signee out of Boise State, but he’s a stellar pass catcher out of the backfield and he excelled in blitz pickup during those two playoff games, giving him a potential edge against his rookie counterpart. Staying healthy will be crucial, as he spent time on injured reserve each of his first two seasons and had durability questions coming out of college. Brought on board on a one-year contract to fill the void left with Charbonnet recovering from a torn ACL and likely out until at least October, Wilson possesses a vastly different style than Price or Holani. A punishing runner at 230 pounds with underrated quickness and light feet for a player of his size, he will provide the Seahawks with a quality change of pace option who handles short yardage duties at minimum, but out of the shadows of Josh Jacobs, don’t be surprised if he winds up making a case for being more than that. The key will be exhibiting enough pass catching and blitz pickup talents to earn more snaps on the field than simply being a goal line merchant. On the mend after suffering a torn ACL early in training camp last August, McIntosh faces long odds to climb back into Seattle’s backfield rotation. With that said, he’s always had a polished game as a receiver dating back to his time at Georgia and he averaged north of five yards per carry in 2024, suggesting he has the talent and all-around game to surprise if fully recovered from the injury. ### Swing Guard **Favorite**: TBD **Top Threat**: Bryce Cabeldue **X-Factor**: Beau Stephens **Dark Horse**: Christian Haynes For those yearning to see a competition for the starting right guard job, they will be sadly disappointed, as offensive line coach John Benton holds Anthony Bradford in high regard and the fourth-year veteran took significant steps forward under his tutelage. But behind Bradford and Grey Zabel, there’s a suddenly wide open competition for the role of “swing” guard with a new challenger ready to enter the fray in Stephens, a fifth round pick out of Iowa who garnered All-American honors last season. Based on experience, Haynes would sit atop the list of contenders, but that may be the only advantage the former third round pick out of Connecticut has at this stage. Seattle granted him two legitimate opportunities to battle Bradford for the right guard starting spot, only for him to come up well short both times with underwhelming performance in training camp and the preseason. Benton tried him at center last summer and eventually became frustrated by poor snaps to the point where he pulled him abruptly out of drills a couple of times. While the light switch could finally come on in year three, until he actually proves it, he shouldn’t be seen as a viable contender for the swing role. Instead, Stephens and Cabeldue, a second-year blocker out of Kansas, should be in line for the first crack at securing the primary reserve guard role. The Seahawks held onto Cabeldue on the 53-man roster throughout the 2025 season, hinting that Benton could still have plans yet for him to eventually vie for a starting role, especially with Bradford heading into the final year of his rookie deal and his future uncertain. An elite 90th percentile athlete who previously played tackle for the Jayhawks, he could take a significant jump forward in his second year playing inside, potentially positioning him to leapfrog Haynes and beat out Stephens. As for Stephens, the Seahawks were more than happy to trade away a coveted 2027 draft pick to move up to get him once he fell into the fifth round last month, and he checks off many of the boxes Benton looks for at the guard position. He’s previously played on both sides of the line at Iowa, plays quicker than his testing numbers and understands how to attack target angles in the zone run game, and he’s a technician in pass protection whose hand usage compensates for less-than-ideal arm length. Those traits should shine in OTAs. To edge Cabeldue and Haynes, however, he will have to show he can handle NFL power, which won’t be known until the pads come out in August. ### Receiver/Gunner **Favorite**: Emmanuel Henderson Jr. **Top Threat**: Ricky White III **X-Factor**: Cody White **Dark Horse**: Montorie Foster Jr. Among their handful of free agent losses after winning the Super Bowl, long-time special teams stalwart Dareke Young followed Klint Kubiak to Las Vegas to join the Raiders, an under-the-radar departure for the Seahawks given his talents as a gunner and kick returner. Fortunately, the team has done a fine job of restocking the cupboard with versatile receivers who excel in the third phase of the game through both the draft and undrafted free agency in recent years, giving coordinator Jay Harbaugh plenty of excellent options to succeed Young in the plethora of roles he played as a core special teamer. Now in his second season out of UNLV, where he emerged as a 1,000-yard receiver and punt blocking maestro, White will be entering a critical offseason program regarding his future in Seattle and potentially in the league. The 2025 seventh round pick suited up for two regular season games as a rookie as a practice squad elevation, logging 21 total snaps on offense and defense without recording any statistics. Opportunities to impress as a receiver will be few and far between in arguably the deepest position on the roster, so cutting his teeth as a special teams cog - including in a punt coverage gunner and/or kick return role - will be imperative to sticking on the 53 this time around. White’s greatest competition comes in the form of a speedy sixth round selection in Henderson, who boasts legitimate 4.3 speed and ranked in the top 15 in the nation in receptions on passes traveling 20-plus yards at Kansas last season. Possessing far more explosiveness than his counterpart, the former five-star recruit became an integral part of Alabama’s special teams upon arrival in Tuscaloosa as he transitioned from running back to receiver, including racking up tackles in bunches as a gunner. He continued to excel in that aspect with the Jayhawks and kick return talent to his repertoire by returning one to the house for six points, flashing the type of tools necessary to play early with the Seahawks. As far as other alternatives are concerned, White deserves immense credit for battling year in and year out to finally land a consistent spot on the 53-man roster a year ago. The veteran turned three receptions into 90 yards in limited offensive play time in 2025 and added seven tackles on special teams, doing most of that damage on kick coverage. Foster didn’t play last year after landing on injured reserve in August and eventually reaching a settlement, returning to the practice squad in late December. He offers prior kick return and gunner experience at Michigan State, which would be his only pathways to vying for a surprise roster spot in Seattle.