Takeaways: Sam Darnold, Rashid Shaheed Connection Blossoming at Seahawks OTAs
Nearing the midway point of Phase 3 of their offseason program as the 2026 season draws closer, the Seattle Seahawks returned to the practice field for the second of three OTA practices open to media on Wednesday.
What stood out at the VMAC? Starting with an encouraging development for Seattle’s passing attack, here are five takeaways from Wednesday’s session:
1. The Sam Darnold to Rashid Shaheed connection appears to have been upgraded in their first full offseason together.
Coming over from the Saints in the latest trade deadline steal orchestrated by John Schneider, Shaheed left his imprint on the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run functioning as special teams dynamite, returning two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns, including a kick return for six points on the opening play of a Divisional Round blowout of the 49ers. But as a pass catcher, he didn’t have near as much success as fans may have hoped, struggling to emerge as a consistent weapon complementing Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba with just 15 catches for 188 yards and no touchdowns in nine regular season games.
While Shaheed created a spark for Seattle’s offense on a few occasions, including a 51-yard reception in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams, he had one or fewer receptions in eight of the 11 regular season and playoff games that he played in for his new team. He finished with under 10 receiving yards in seven of those games, far from the production expected from an explosive downfield threat of his caliber.
However, if Wednesday serves as an indicator, now in the midst of their first full offseason working together, Darnold and Shaheed look to be much closer to being on the same page than they were during their crash course chemistry lesson after the deadline.
Looking for Shaheed early and often, Darnold hooked up with the speedy wideout several times during team and 7-on-7 drills, including launching a picturesque deep ball on a sluggo route where he hit the receiver perfectly in stride against tight coverage from cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett for a 40-plus yard completion along the sideline. The duo linked up two other times for touchdowns on the day, with both coming on vertical strikes down the sideline, while also adding a 25-yard catch from Drew Lock that the signal caller feathered over the outstretched arm of linebacker Patrick O’Connell for a completion on a dig route.
Time will tell how synced up Darnold and Shaheed will be once the regular season arrives, but for early June, the two couldn’t have been much more locked in, which should be exciting news for fans hoping to see more fireworks from the pair in 2026.
2. Aside from new wrinkles, familiarity playing into Darnold and rest of offense’s hands under Brian Fleury.
Though the quarterback acknowledged after practice that he hasn’t “kept track” of how many consecutive years he has learned a new offense, Darnold may be more comfortable under such circumstances due to experience. Dating back to his time in Carolina in 2021 and 2022, he has played for five different offensive coordinators in five seasons, with Fleury - who Seattle hired as Klint Kubiak’s replacement in February after seven seasons as an assistant for Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco - being the latest for him to learn a new system from in as many years.
Fortunately for Darnold, while Fleury’s offense won’t necessarily be a carbon copy of Kubiak’s in every way, the lack of continuity from a play caller perspective has been nullified to an extent due to comparable schemes branching from the Shanahan offense. Fleury and Kubiak both served as assistants under Shanahan with the 49ers in 2023, which happened to be the same year the quarterback held backup duty behind Brock Purdy, while Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell had been mentored by Rams coach Sean McVay, another former Shanahan disciple who has adapted the scheme to make it his own.
Backing up Fleury’s initial comments from his opening press conference on expectations to not reinvent the wheel, Darnold indicated the Seahawks have been able to fly through install to this point largely due to similar verbiage and terminology that has helped ease the transition from Kubiak last year. Looking comfortable and in his element, while he did have a few passes get away from him over the course of the practice, the quarterback delivered a live football all afternoon and displayed great command of what has been installed so far with crisp passes to all three levels of the field.
It will be a while until fans get a true glimpse of Fleury’s offense and how the first-time play caller handles the pressure that comes with the job, but roster continuity and a hastened learning curve with a similar system already appear to be paying dividends and should help him and his players immensely.
3. Rookie cornerbacks Julian Neal and Michael Dansby enjoy a splashy couple of moments during 7-on-7 red zone drills.
Prohibited from tackling or aggressively playing the football, OTA-style practices can be quite difficult for defensive players to stand out in due to rule limitations that hardly mimic real football. These sessions tend to be catered to running backs and receivers, who may as well be playing toe-hand tap with helmets on during the spring months without any resistance to speak of.
With that said, just because the rules are skewed heavily to the offense - particularly for skill players, as linemen can’t mix it up at all without pads on - doesn’t mean that defensive players can’t get in on the fun at all either. In 90 seconds of real time, Neal and Dansby put their stamp on practice during a 7-on-7 red zone situational drill, recording a pair of interceptions in a three-snap span to the delight of teammates and coaches.
