How Seahawks’ offense will differ under new OC Ryan Grubb
Jul 22, 2024, 1:11 PM
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks have a strong collection of skill-position talent.
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Geno Smith has played at an above-average level over the past two seasons, ranking seventh in ESPN’s QBR metric in 2022 and 14th in 2023. DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba form what could be one of the top receiving trios in the league. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are a quality one-two punch at running back. And when utilized, Noah Fant can be an elite pass-catching threat at tight end.
However, all of that playmaking ability didn’t translate to a successful offense last season. The Seahawks ranked just 17th in points per game and often went through long stretches where they struggled to get in sync.
A big part of that was due to the struggles along their injury-ravaged offensive line, which cycled through 10 different starting lineups over the course of the season. But there were also questions about play-calling and overall scheme under former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who left to become the Chicago Bears’ OC after Seattle parted ways with longtime head coach Pete Carroll in January.
With former UW Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb taking over the Seahawks’ OC role, there is a lot of intrigue over what Seattle’s offense will look like this fall.
Robert Mays, host of “The Athletic Football Show,” is one NFL expert who’s particularly excited to see Grubb’s scheme in action. He explained why during an appearance Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.
“I’m really excited to see what this group of personnel looks like in the Ryan Grubb offense, because I just think that the way that Washington played and just the style they asked the quarterback to play with, I really do think it actually aligns pretty well with who Geno Smith is and with what the skill-position talent looks like,” Mays said. “So I’m just really curious what this group looks like filtered through that system.”
Grubb is coming off a success-filled two-year run as the offensive coordinator at UW, where he directed a high-flying Huskies passing attack that was one of the best offenses in college football. Led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr. and a receiving trio of top-100 NFL Draft picks, Grubb’s Huskies carved up opposing defenses on their way to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
From watching UW’s offense last season, Mays thinks Grubb will bring some schematic elements to the Seahawks that were missing under Waldron.
“I like a lot of the things that (the Huskies) were trying to do on third down,” Mays said. “Some of the bunches and the stacks and some of the condensed formations – just creating separation against man coverage and also giving yourself some easy completions in the middle of the field, we didn’t get enough of that with the Waldron offense. If you look at the numbers from last year, I believe that Seattle had the widest average formations of any team in the NFL, and that runs counter to a lot of the really good offenses that you’re seeing in the NFL these days. The Rams, the Dolphins, the Niners, these teams are more condensed, and I think that it allows them to attack the field differently.
“And I think that Washington, even though they did play pretty spread out, they had elements to their offense that really tapped into what you’re seeing from some of the best NFL offenses in the league – those condensed formations, the stacks and bunches, and then the amount of motion that they were using. So I really do think that there are elements of what he was doing in Washington last year that align with what an elite NFL offense looks like, and that’s why I’m excited to see it.”
Listen to the full conversation with Robert Mays at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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