Key Offensive Questions as Seahawks Open 2025 Training Camp

Bringing a long offseason to an end, after months of anticipation, the Seattle Seahawks will finally usher in the 2025 season with veterans reporting to town for the start of training camp on July 23 and sights on snapping a two-year playoff drought.

Rolling into the second camp under coach Mike Macdonald, Seattle’s offense will be under the microscope with no shortage of changes, including a new starting quarterback in Sam Darnold and a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak.

Here are five questions that need to be answered over the course of camp heading towards a Week 1 home matchup with San Francisco:

1. How much more comfortable will Sam Darnold look with new receivers, new system?

When the Seahawks pivoted to Darnold quickly in the aftermath of trading two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders in March, one of the reasons why the former top-10 pick stood out as the top available option was his previous background with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who played a key role in his breakout season a year ago by rebuilding his confidence during a season together in San Francisco in 2023. With that carryover, many expected the 28-year old to be able to adapt to his new surroundings without much of a hitch and as a result ease the transition process for his new teammates around him.

But while Darnold had his moments where he showed off his plus-arm and underrated athleticism during OTAs and minicamp, he also went through several droughts in team periods without leading the first-team offense to touchdowns, serving as a friendly reminder that he still has to learn Kubiak’s offense and more importantly, has a ways to go developing a rapport with all of his new weapons around him. Even considering his previous time with Kubiak, the latter wasn’t calling plays with the 49ers, and there’s plenty of differences from the system Darnold ran under Kyle Shanahan. He also had never played a single down with any of Seattle’s receivers or tight ends at his prior NFL stops, and regardless of how much he worked to build chemistry this spring, it will take time to figure out what makes all of them tick as they grow together.

After spending much of the past month following minicamp training with the likes of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and company in California, it will be interesting to see how much that additional work shows up for both the quarterback and his receivers when the Seahawks reconvene for training camp.

2. Will someone - anyone - emerge to bring the game of musical chairs to an end at right guard?

Though it’s well-documented that the Seahawks haven’t been able to find a long-term solution at center dating all the way back to the decision to trade Max Unger to the Saints in 2015, right guard hasn’t been far behind in terms of lack of continuity for a maligned offensive line. Since 2020, the team has had four different Week 1 starters at the position with Gabe Jackson being the only one to open the season as a starter for two consecutive seasons during that span. The revolving door continued to spin out of control last year with Anthony Bradford struggling in 11 starts after beating out third-round pick Christian Haynes in training camp before succumbing to a season-ending ankle injury and being replaced by sixth-round pick Sataoa Laumea for the last six games.

Between Bradford and Laumea, who combined to start Seattle’s 17 games, the duo surrendered 51 pressures and nine sacks while each finishing with pass block efficiency ratings below 95.1 percent. For context, among guards with at least 150 pass blocking snaps, the two players finished 77th and 83rd out of 83 qualified players in that department. With a far smaller sample size, Haynes proved to be moderately better (96.6 percent), but still ranked 62nd out of 92 players with at least 110 pass blocking reps. None of the three players performed well as run blockers either, receiving 57.7 or worse grades from Pro Football Focus, which shouldn’t come as a surprise with the team finishing 28th in rushing yards.

If there’s positive news, Bradford, Haynes, and Laumea each are under the age of 25 and have at least two years remaining on their respective rookie deals, leaving plenty of upside for new line coach John Benton to try to coax out of the group as the competition opens again at camp. Sixth-round pick Bryce Cabeldue, who will be sliding from tackle inside to guard, could also work his way into the competition as a pleasant surprise. But at the same time, with all of that youth, there isn’t a seasoned veteran to push them and without any major additions, it can be argued the Seahawks are taking quite the gamble sticking with largely the same group and banking on coaching to dramatically change on-field performance.

3. Behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, who steps up as Seattle’s third pass catcher?

Starting with replacing Smith with Darnold, the Seahawks endured a cataclysmic offseason in terms of personnel turnover on offense, including trading disgruntled receiver DK Metcalf to the Steelers and releasing revered veteran wideout Tyler Lockett. With those two legends leaving town, Schneider helped fill the void by promptly signing Kupp days after he had been released by the Rams, bringing the Yakima native back to his home state. Kubiak also rekindled with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who averaged north of 20 yards per reception and caught four touchdowns playing in Kubiak’s offense in New Orleans last season.

