Before we begin, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who submitted a question for this offseason mailbag. Many of the questions included an appreciation for my work here and beside Christopher Kidd on our Seahawks Man 2 Man podcast. We edited the questions down for the sake of brevity, but I’d like you all to know I saw all the kind words and am very grateful.
Now, let’s get to it.
What are some ways the Hawks can break out of “mediocre fringe playoff team” purgatory? How likely is it the team could win a Super Bowl without having some type of teardown? (Omitting hitting on a rookie QB and the contract benefits.) — Corwin P.
The key to roster construction for every team is to acquire players who provide great returns relative to their investment. That’s why the draft is so vital and why teams are sometimes apprehensive about free-agent spending. There are plenty of paths to escaping purgatory for the Seahawks, but the best would be to start seeing extremely high returns on investment from its draft picks in the trenches.
The Seahawks need guys like Charles Cross, Abe Lucas and Boye Mafe to take that step from good to elite. They need Derick Hall and Olu Oluwatimi to go from decent to dominant. They drafted four linemen in 2024 — Byron Murphy II, Christian Haynes, Sataoa Laumea and Michael Jerrell — and if any two of them start looking like Pro Bowl-caliber players, Seattle will be in good shape. Then, of course, they’ll need immediate contributions from the rookie class. That would elevate the whole team without a teardown, something I don’t envision GM John Schneider doing.
A home run in free agency is much-needed, too. The Eagles have a bunch of examples this year in Saquon Barkley, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Zack Baun and Mekhi Becton. The Commanders found good value in free agency as well. Seattle needs an offseason like that, similar to the spring of 2013 when Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett were acquired.
If you had to choose between keeping DK Metcalf (assuming Tyler Lockett goes elsewhere) and spending on a couple of proven guards, which would you choose? Similarly, Geno Smith by himself, or Justin Fields plus a stud offensive lineman? — Alan H.
I look at the Eagles and Lions and I see teams who run offensive schemes designed around a “game manager” style QB. With this as context, can we envision a situation where the Seahawks reboot the offense without Geno and DK? — Jd B.
The Seahawks can simply improve their roster and be immediately competitive without moving on from Geno Smith or DK Metcalf. I need everyone to accept that first sentence as fact, because all these scenarios framed around keeping Smith/Metcalf or improving the roster and fixing the O-line as mutually exclusive paths are operating from a flawed premise. The Seahawks are not in an either/or scenario.
Some of the best offenses in the league this season had expensive quarterbacks — the only rookie-contract quarterback on a top-10 scoring unit was Jayden Daniels — and good supporting casts up front, O-line included. Kansas City, Buffalo and Baltimore have good offensive lines and expensive quarterbacks. Ditto for Detroit and Philly, two teams with expensive, non-elite quarterbacks, kick-ass trenches and pricey skill players.
The most common thread here is consistently drafting well, extending homegrown players and plugging a hole or two in free agency. Seattle has had the ability to do this for years — the front office has just whiffed. Getting rid of Smith or Metcalf won’t make them any better at resource allocation or talent evaluation.
How much money do you expect the Seahawks to spend on free agents? Will MM have input into how to spend it? — Jude M.
Mike Macdonald will have input on how the money is spent, yes. It’s unclear how involved he’ll be in the actual dollar figures, but Macdonald and Schneider will identify their priorities and attack the market accordingly as the budget allows.
I’d be surprised if Seattle signed an external free agent to a deal averaging eight figures per year, which is what would reasonably qualify as a “splash” signing to me (the only deal matching that description over the last few years went to Dre’Mont Jones). I expect a handful of low-risk, one-year deals and maybe one free agent on a Uchenna Nwosu sort of deal, which averaged $9.5 million in 2022.
What are the chances Schneider will listen to reason and draft the best O-line prospect on the board in Round 1? What else do you expect the Seahawks to do in the draft? — Geoff M.
Who are some of the best prospects the Seahawks can get with their first-round pick at positions of need? — Raav G.
Assuming offensive tackle and quarterback aren’t urgent needs because of Cross, Lucas and Smith, here are a few players of note who should help the Seahawks if they’re available with the 18th pick.
- Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
- Donovan Jackson, OT/G, Ohio State
- Armand Membou, OT/G, Missouri
- James Pearce Jr., edge, Tennessee
- Shemar Stewart, edge, Texas A&M
I’m working on a three-round big board that will have more names and more detailed analysis, but for now, those are a few guys to consider.
As for expectations, it’s hard to say before attending the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Right now, I’d imagine everything is on the table, quarterback included.
With Klint Kubiak as the new offensive coordinator, do you see any chance that management will invest in the O-line? — Eric W.
Based on the GM’s comments that guards are overdrafted and overpaid, is it time for fans to accept that JS will not make any meaningful upgrades to the O-line? — Steven W.
