3 thoughts from Daniel Jeremiah about the Seahawks’ offense

Sep 4, 2024, 11:51 AM

Kenneth Walker III of the Seattle Seahawks works out during practice on June 3, 2024. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Editor, Seattle Sports

Among the more intriguing questions about the Seattle Seahawks going into the 2024 season is how their new-look offense will perform.

Breakdown: How NFL experts view Seahawks as they begin new era

The Hawks have an exciting first-year offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, who held the same position for the UW Huskies over the past two seasons, including the Dawgs’ run to the College Football Playoff title game last January.

The arrival of Grubb comes with unknowns, though, most notably whether his system will translate to the NFL.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout who now co-hosts the Move the Sticks podcast, is excited by what Grubb can do with the Seahawks’ offensive weapons, however, as he shared Wednesday during his weekly appearance with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“Everything I’ve seen from him, he did what he needed to do to be a very effective coordinator at that level,” Jeremiah said of Grubb’s time with the Huskies. “The changes with the hash marks (from the college game to the NFL) will be a little different. He won’t have quite as much horizontal space, he won’t be afforded quite that same luxury. But look, I’m a believer when guys have figured things out and been dominant, which his offenses really have, that he’ll make the slight tweaks and slight adjustments.”

Jeremiah added that there’s a bit of a calling card that Grubb showed in big games with UW that should help him with the Seahawks.

“One thing I noticed about watching that team last year at Washington was I thought he had very good poise,” Jeremiah said. “I thought there were times where OK, man, is he going to try and pull back? I thought he did a really good job of staying on the attack, and I think about those Oregon games where there were opportunities, maybe Oregon comes back in that game… He did not flinch with how aggressive he was, and that’s a trait that I think is going to serve him very well.”

Here’s a look at three other things about the Seahawks’ offense under Grubb that Jeremiah had to say.

1. A good fit for Geno Smith.

Does Seattle have the right quarterback for Grubb’s system? Jeremiah is optimistic, though it’s worth mentioning that Sunday’s season opener against the Denver Broncos will be everybody’s first chance to really find out.

“Geno, I’m excited for him. Any time you have a new coordinator, you’re a little bit skeptical to see how it all comes together, how it all fits. But Geno is a down-the-field passer, Grubb’s a down-the-field coordinator,” Jeremiah said. “It appears as if it’s going to be a good marriage, but you don’t know until you see it out there as a team.”

2. Kenneth Walker III could be in for a big year.

Should the Smith-Grubb combination work out the way it’s supposed to, Jeremiah believes third-year running back Kenneth Walker Jr. could get more room to work with than he has in the past. Jeremiah, who also is a radio broadcaster for Los Angeles Chargers games, is impressed by Walker after seeing his explosiveness first-hand in 2022.

“Based off what we have seen (from Grubb) in college and based off how we talked about how it marries with Geno, I think the other thing is if you can get vertical and you can attack down the field, you’re going to scare some safeties out of there and you’re going to have a little bit of room for Kenneth Walker,” Jeremiah said.

“I saw it against the Chargers his rookie season. (Walker) got a little bit of room and it was 75 yards in a hurry. So I think that that marries up well, and I think just him being fully healthy and ready to roll – I would love to feel a little more comfortable and confident about the offensive line – but I think there’s ways that your passing game can help determine some box counts and give him some advantages that way.”

KENNETH. WALKER. TO. THE. HOUSE. 🏠

📺: #SEAvsLAC on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/HyjkGpXIek pic.twitter.com/znsicu868r

— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022

3. The Seattle Seahawks’ one big concern.

The last point we’re highlighting from Jeremiah was foreshadowed in the previous quote. If there’s one area he’s not buying into with the Seahawks this season, it’s the offensive line – and that’s something that was not a problem for Grubb’s offense with the Huskies last year.

“On the whole, really my biggest concern is just the offensive line and how that’s going to come together and what that looks like,” Jeremiah said. “Really, the rest of the roster I feel pretty comfortable about and I’m excited about.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports, and hear Jeremiah live at 8:30 a.m. each Wednesday on the show.