> ## 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. # What We Learned About Seahawks During Offseason Program - And What We Still Don’t Know - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/what-we-learned-seattle-seahawks-offseason-program-2025/ - Published: 2025-06-12T22:37:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:19:59.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Leonard Williams, Sam Darnold, Cody White, Jake Bobo, Damien Martinez, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Robbie Ouzts, Brady Russell, Steven Sims Jr., Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi, Jalen Sundell \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2418"\] ![ Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams strikes a pad during a drill in a mandatory minicamp practice. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/img_4884-5b1-5d-jpg-format-original.jpg) Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams strikes a pad during a drill in a mandatory minicamp practice. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum \[/caption\] RENTON, Wash. - Heading out of town for a six week break, the Seattle Seahawks capped off their offseason program with two mandatory minicamps this week, setting the stage for the start of training camp and the 2025 season on July 23. After watching Seattle complete three open OTA and two open minicamp sessions this month, what have we learned about coach Mike Macdonald’s squad going into a new season? And which questions have yet to be answered with camp on the horizon? ### We learned… Mike Macdonald has fostered - and maintained - a special culture with full buy-in. Having a 90 percent or better participation rate for voluntary OTAs in the NFL isn’t typical, particularly for teams that aren’t breaking in a new head coach. But that’s exactly what the Seahawks accomplished this offseason, as every player on the 90-man roster - including injured ones who couldn’t practice yet - could be seen on the field at some point during practices open to the media. This included veterans such as Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed, who could have easily opted not to be there and nobody would have batted an eye. But after a strong finish to the 2024 campaign, there’s an obvious excitement in the building right now and players clearly want to do everything they can to help Seattle get to the next level in year two under Macdonald. As Williams pointed out after Wednesday’s final minicamp practice, this squad has built an inviolable connection that the majority - if not all - of championship teams share, a testament to the job the coaching staff has done of not only maintaining what was a strong culture under Pete Carroll, but improving upon it to get players buying into what they are selling. Everyone wants to be in the building, which can be the toughest battle for coaches in the league. “We had a 10-win season but didn't go to the playoffs and stuff like that,” Williams explained. “I'm telling them how those small things, like having connection and being able to communicate on and off the field, kind of helps you get to that next level.” ### We learned… the Seahawks still have a long way to go leveling the playing field on offense. It’s far from uncommon for defenses to be ahead of offenses in May and June, and in the case of the Seahawks, the two sides of the ball went into OTAs in totally different worlds. On one hand, Macdonald has the vast majority of his key contributors on defense returning from a year ago fully in tune with his scheme, and that unit hit the ground running playing fast. But the offense finds itself in the same position as a year ago with players trying to learn a new playbook under Klint Kubiak and the situation is further muddied by breaking in a new starting quarterback in Sam Darnold. While there were flashes over the course of open practices, including a budding chemistry between Darnold and receiver Cooper Kupp, who caught four touchdowns during OTAs, the first-team offense couldn’t put points on the board in a pair of minicamp practices, finding the end zone a grand total of one time in the two sessions in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods. This included a red zone 7-on-7 segment on Wednesday where Darnold completed just one out of six passes, dealing with tight coverage and being forced to through multiple passes out of the back of the end zone. Those struggles may not ease concerns for fans worried about how Seattle will compensate for the lost playmaking ability of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and honestly, those concerns could have some validity with the group lacking many speedsters who can separate. At the same time, however, not being able to run the ball in non-padded practices puts the offense at a major disadvantage and it would be unfair to jump to conclusions that the offense will take a big step back until they have a chance to show what they can do in an actual game setting in August. ### We learned… the confidence oozing from all three levels of Seattle’s defense is warranted. Even without the ability to tackle or aggressively play the football, if there’s another reason to not get too worked up about Seattle struggling to finish drives on offense, the defense has not missed a beat since ending the 2024 season on a high note. Led by Devon Witherspoon’s infectious energy, everyone on the first-team unit flew all over the field, playing at light speed compared to where they were at this time last year. In Tuesday’s session, cornerback Riq Woolen swatted away a red zone pass from Darnold to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and just two plays later, second-year corner Nehemiah Pritchett followed his lead with an end zone pass breakup of his own after subbing into the lineup. Even the newcomers got into the action this week with rookie safety Nick Emmanwori pressuring Darnold on multiple occasions and also forcing him to throw a pass into the turf when he took away a crossing route in the end zone during an 11-on-11 situational drill. Continuing to stymie Kubiak’s offense on Wednesday, Witherspoon forced the coaches to