On the first interception, Neal read Lock like a book, jumping and undercutting a tight throw in the end zone to get his hands on the pick. Two snaps later, second-year quarterback Jalen Milroe tried to test Dansby on a fade route against fellow rookie Emmanuel Henderson Jr., who initially had a couple of steps on his new teammate, only for the seventh round cornerback out of Arizona to recover and track the pass over his shoulder for a spectacular Willy Mays-style catch to create the turnover.
Behind starters Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe, after the departure of Riq Woolen in free agency, the Seahawks have a wide open competition underway for the third and fourth cornerback jobs. For now, Pritchett and Noah Igbinoghene will get the first crack to earn those jobs, but if Neal, Dansby, or fellow rookie Andre Fuller can continue to make impressive plays during the final weeks of the offseason program, momentum could be on their side rolling towards training camp with a chance to vault up the depth chart in quick order.
4. With new contract in tow, Derick Hall has another veteran to lean on as he pushes to elevate his game to the next level.
Taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest after 11 seasons starring in Dallas, Demarcus Lawrence made his presence felt between the lines as a driving force behind Seattle’s Super Bowl run, earning Pro Bowl recognition with six sacks and two defensive touchdowns. But beyond his contributions on the field, the veteran proved to be equally invaluable as a mentor for several of the team’s young players, most notably taking Hall under his wing early on in OTAs this time a year ago.
Sharing similar play styles as violent, physical defenders, Hall has credited Lawrence on multiple occasions last season for helping him enhance his strengths as a bull rusher, setting a firm edge against the run, and understanding how to make the most of his practice reps. Even if his sack numbers didn’t materialize as hoped with only two of them in the regular season, those improvements could be felt on the field, particularly during the playoffs where he made several high impact plays, including a crucial third down sack in the Super Bowl win over New England.
While Lawrence has not been at most of the offseason program due to the birth of his sixth child, with Hall now wanting to attack deficient areas of his game such as improvements setting up his pass rush plan and deploying more effective counters for secondary rushers, he now has another veteran to learn from in Dante Fowler Jr., who should be well equipped to teach him some new tricks to the trade. The two players have already started to develop a bond on the field, with the younger pass rusher picking Fowler’s brain seeking a different perspective from a vet with a different skill set.
After receiving a three-year extension worth $42 million on Tuesday, Hall’s goal heading into 2026 is to turn a higher percentage of his pressures and quarterback hits into sacks. To make that happen, he knows he has to become a more well-rounded rusher with more than just a strong bull rush and long arm move, as his pass rushing toolbox remains a work in progress. Given Fowler’s track record as a quarterback hunter whose strengths lie in athleticism and hand usage deploying counters, there may not be a better fit to learn from as he aims to add more versatility to his game in his fourth season.
5. Several veteran newcomers make their practice debuts - at least publicly - after signing with Seahawks in free agency.
Much like this time last year, Seattle has benefited from a high turnout rate for most of the offseason program with players eager to rejoin their teammates and get back to work after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. But with the workouts being voluntary in nature, whether due to health reasons or off-field conflicts, the team had a few noteworthy absences for the first open OTA workout on May 26.
Among those who didn’t attend, Fowler and running back Emanuel Wilson, who each signed with the Seahawks as free agents, were missing in action, with coach Mike Macdonald acknowledging the latter had personal reasons for not participating. But both players were back on the practice field on Wednesday, making solid first impressions as they begin to work towards carving out their respective roles for the defending champions.
Looking every bit 230 pounds - and in a good way - Wilson stood out like a needle in a haystack amongst his backfield brethren. When he got his hands on the football, he showcased underrated burst and quickness, including exploding past the linebackers on a run during the first 11-on-11 team period where he wound up sprinting a full 70 yards after the whistle blew. He undoubtedly will be a fun player to watch when the pads come out in late July or early August when he can use his size to his advantage as a punishing downhill runner, but he flashed more than just size in his first practice for his new team.
As for Fowler, he didn’t see a ton of reps in team drills and may not do so until mandatory minicamp later this month. But he rocketed off the line of scrimmage in individual drills, demonstrating the quick twitch that has defined him throughout his NFL career and made him an ideal candidate to replace Boye Mafe in the rotation. Just as they did with Lawrence last spring, other Seahawks seemed to stop what they were doing when it was his turn in bag drills as well, watching the artist go to work unloading counters and mixing in a few quick spins for good measure. He doesn’t look like he’s lost a step athletically, which bodes well for him being a factor for his new team.
