Lefko: The path for Seahawks to win a Super Bowl within 3 seasons
Jan 15, 2025, 3:44 PM
We have devoted a lot of airtime and digital ink over these past few years bemoaning the Seattle Seahawks’ inability to take the next step from good to great. The confounding curse of mediocrity is truly the most frustrating place to be in the NFL: not bad enough to reap the benefits of a high draft pick, yet not good enough to harbor serious aspirations of mounting a threat to win a Super Bowl.
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It is a truly vicious cycle to break, but the Seahawks can put an end to this interminable limbo by setting themselves on a path this offseason that will end in them winning a Super Bowl within the next three years. If it doesn’t work out, at least they will be perfectly structured to completely tear it down and start anew. I’m not here to talk about what could go wrong though. That’s no fun. So instead, here is an idea for three steps the Seahawks can take in order to maximize the talent they currently have in place and field a Super Bowl-caliber roster.
Step 1: Sign Geno Smith AND DK Metcalf to 2-year extensions
Lowering the 2025 cap hit for both Geno Smith and DK Metcalf is imperative. With both entering the final year of their respective contracts, a two-year extension keeps them through the 2027 season, in line with when Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s rookie contract (and fifth-year option) runs out. This gives a new offensive coordinator a chance to work with a full arsenal of weapons for a handful of years to see what the ceiling truly can be with this offense.
We can quibble on potential prices for these two, but it’s a Sisyphean task to try and accurately land on what kind of guaranteed money, performance escalators, signing bonuses, etc. that are sticking points for players or could help drive a deal home. For the sake of this article, let’s settle on these two numbers:
– Geno: Average annual value $44 million
– DK: Average annual value $30 million
Like it or not, this is what the market has dictated for these positions. A two-year extension at those values isn’t prohibitively expensive. The Metcalf number is certainly the bigger sticking point, but it’s right in line with what a guy like Brandon Aiyuk just locked down. You need two impact receivers on an NFL team, you simply do. No Super Bowl winner in the last five-plus years has won without two star receiving options, and yes for a team like the Chiefs one of those was their tight end (same can be said for the Lions and Ravens this year), but unless the Seahawks are all of a sudden going to have the offense flow through Noah Fant, they desperately need DK Metcalf’s big-play ability.
Keeping Geno Smith also doesn’t preclude you from drafting a quarterback. In fact, that should be a priority in a future offseason. This does extend the chance of the Seahawks building up to a championship window, all while a succession plan is in place, similar to what the Chiefs and Packers did with Patrick Mahomes and Jordan Love. In fact, those teams are the perfect example to how a team like the Seahawks, that is consistently picking in the mid-to-late part of the first round, can find a future quarterback without undergoing the pain of a three-to-four-win season.
For the next few seasons, assuming this plan plays out, Geno is the guy. Therefore, the Seahawks need to do everything they can to improve the offense around him, which means a heavy focus this year (and likely in 2026 as well) on strengthening the offensive line.
Step 2: Sign a guard in free agency
The three interior spots on the offensive line could use an upgrade. Right tackle looms as more of an uncertainty than a need, so you have the luxury of addressing that in subsequent offseasons. The defense is in great shape and likely only getting better in the next few years as Mike Macdonald continues to mold that group. This offseason, the focus can be solely on improving the offensive line.
Sign one guard to a multi-year deal. That would represent a giant step in solidifying a line that might only need to get to the level of competent, instead of deficient, for this Seahawks offense to thrive.
Once free agency begins and the franchise tag deadline (March 4) hits, we’ll have a better sense of who is available. But regardless of who is out there, it will require an investment. It’s one that must be made in order to capitalize on this three-year stretch of championship contention.
Step 3: Draft a guard in the 1st round, center in the 2nd
This is the key and the most important part of this process. We know how vital it is to find impact in the draft and take advantage of building a team while most of the core players are on their rookie deals. The Seahawks can fix the interior of their offensive line in one fell swoop with their first two selections in the draft. In the last ten years, Seattle has used its first pick just twice on an offensive lineman (Charles Cross in 2022 and Germain Ifedi in 2016). As the overwhelming priority this year, they should be able to find an immediate starter at No. 18 overall.
The Seahawks should also be able to find a center in the second round. Recent second-round picks have yielded tremendous impact for teams the last four seasons across the NFL:
– 2024: Zach Frazier (No. 51 overall) – started 15 games for the Steelers this past season
– 2023: Joe Tippman (No. 43 overall) – started all 17 games in 2024, Pro Football Writers All-Rookie Team in 2023
– 2022: Cam Jurgens (No. 51 overall) – named Pro Bowl starter this year in his first season starting at center
– 2021: Creed Humphrey (No. 63 overall) – 2024 first-team All-Pro
There is tantalizing potential for the Seahawks to remake their offensive line in just one offseason and that is just the start of what is possible. Imagine this scenario playing out, plus another first- or second-round offensive lineman to the mix in 2026.
For as much consternation as the offense caused last season, this team is close, it really is. Yes, the difference between “close” and “there” takes significant work, but the Seahawks are in a much better position than a majority of teams around the NFL.
This is one way to fully realize the potential and opportunity at hand over these next three seasons. And hey, if it doesn’t work out, then everything has lined up for a complete overhaul of the roster and fresh start in 2028. Give the Seahawks three years though … and come find me at the parade.
More on the Seattle Seahawks
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• Seattle Seahawks OC Search: Insiders weigh in on 3 candidates
• Report: Seahawks request interview with fourth OC candidate
• Analyst: Why this is the year Seahawks invest in O-line
• Why former Seahawks DB thinks Seattle will move on from Geno and DK