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# Analysis: Predicting Seahawks 2026 Offensive Breakout Candidates
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/predicting-seattle-seahawks-2026-offensive-breakout-candidates/
- Published: 2026-06-29T05:45:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:55:39.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Rashid Shaheed, Anthony Bradford, George Holani, Elijah Arroyo

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="4486"\]

![  Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) runs in the first half against the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images.jpg  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/seattle-seahawks-wide-receiver-rashid-shaheed--2822-29-runs-in-the-first-half-against-the-los-angeles-rams-in-the-2026-nfc-championship-game-at-lumen-field--mandatory-credit-3a-steven-bisig-imagn-images-format-original.jpg)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) runs in the first half against the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images.jpg \[/caption\]

Now less than a month from reporting date for training camp, the Seattle Seahawks will soon begin their Super Bowl title defense with sights on hoisting another Lombardi Trophy.

But even with most of their roster kept intact after losing only five free agents from their title squad, for the Seahawks to have a shot at a rare Super Bowl repeat in coach Mike Macdonald’s third season at the helm, they will need several players to take a step forward with every opponent ready to give them their best shot each week. On offense, the team will have a new first-time coordinator calling plays in Brian Fleury and have to replace the production lost with Ken Walker III bolting to join the Chiefs as a free agent, doing so without the services of an injured Zach Charbonnet until at least October.

Looking towards the 2026 season, which offensive Seahawks stand out as prime candidates for a breakout campaign? These four players stand to benefit the most due to increase roles, strong schematic fits, and/or other factors:

### Rashid Shaheed

Acquired from the Saints at the trade deadline, Shaheed ignited the Seahawks as a special teams dynamo during the team’s Super Bowl run, returning two kicks and a punt for touchdowns. This included an explosive dagger against San Francisco in the NFC Divisional Round when he took the opening kickoff back for six points before the smoke from pre-game intros had completely dissipated. From that perspective, he proved to be more than worth the fourth and fifth round pick sent to New Orleans and earned himself the new three-year, $51 million contract he signed to stay in the Pacific Northwest in March.

But as a pass catcher, Shaheed provided disappointing production for the most part. While he hauled in a 51-yard reception early in the NFC Championship Game, he managed to catch only 15 passes for 188 yards and didn’t score a single offensive touchdown in nine regular season games, struggling to consistently sync up with quarterback Sam Darnold as they tried to build chemistry together on the fly. He caught just four passes on 11 throws traveling at least 20 yards, failing to live up to the hype as a big play threat on the outside, and he had six games with one or fewer targets, often seeming to be invisible in the game plan.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, with his new contract signed, sealed, and delivered, Shaheed seemed to have those prior timing and connection issues with Darnold curbed during the course of OTAs and minicamp this spring. The quarterback regularly linked up with the speedy wideout, hitting on several deep balls on go and fade routes along with hitting him in stride over the middle of the field on intermediate throws on a regular basis as well. If anything was evident from offseason workouts, new coordinator Brian Fleury intends to get the playmaker much more involved as a volume target to complement superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba and with him and Darnold on the same page, expect to see his production skyrocket in his first full season in Seattle.

### George Holani

Over two NFL seasons, Holani hasn’t gotten much run as an offensive player for the Seahawks, tallying a total of 25 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground and catching just three passes in regular season games. But he has flashed in spurts, demonstrating enough burst and quickness to be a viable threat in the team’s zone-centric run game along with being a capable weapon in the passing game. In the playoffs, while he only rushed for 10 yards on five carries, he caught four passes for 34 yards, including a crucial first down-converting reception in the NFC Championship Game. He also dominated in pass protection, regularly stymying blitzers in the Super Bowl.

That all-around skill set, coupled with Ken Walker III’s departure for Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet’s ongoing recovery from a torn ACL, have presented Holani with easily the best opportunity of his career to become more than a special teamer and carve out a consistent backfield role in Seattle. He showed he could deliver the goods replacing Charbonnet as the reliable change of pace back under the brightest lights in the playoffs, drawing unprompted praise multiple times from coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider during the offseason and seeing plenty of first team action in OTAs and minicamp.

