Sam Darnold has yet to play a real down for the Seattle Seahawks, and he has arguably only had one good season out of seven in his career. He is 27 years old and might have finally come into his own with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024. That is Seattle's hope, at least.
But Darnold had a few things on his side in Minnesota that he might not have with the Seahawks. The Vikings have an offensive-minded head coach in Kevin O'Connell, who might have one of the three best offensive minds in the NFL. He knew how to limit Darnold's past errors and make him efficient.
Minnesota also had elite receiver Justin Jefferson and another quite good receiver, Jordan Addison. Plus, and most importantly, the Vikings had a good offensive line.
NFL analyst names two huge questions Seahawks must answer this coming season
With Seattle, Darnold has wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, but neither is as good as Jefferson. JSN is ascending and a real weapon, but he needs help. The Seahawks' offensive line is also still a huge question mark.
The team chose lineman Grey Zabel in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he might be good as a rookie, but is he ready to be great? Plus, is Seattle's line from center to right tackle going to play better this year under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak? Darnold, seemingly more than most quarterbacks, has to be protected well to be very good.
CBS Sports NFL analyst Cody Benjamin has questions about all of the above in a recent article naming the biggest unknowns facing each team ahead of the 2025 season. Darnold might be fine, but only if he gets help in the right areas.
One is Zabel. The rookie is expected to step in at left guard. The spot was played by veteran Laken Tomlinson last season, but he left in free agency. Tomlinson was good at blocking in the pass, but not good against the run. Zabel is expected to be good at both and do better than Tomlinson in all aspects immediately.
Benjamin writes, "...will rookie Grey Zabel be enough to steady the oft-shaky front?" The problem is that an offensive line needs five guys working consistently in unison. Maybe Zabel is great, but will most of the line also be?
Cooper Kupp is also somewhat of a concern. Benjamin wonders if Kupp, who has a history of being hurt, can stay healthy enough to be the kind of WR2 JSN and Darnold need to succeed. The quality in the wide receiver room falls precipitously after Smith-Njigba and Kupp. If only one is playing, that limits the overall offense.
There are reasons for hope, however. New offensive line coach John Benton has a long history of success in the NFL. He could make players such as right guard Christian Haynes into excellent linemen. If that happens and Kupp stays healthy, the Seahawks could be dangerous this coming season.
