Seahawks 2019 offense vs Seahawks 2018 offense: quarterback

The Seahawks made several changes on their roster this year. How does the 2019 version stack up against the 2018 team at quarterback?

The Seahawks made several changes to the roster between the last snap of the 2018 season and the most recent move of 2019. That latest move would be the return of veteran wide receiver Jaron Brown. No doubt we’ll see more moves – perhaps the return of another roster cut, this time DeShawn Shead? For now, Seattle has made enough changes to warrant a closer look at the two versions of the Hawks. Where have they improved? And where have they fallen off? Hopefully nowhere, but we’ll see.

Before we get to the quarterbacks, let’s review the bigger names that have moved on from the Seahawks. Hands down the biggest name has to be Doug Baldwin. There’s no doubt he was one of the best receivers ever in Seattle. There are multiple candidates to take his place on the roster, but won’t be easy to replace Angry Doug. He was one-of-kind.

A couple of the more solid players for the Hawks last year were running back Mike Davis and guard J.R. Sweezy. Davis was the back not named Chris Carson who had no off-switch. He might not have been a starter, but he was a key factor for the  Hawks. Sweezy helped stabilize an offensive line that was something of a train wreck in 2017. We’ll discuss both players a bit more in-depth in their particular groups in later pieces.

Seahawks quarterbacks have a tough act to follow

You may have heard the Hawks have a fairly decent player at quarterback this year. He wasn’t picked off this preseason, tossed a couple of touchdowns, and generally showed poise and solid command of his offense. You know I’m talking about backup Geno Smith, right?

Smith may not be the best quarterback in the league, but he’s better than Seattle’s backup last season. I’ll admit, it’s a bit hard to evaluate Brett Hundley on his performance in Seattle. That’s because he didn’t get a single snap with the Seahawks. Regardless, he was pretty bad in his nine starts for the Packers when Aaron Rodgers went down in 2017. Smith isn’t great, but he’s a major upgrade. Let’s just hope he never has to prove it.

As for Russell Wilson, it’s hard to imagine he’ll improve on last season. The man with the NFL’s second-highest passer rating ever had his best season in 2018. That being said, he was sacked more than ever in his career. He also ran for the fewest yards in his career and failed to carry the ball into the endzone for the first time in his career. I don’t expect him to eclipse his 110.9 passer rating, but I don’t see him falling back from the incredibly high standards he’s set in his career, either.

I’m going to give a slight edge to this year’s QB for two reasons. First, I’m more comfortable with Geno Smith as the backup than I was with Hundley. Second, while it will be incredibly difficult for Wilson to match his career-best passer rating of 2018, I think he’ll make even fewer mistakes. He’s looked exceptional on the play-action this preseason, and I expect that to continue.