Trading away Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders wasn't something many saw the Seattle Seahawks doing, especially after the last few years that Smith had.
He wasn't bad, and he hadn't had bad seasons, but he and the Seahawks thought it was time to switch things up. And, it's very obvious that Smith was okay with that, despite revitalizing his career in Seattle. It also helped on the Seahawks' side of things that they had a very good feeling they were going to be able to get another guy who was on a similar level to Smith, but younger, in the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.
And, one of the biggest reasons that Smith was okay with this is because he was running for his life, what felt like every single play the last few years. According to Sports Info Solutions, Smith threw seven touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and was sacked 54 times while under pressure. Smith threw the most interceptions in the league while under pressure, and the Seahawks played the sixth-most snaps with pressure on the QB.
Darnold, with the Vikings, who have a much better offensive line, threw for a league-high 14 touchdowns under pressure and only four interceptions on 237 pressured dropbacks. But he could see the same issue Smith did in 2024, in his first season with the Seahawks in 2025.
Seahawks offensive line not projected to be great in 2025
30. Seattle Seahawks
There is not much to suggest that the Seahawks won't again field a bottom-tier offensive line. Seattle used its first-round pick on Grey Zabel, who is projected to start at left guard. However, a rookie who played at the FCS level last season is unlikely to provide a significant upgrade to a unit that allowed the second-highest pressure rate in 2024 (34.5%). - Pro Football Focus
The Seahawks were ninth in total blown blocks, per SIS, and fourth in pass block blown blocks with 140 total. Now, to play the other side of things here -- Laken Tomlinson, who is now on the Houston Texans, had 22 blown blocks on passing plays last season. So, that is 22 less. Now, a rookie is replacing him, so it's also very possible that he has more than Tomlinson did.
There is also the possibility that Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross are very healthy and at their best. But, those are all best-case scenarios, and we really won't know if any of that matters for a while now. But, it's still very obvious that Darnold could find the same issues that Smith did.