Offensive line investments are imperative regardless of the coordinator. Schneider knows this, and I expect him to keep taking swings up front — just not big swings, per se. Last year, he drafted three offensive linemen and signed five in free agency, including Connor Williams in August. The problem is not the number of attempts as much as the execution.
Schneider can make meaningful O-line upgrades without breaking the bank, but he and his staff must be much better at the evaluation process. The evaluation part is important because even if Schneider pivots from his belief that interior offensive linemen are overdrafted and overpaid, he’d still have to pay the right lineman and draft the right guy in the early rounds. Schneider’s first- and second-round track record with O-linemen isn’t strong outside of Russell Okung and Cross.
What will the WR room look like next year? — Josh S.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are the only familiar faces on the 53-man roster by Week 1. Lockett would be a good fit in Kubiak’s scheme, but he’d likely need to agree to a massive pay cut. The rest of the unit features solid backups, but there’s room to try to upgrade the back end of the depth chart with more downfield threats. They should look for better versions of what they had in mind with guys like Marquise Goodwin and Dee Eskridge.
What is one realistic free-agent position both offensively and defensively you could see the front office pursuing? — Cullen A.
It’s tough to say what is realistic at this point. That said, on offense, I could see Seattle pursuing 49ers guard Aaron Banks. On defense, a Poona Ford reunion makes sense if the team wants a cheaper, younger replacement for impending free agents Jarran Reed or Johnathan Hankins. If Artie Burns and Tre Brown aren’t re-signed, I can see Seattle going after Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs.
What do you think about K9 in Kubiak’s offense? Will the new OC be able to better utilize his skills? Is he the right back for us? — K.F.
Ken Walker III will be fine in a zone running scheme. He’s fast and capable of hitting a crease for a big gain, which he did often as a rookie. Walker’s vision will still need to improve so that he’s not putting his blockers in position to draw holding calls by unnecessarily bouncing runs to the outside, but Kubiak’s scheme will be a decent fit. Walker can burst through cutback lanes with the best of them if the offensive line is doing its part.
What parts of Kubiak’s road to Seattle do you think will allow him to get the most out of the current core on offense and be more successful than Shane Waldron or Ryan Grubb? — John L.
If Kubiak can bring only one lesson learned from his previous stops, hopefully it is whatever red zone notes he took from the 2023 season with San Francisco. The 49ers had the best red zone offense in the league that year (the Saints ranked 11th last year). Seattle desperately needs to be better in the red zone, and if Kubiak can pull that off, he’ll be in good position to be an upgrade over his predecessors.
What is the likelihood that we replace Tyler with another WR either via the draft or free agency as WR3? Or do we play more 12 personnel with Noah Fant as the third receiver? — Rafi H.
I’d keep Lockett on a new contract. He’s a good WR3 on a team trying to contend.
As for personnel, I’m interested in whether Kubiak wants to use a fullback. The Saints ranked fifth in 21 personnel usage last season, and bringing that play style would be a shift away from what Seattle has done the past few seasons. A true WR3 would still matter, though. The 2023 49ers would be the blueprint in that regard; they were a 21 personnel team that relied heavily on fullback Kyle Juszczyk but also had use for a possession receiver like Jauan Jennings.
How do you feel about the fit between Kubiak and how MM wants to play? Is there a chance JS and MM got enamored again with a name/story (as with Grubb being OC from Washington) instead of looking for best tactical/strategical match? — Vincent V.
Macdonald has basically said a bunch of commonly used buzzwords to describe his preferred style of offense. Saying you want to be physical, dictate terms and get the ball to your skill players in space isn’t exactly revelatory. Taking a chance on Ryan Grubb and then pivoting to a seemingly opposite approach with Kubiak suggests Macdonald is open to different types of schemes. The Kubiak scheme is proven, though, so if it works, it should satisfy Macdonald’s mandate that his offense dictate terms to the defense.
Is Schneider now on the hot seat? — Harry C.
“Hot seat” is probably strong with how hard it is to get a read on the mind of team owner Jody Allen, who never speaks with the media. However, if Schneider doesn’t build a roster that can contend in Year 2 without Pete Carroll, it’s hard to see ownership continuing to give him the benefit of the doubt. It’s been obvious how much Seattle’s lack of talent has contributed to the team falling short of expectations.
Would it make sense to pick a QB in Round 1 or 2 to let him learn one year behind Geno and then start him in his second year? — Niclas P.
Quarterbacks are so valuable that it always makes sense to take a swing on a prospect if you think he can be a starter. Schneider knows this, which is why I’m surprised he has drafted only two in Seattle. He should take a chance on someone in this class. I’m not big on anyone other than Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders in the first round, but there might be some draft-and-develop options in the third round like Jalen Milroe or on Day 3 with prospects such as Tyler Shough or Kyle McCord.
