The Seahawks are being overlooked in 4 ways by national pundits

The national outlook for the 2025 Seattle Seahawks is, well, not particularly optimistic.

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Most preseason power rankings have the Seahawks in the lower half of the NFL, hovering somewhere between the high teens and low 20s. Most win-loss projections slot them around 8-9 or 9-8.

But when you really dive into this Seahawks team, that doesn’t really seem to add up. While it’s surely possible the Hawks end up being a sub-.500 team, there’s much more reason to believe Mike Macdonald’s crew will take another step forward and reach 11 or maybe even 12 wins this fall.

What are the national prognosticators missing? Here are four things being overlooked.

The impact of a tried-and-true offensive scheme

The national media’s tepid outlook on the Seahawks stems largely from the idea that Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp are both downgrades from Geno Smith and DK Metcalf. And yes, in a vacuum, that’s probably true. Seattle likely took at least a slight step back at quarterback, and a bigger step back at wide receiver.

But on the flip side, the Seahawks’ offense may have taken a major leap forward with its overall scheme and infrastructure.

Last year, Seattle gambled on an offensive coordinator with no previous NFL experience and a scheme that was completely unproven outside the college ranks. It backfired in a big way.

Ryan Grubb’s pass-heavy system was far too one-dimensional and predictable, with virtually no run game to keep defenses honest. Opposing pass rushes took full advantage, teeing off on the Seahawks with a barrage of drive-killing sacks. As a result, Seattle faced an average third-down distance to gain of 7.9 yards, which was tied for worst in the NFL. That’s simply not conducive to success.

After last year’s debacle, the Seahawks turned over their offense to Klint Kubiak, who brings his version of the famed Shanahan scheme to the Pacific Northwest. The differences couldn’t be more stark.

For one, Kubiak actually has NFL experience, having spent more than a decade coaching in the league. And as the son of a Super Bowl-winning head coach, he practically grew up in the Shanahan offense – a tried-and-true system that’s worked in this league for decades.

As for the scheme itself, it’s known for using angles and leverage to produce efficient rushing attacks. It’s known for meshing the run game with play-action bootlegs and a healthy dose of under-center passing, which creates a cohesive system of plays that tie together and place defenders in conflict. And it’s known for being QB-friendly, with its ability to scheme open receivers and keep defenses on their heels.

In short, it’s known for providing many of the aspects that were sorely lacking from Grubb’s offense last year.

Just how successful will Kubiak’s system be in Seattle? It remains to be seen. But there’s little doubt that it’s an upgrade over what the Seahawks had last season. Even if there’s less talent at QB and receiver, Darnold & Co. should be operating with a much more solid, competent and sturdy framework this fall.

The O-line might actually be… decent?

For more than a decade, the Seahawks have been hamstrung by poor offensive line play. That was once again the case last year, as Seattle finished among the bottom eight teams in Pro Football Focus pass block grading for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

But for the first time in ages, there’s legitimate optimism that the Seahawks’ O-line could actually be decent this fall.

The Seahawks spent their first-round pick on left guard Grey Zabel, who has already drawn rave reviews and looks the part of a potential franchise cornerstone. He should be a definite upgrade over 2024 left guard Laken Tomlinson.

At right tackle, after two injury-marred seasons, Abraham Lucas looks as healthy as he’s been since his impressive 2022 rookie campaign. As long as he avoids another setback, he should be a definite upgrade over last year’s rotating cast of right tackles – and over the less-than-100% version of himself that returned to make seven starts over the back half of the season.

With upgrades at those two spots, Zabel and Lucas could team with standout left tackle Charles Cross to give Seattle a formidable trio of linemen who are above-average or better. That alone could be enough for this unit to take a significant step forward.

There’s also the coaching aspect. The Seahawks brought in veteran offensive line coach John Benton, who has more than two decades of experience molding and developing NFL O-lines. Benton also is an expert in the Shanahan scheme, which provides an extra layer of coaching continuity to the offense.

And as for the scheme, it has the potential to make a big impact up front. Instead of asking the O-line to hold up time and time again in obvious passing situations, this system should help slow down the pass rush and put linemen in much more favorable blocking situations.

The Seahawks’ long-struggling O-line certainly hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt. Skepticism is completely understandable. But at long last, there’s real reason to believe the tides are finally turning in the trenches.

The defense is shaping up to be elite

Most pundits recognize that Seattle’s defense could be pretty good this year. But aside from The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia – who forecasts the Seahawks to have the NFL’s top defense – not many seem to fully grasp just how high the ceiling is for this unit.

The most likely reason for that? Last year’s full-season stats don’t illustrate just how strong Macdonald’s group was down the stretch.

Over the entirety of the season, Seattle ranked 11th in scoring defense and 10th in defensive EPA. That’s good, but not great. But keep in mind, the Seahawks spent the first half of last year navigating some initial growing pains as they acclimated to Macdonald’s cutting-edge scheme. There also were several injuries to key players, along with some in-season personnel shuffling. It wasn’t until November that things finally clicked.

And at that point, Seattle’s defense took off. Over the final nine weeks of the season, the Seahawks ranked fifth in scoring defense, fifth in defensive EPA, fourth in total defense and tied for third in actual scoring defense (which excludes pick-sixes, kick-return touchdowns and other opponent scores that the defense wasn’t responsible for). In other words, Seattle’s defense was firmly a top-five unit over the back half of the season.

And now, the Seahawks can essentially pick up where they left off. They return each of their top 11 players in defensive snaps from last year’s second-half surge – a rare level of continuity in the ever-changing NFL. On top of that, they bolstered the defense with two key additions: four-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and ultra-athletic rookie safety Nick Emmanwori.

Furthermore, the Seahawks are now entering Year 2 in Macdonald’s scheme. Their understanding of the system is night-and-day different from this time last year. Instead of battling a steep learning curve, they can “just play fast,” as defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. Or as cornerback Devon Witherspoon put it: “We know the playbook now, so now we just add our own little flavor to it.”

Of course, it’s one thing to be a top-five defense over half a season. It’s another to sustain it over a full 17-game slate. But there’s plenty of reason to believe the Seahawks can match or even exceed that top-five status this fall.

The schedule is friendly

The final part of this is the schedule. And it’s quite favorable.

The Seahawks’ schedule is tied for the 11th-easiest in the league, based on their opponents’ combined .474 win percentage last season. That’s largely due to Seattle – and the rest of the NFC West – playing eight of its 17 games against the lowly AFC South and NFC South, which were the two worst divisions in the league last year.

Also, the Seahawks’ toughest games are spaced out. They face just seven teams that had winning records last season, and none of those seven games come in back-to-back weeks. As a result, it’s difficult to find any grueling stretches.

On top of that, the Seahawks face just two opponents that won more than 10 games last year – the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Commanders. And both of those teams are prime regression candidates, having gone a combined 17-5 in one-score contests last fall.

Of course, plenty can change from year to year in the NFL. And as Seattle showed in last year’s ugly home loss to the New York Giants, there are no gimmes in this league.

But when you add a friendly schedule to a potential top-five defense, an upgraded offensive scheme and an O-line that could actually be competent? That has the makings of a Seahawks team that can win 11 games this fall.

More Seattle Seahawks coverage

• Salk: Derick Hall could elevate Seattle Seahawks’ defense to next level
• Wyman & Bob: Two big questions for Seattle Seahawks heading into Week 1
• Stacy on Seahawks: Don’t overstate how much MVS can help 49ers in Week 1
• Brian Baldinger thinks Grey Zabel will be a Seahawk for a long time
• Will this be the breakout year for Seattle Seahawks’ Byron Murphy II?

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