blow a play dead as soon as receiver Jake Bobo took a jet sweep handoff, flying into the backfield as if he knew the play ahead of time at warp speed. Only a few snaps later, Darnold had to step up in the pocket with Mike Morris bearing down on him and made an ill-advised throw over the middle, lucking out that Woolen bobbled a potential interception opportunity. Moving the ball downfield proved very difficult in five open practices, providing even more gasoline to pour on the fire when it comes to lofty expectations for Macdonald’s crew. ### We learned… Macdonald and his staff will have tricky decisions to make at receiver and safety, among other positions. When asked about which competitions excited him the most after Wednesday’s final session, Macdonald basically listed every single position on the roster, failing to zero in on one or two that stood above the rest. But aside from the obvious starting right guard battle set to wage in August, no other spars for roster spots may offer more intrigue than receiver and safety, two positions with incredible depth that will create a good problem for the coaching staff. On the outside, Jake Bobo once again starred as an OTA and minicamp darling, consistently making big catches with the first and second-team offense. But he wasn’t the only veteran vying for a spot on the roster who balled out over the past two weeks, as White had a fantastic session scoring multiple touchdowns on Tuesday and saw an uptick in first-team reps as the offseason progressed. Additionally, special teams stalwart Steven Sims Jr. showed up time and time again making positive things happen, including reeling in six catches and three touchdowns in Wednesday’s final minicamp practice, putting his name squarely on the radar. With Kupp, Valdez-Scantling, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all locks to make the team, Bobo, White, Sims, and Dareke Young will be locked in a wide open competition against rookies Tory Horton, Ricky White, and undrafted signee Tyrone Broden, pitting at least seven players against one another with two or three spots at most up for grabs. Special teams may be a bigger piece of the pie than offense for those spots, leaving much to be decided when the pads come on in a few months. As for the safety position, the arrival of Emmanwori to pair with Julian Love and Coby Bryant gives the Seahawks one of the premier trios in the entire NFL. But there may be more contributors on the roster than just those three, as free agent signing D’Anthony Bell impressed throughout open practices with a couple interceptions and several pass breakups. Behind him, Jerrick Reed II, Ty Okada, and AJ Finley all have regular season experience and upside as well, guaranteeing at least two quality safeties will be on the chopping block when final roster cuts arrive. ### We learned… Using the fullback in Klint Kubiak’s offense isn’t coach speak or lip service. When asked if the Seahawks would utilize a fullback in his introductory press conference, Kubiak didn’t mince words, simply responding “yes.” For those who may have been skeptical about how much he would really use one in his offense, he emphatically backed up his initial statement by plugging Robbie Ouzts and Brady Russell into the lineup a bunch with all three offensive units, getting a ton of reps in with two backs in the backfield. As one of the themes to emerge in the last few weeks, players and coaches alike couldn’t be more excited for the new wrinkle to be added to the offense. Tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas loved the element of smashmouth football with a lead blocker coming out of the backfield, while Darnold illuminated on how a second back can create schematic issues for opposing defenses, as effective running from those personnel groupings can force their hand to drop a safety down into the box and open up opportunities for downfield passing as a result. It remains to be seen who will ultimately win the job between Ouzts and Russell, but regardless who winds up snagging a roster spot for the Seahawks this summer, they should be expected to see quite a bit of action in Kubiak’s system, further evidenced by the fact the Saints used their fullback north of 30 percent of offensive snaps in 2024. ### We still don’t know… How the Seahawks will proceed at center or right guard as part of a rebuilt offensive line. For those hoping for answers in the interior offensive line before training camp arrives, with rookie Grey Zabel clearly entrenched as the starter at left guard being the only exception, the Seahawks don’t appear to be any closer to figuring out a starter at center or right guard than they did when the final phase of the offseason program began last month. Over the past two weeks, incumbent Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell took the lion’s share of first-team reps at center, with Christian Haynes sliding over for a few series to snap the ball as a changeup. When Haynes wasn’t giving the pivot position a shot, he seemed to receive the majority of right guard reps with the starters, though Anthony Bradford rotated in more during minicamp and still is very much in the mix to re-win the job. Two of those four players should be starting for Seattle in Week 1\. However, Macdonald didn’t rule out the possibility of other players getting thrust into the competition when the pads come out in August, including second-year blocker Sataoa Laumea and rookie Bryce Cabeldue at right guard. The coaching staff hopes to have decisions made at those two spots earlier rather than later, but until actual blocking starts happening in training camp, it’s anyone’s guess who will wind up earning a role on new coach John Benton’s front line. ### We still don’t know… If Seattle will regret not taking advantage of a deep defensive tackle draft class. Similar to the offensive line, it’s a tall task trying to evaluate defensive tackles and edge rushers during heavily policed non-padded practices. For that reason, it would be unwise to jump to the conclusion that the Seahawks don’t have enough quality depth behind Williams, Reed, and Byron Murphy II in the interior without actually seeing the group