But while a healthy Kupp paired with a rising star in Smith-Njigba could pick up quite a bit of slack left behind by the departures of Metcalf and Lockett, expecting them to outright replicate all of that production on their own would be unfair - and quite frankly unrealistic. For Seattle’s aerial attack to not miss a beat in 2025 with all of the personnel changes and a new offense, Darnold will have to have a viable third option emerge at his disposal in camp, whether in the form of a veteran such as Valdes-Scantling or Jake Bobo, an incoming rookie such as soft-handed tight end Elijah Arroyo or speedy fifth-round pick Tory Horton, or an under-the-radar wild card such as Cody White or Steven Sims Jr.

Since Kubiak’s offense historically has utilized extensive two-back and two-tight end sets, it may be a little tougher for a third or fourth wideout to rack up a high volume of catches for the Seahawks. But even if it is a tight end like Arroyo who takes the torch with much production left to replace, the team will need to find a reliable target who can consistently move the chains and create explosives, preferably with some field-stretching ability to complement the possession receiver archetypes of Smith-Njigba and Kupp.

4. What does Noah Fant’s release remain from a depth standpoint at tight end?

Speaking of tight end, there’s now far more intrigue at the position than there was just two days ago, as the somewhat unexpected release of Fant suddenly leaves the third - and maybe even fourth - spot for a player to make the 53-man roster wide open. With Fant on the roster alongside AJ Barner and Arroyo, it may have been difficult for veteran Eric Saubert and a couple of undrafted rookies to have a shot at carving out a role.

Now, however, the Seahawks have a clear need depth-wise at the position. While Fant didn’t live up to his contract statistically, including scoring just a single touchdown in the past two seasons, he did provide a capable seam threat with after the catch capabilities and had improved as a blocker in recent seasons. Tabbed with the 50th overall selection out of Miami, Arroyo has all of the physical tools to be able to a force in the passing game in time, but he will have to demonstrate that he has a strong grip on the new offense and questions about his own blocking remain unanswered.

Considering Kubiak’s preference for multi-tight end sets, that blocking component could be a major factor in what Seattle chooses to do at the position post-Fant’s release. With Barner and Arroyo being locks to make the team, Saubert’s past experience playing for Kubiak in Denver should work to his advantage, and if there’s a wild card to watch as camp opens, it’s now more than feasible that the team could keep both players set to battle for the fullback job in Robbie Ouzts and Brady Russell, as whoever loses that battle could slide into the third tight end spot while also being a key cog on special teams.

5. Which player(s) will use special teams to their advantage the most vying for a final spot at the skill positions?

Special teams always plays a major hand in which players survive cuts and which ones receive pink slips in late August. But more so than usual, that will especially be the case for the Seahawks as they try to figure out who will make the team at running back and receiver, where several roster spots lie hanging in the balance heading into camp.

In the backfield, with Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet clearly entrenched as Seattle’s top two ball carriers, Kenny McIntosh will have to fend off incoming seventh-round pick Damien Martinez and returning all-around back George Holani. Dating back to his time at Georgia, McIntosh has always been a renowned special teamer, while Martinez doesn’t have much experience in that phase of the game from his college career at Oregon State and Miami, so the incumbent should theoretically be in great shape on that front. Still, if Martinez can show that he’s capable of contributing in that capacity, his running skills as a between the tackles thumper with plus-vision could make for an interesting race for spot No. 3, while Holani’s pass pro skills will keep him in the hunt.

As for receiver, kick and punt return competitions loom large. Horton returned three punts for scores at Colorado State and if he’s fully recovered from a knee/hamstring injury that ended his senior season prematurely, he figures to be a strong contender to take that job as a rookie. But he will have to beat out fellow rookie Ricky White III, who blocked four punts last year in addition to returning one for six points, and Sims comes to Seattle with a strong track record as an NFL return specialist, including returning one for a touchdown in the playoffs for the Texans two years ago. Dareke Young received limited run as a returner last year and could have a chance to vault into the competition as well.

Additionally, value on kick and punt coverage teams will also be part of the equation. Last year, Cody White blocked a punt against the Rams, while Bobo has been a core contributor on numerous special teams despite lacking in the speed department. With five or six receiver spots at most available, the winner of the final two or three will undoubtedly have to prove to be an elite special teamer in camp practices and preseason games with no shortage of capable competition.