The arrival of first round pick Jadarian Price likely puts a hard cap on Holani’s ceiling numbers-wise, with the former Notre Dame star likely to be thrust into the starting role early in the season, if not right out of the gate in Week 1\. But even if Price immediately becomes the bell cow, the Seahawks have utilized two backs extensively over the previous two years and the incoming rookie’s biggest question marks lie in the passing game, as he didn’t catch many passes and had limited pass protection reps in college. Holani already has proven he can excel in third down and two-minute drill duty, and with more chances to tote the rock, it isn’t out of the question he could push for 500 or more all-purpose yards on offense keeping the No. 2 spot warm until Charbonnet returns.

### Elijah Arroyo

Bringing an elite combination of size, speed, and soft hands with him to the NFL as a second round pick, the Seahawks hoped to see Arroyo pop early in Klint Kubiak’s offense as a rookie. But away from a couple of chunk plays, including his lone touchdown catch in a blowout win over the Commanders in Week 9, he endured a mostly quiet first season in the league. Injury concerns at Miami also followed him to Seattle, as he ended the regular season on injured reserve and wasn’t active in the playoffs until the Super Bowl, sitting out a total of six regular season and postseason contests with a bruised knee.

Somewhat similar to Shaheed from the standpoint that he needed time to develop a rapport with Darnold, the two had their share of connection issues over the course of the season, with three of the 24 targets thrown his direction turning into interceptions and one of his receptions leading to a turnover on a fumble. Interestingly, with his speed and capabilities as a field stretching weapon being two of his strongest traits coming out of college, he only caught three passes on eight targets traveling more than 10 yards, with all three of those receptions coming on deep passes averaging 28 yards per catch.

Playing in an offense featuring Smith-Njigba, Shaheed, and fellow tight end AJ Barner, Arroyo may not be in line for a massive jump in targets compared to his rookie season. But a limited sample size showed that he could do damage downfield when granted the opportunity and his athletic profile at 250 pounds remains a major matchup problem for linebackers and safeties alike. With a long-time tight end coach in Fleury now calling the shots as play caller, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more two and three-tight end formations, leading to more chances for the dynamic second-year player to create as a big play weapon stretching seams as well as after the catch. Doubling his receiving yards and busting out as a red zone threat should be reasonable, if not likely, expectations as long as he stays healthy.

### Anthony Bradford

Even as a Super Bowl champion, Bradford has remained under heavy scrutiny by many fans due to his struggles in his first two NFL seasons and a not-so-great overall performance in the big game in February. The criticism was warranted before last season, as he got flagged for 14 total penalties and regularly got worked in pass protection, yielding seven sacks with a barely passable 95.1% Pass Block Efficiency Rate in 2024, leading to questions about whether or not he would resume his role as the starter at right guard. Seattle went into camp with Christian Haynes once again set to compete against him for the job, only for the incumbent to seize the role from Day 1 without being challenged.

Turning the corner as the season progressed while benefiting from the coaching of John Benton, Bradford played the best football of his career in the second half, allowing just one sack from Week 9 through the Divisional Round in an 11-game span. In eight of those games, he allowed one or zero pressures in pass protection as well, staking his claim to the most improved player on either side of the football for the Seahawks. As a run blocker, his mauling, physical presence helped open up big run lanes for Walker as he rushed for over 300 yards in three playoff games and wound up winning Super Bowl LX MVP honors.

This offseason, heading towards the final year of his rookie contract, Bradford connected with renowned line coach Duke Manyweather with sights of taking his game to the next level. Even with a small knee injury knocking him out of a few OTA practices, he turned in a strong spring, drawing praise from Benton for his efforts on the practice field, including nearly flipping a one-man sled in a demonstration of his remarkable strength and power. After giving up five sacks in the regular season and playoffs last year and cutting his penalty total to four, he will be seeking even better consistency in his fourth season to improve those numbers, aiming to cut down on the bad whiffed blocks that still show up from time to time on his film and potentially play his way into a second contract in Seattle or a lucrative deal elsewhere next spring.