Stacy Rost: Even at 2-0, Seahawks have 3 big questions on offense

The Seattle Seahawks’ defense has been one of — if not the — league’s most dominant through two weeks.

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They’ve allowed a combined 17 points, the second-fewest yards, still haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher (that’s 30 games and counting), and are leading the NFL in takeaways with four. That’s right: they officially have more interceptions than scores allowed.

There’s little to question or wonder when it comes to this side of the ball, which has only continued its dominance from last season’s Super Bowl run.

Despite the 2-0 start, though, the same can’t be said for the offense.

Make no mistake: there aren’t any glaring concerns. The Seahawks scored four touchdowns against the Cardinals in Week 2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is still leading the league in receiving yards, and they’ve gotten by with backup quarterback Drew Lock taking all but five snaps.

But when we opened up phone lines Monday there were, unsurprisingly, a number of different questions that listeners had about that group. Here were the most popular.

Who’s WR2 behind JSN… and when will Shaheed take off?

In Seattle’s defense, the first question I had following a Week 1 loss to the 49ers in 2025 was “Where’s the wide receiver depth behind Smith-Njigba?” And it didn’t end up mattering. He accounted for more than 35% of all targets and led the league with over 1,700 receiving yards. So, you’d understand why I’d be cautious in being overly concerned about the same thing right now.

That said, this year’s Seahawks are paying quite a bit more to a player who’s supposed to be filling that role. Rashid Shaheed was a game changer on special teams for the Seahawks, and they rewarded him with a three-year, $51 million contract back in March. He never fully took off on offense, but being acquired midseason (and being so impactful in punt and kickoff return duties) excused the lack of production. After a full offseason with his new team though, you’d assume he could carve out a more obvious role. Fans are still waiting to see that.

Why?

“I see a guy who’s still learning the wideout position,” said former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus, my co-host on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “There are little things he could improve on, but the one thing he’s always going to have on his side is that he’s fast. Once he gets the football, he’s got to be able to hit that gear and go. I think the more reps he gets, the more he understands this offense, the more comfortable he’ll be when he’s in traffic.”

Bump does think there could be more opportunities for Shaheed to take off against defenses that use more man coverage than zone. Sunday’s opponent, the Washington Commanders, aren’t one of them (they’ve used man coeverage just 9% of the time through two weeks), but upcoming opponents like the Bears (43%), Broncos (23%) and Chiefs (23%) are.

Have we answered the RB question yet?

I want to say sure, if only because rookie running back Jadarian Price has looked so intriguing. But I can’t. Price had his longest run yet last Sunday against the Cardinals (25 yards) but also left the game with a shoulder injury. Backup Emmanuel Wilson finished with almost 100 yards, but the injury to Price (and his rookie status) combined with Zach Charbonnet’s eventual return from an ACL tear (he has to miss a minimum of four weeks to start the season on the physically unable to perform list) haven’t exactly offered an emphatic “yes!” to the question of “Do the Seahawks have a great run game?”

The good news? Head coach Mike Macdonald didn’t sound especially concerned about Price’s injury during his Monday interview with Brock and Salk.

Are we going to see the tight ends be more involved?

AJ Barner nearly doubled his production last year from his rookie season and 2025 second-rounder Elijah Arroyo is finally healthy, so Seahawks fans who have seen what a game-changing tight end can do for other NFC West teams are understandably hoping to see more from this group in 2026. But so far, all but one of Seattle’s touchdowns has belonged to JSN.

Worth mentioning ahead of Week 3: the Commanders allowed the fifth-most fantasy points and second-most touchdowns to tight ends in 2025.

Seattle Seahawks news and more

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