play real football. With that said, when Seattle’s big three wasn’t on the field this spring, the team doesn’t have many proven options to choose from in reserve roles. Nose tackles Quinton Bohanna and Brandon Pili have played NFL regular season games, but both were primarily practice squad players a season ago. Morris has not been very productive with his limited opportunities and while fifth-round pick Rylie Mills could have a bright future, he’s coming off a torn ACL that might force him to miss a big chunk of his rookie season before he’s healthy enough to return. Bringing back Johnathan Hankins last month will be beneficial to the Seahawks, ensuring they have an experienced starter at the traditional nose spot, and getting strong contributions from Morris and/or Mills would be a game changer. At the same time, as general manager John Schneider has done multiple times over the years, adding another seasoned vet to the mix by the start of training camp seems inevitable with all of the depth question marks present coming out of minicamp. ### We still don’t know… What the pecking order out of the backfield will look like with an abundance of running back talent. When asked what he has seen from the running back group after one of Seattle’s open OTAs, Kubiak didn’t have much insight to provide, pointing out that those players can’t really be assessed until defenders actually have the ability to try to tackle them. It’s also worth noting that Seattle’s top two returning backs didn’t play much in 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 drills with Ken Walker III nursing a sore ankle and Zach Charbonnet being kept in bubble wrap for the most part this spring. With six weeks to rest up, Walker should be ready to roll when camp starts as the expected starter, but Charbonnet will have game competition to fend off for reps as the change-of-pace back. Kenny McIntosh ran well down the stretch last season and remains in the hunt for one of the two kick returner roles on special teams, adding another feather to his cap as he tries to keep his spot on the roster. Incoming rookie Damien Martinez may be the real dark horse to watch, as he averaged six yards per carry in his college career at Oregon State and Miami and brings a violent, bruising style at 217 pounds that none of Seattle’s other backs offer, while George Holani returns as another viable contender with a solid all-around skill set. Similar to the receivers, how many running backs the Seahawks wind up keeping on the 53-man roster will likely boil down to special teams contributions. Additionally, seeing where Martinez fits as a three-down back will be a big question mark, as he didn’t catch many passes in college and doesn’t have a ton of experience as a pass protector. The answers to those questions could determine whether he’s one of three or four backs to make the team in September, but ultimately, how everyone performs playing behind their pads will be a huge factor. ### We still don’t know… When Uchenna Nwosu will return to play and how the edge rush group will adapt if he’s out a while. As anticipated, coming off of offseason knee surgery, Nwosu didn’t practice at all during OTAs or minicamp, and Macdonald didn’t have an update on a potential timetable when asked about his recovery on Wednesday. Back in March at the combine, Schneider hinted at the possibility the veteran could start camp on the PUP list, and as of right now, that almost feels like a guarantee considering he has yet to resume football activities. If Nwosu isn’t ready for camp - or in a worse scenario can’t make it back in time for Week 1 - the Seahawks will have to consider hitting the market looking for another veteran reinforcement or two to bolster the position. Even with him healthy, that may still be a point on Schneider’s remaining checklist with Boye Mafe heading towards free agency, Demarcus Lawrence now being 33 years old and coming off a significant foot injury suffered a year ago, and mostly undrafted rookies at the bottom of the depth chart currently. Fans may be clamoring for Seattle to trade for Cincinnati star Trey Hendrickson, who led the league with 17.5 sacks last season and has been embroiled in a stalemate seeking a new contract throughout the offseason. But while that shouldn’t be completely ruled out, the more likely scenario could be hitting the free agent scrap heap and bringing back Jadeveon Clowney to reunite with Macdonald, who coached him in Baltimore, or adding another experienced veteran who can provide steady play as a pass rusher and run defender. ### We still don’t know… If the Seahawks truly did enough to improve the roster from a 10-win outfit in 2024. In reality, this question wasn’t going to be answered until actual football starts in September regardless of what went down during OTAs and minicamp. While it’s hot take season, how Darnold performs against Seattle’s defense without a run game to support him while he actively works to learn a new playbook and new receivers shouldn’t be too telling on what he will be able to do three months from now. Once the pads come out in the second week of training camp, a much more accurate picture of what the Seahawks will bring to the table on offense with a new quarterback should start to emerge. Until then, it’s still a guessing game how well Darnold will fit into Kubiak’s offense, whether they did enough reinforcing the receiving corps after trading Metcalf and cutting Lockett, and if the run game can surface as a viable threat after being one of the worst in the NFL a year ago. On the plus side, Macdonald appears to have a potentially dominant defense at his disposal now thanks to continuity, depth, and a fun blend of experience and high-upside youth. From that perspective, Seattle should be in the hunt every game, and Darnold shouldn’t have to take too much of the burden to carry the team on game day. What remains uncertain is how much he will have to shoulder and if the offensive line can demonstrate enough improvement for the offense to be efficient and keep the quarterback upright, which would go a long ways towards building off of 10 wins last season and taking the next step towards contention.