The Seattle Seahawks are nine games into the season and are currently a somewhat disappointing 5-4. Defending a Super Bowl title is not easy, and Seattle is struggling to make the playoffs.
Part of that is because some position groups have underperformed. After losing former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Las Vegas Raiders (he became Vegas's head coach), new OC Brian Fleury has had some first-year learning difficulties.
If the offense can play better in the second half of the season, the Seahawks should be fine. If not, Seattle could be watching the playoffs this season instead of participating. Coaching isn't a category in what follows, but if it were, it might rank lower on the list.
Ranking all 11 of the Seattle Seahawks' positional groups in the first half of the season from worst to best
11. Wide receivers not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba
JSN is a unicorn, and he might be that way on every team. The issue is that he gets literally no help from anyone else. He has 49 more catches than any other wideout on the roster (he has 71 and Cooper Kupp has 22), and has nearly 800 more receiving yards than any other receiver (1,036 to Kupp's 238).
If Seattle is going to make the playoffs, it is because some other receiver has stepped up to help the best receiver in the NFL. If that doesn't happen, the Seahawks could miss the postseason.
10. Running back
Partly, this group has been hampered by not having Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price for most of the season. In Week 9, the rushing attack looked much better with those two players involved. If that continues, Seattle's offense overall will look a lot better the rest of the season.
9. Quarterback
Drew Lock has been fine when getting all or most of the snaps in three games, but Sam Darnold, against far tougher competition, hasn't been good. He's thrown 10 touchdown passes but nine interceptions. His quarterback rating of 79.5 is his lowest since 2021.
8. Offensive line
The line was so underwhelming that general manager John Schneider felt the need to trade for left guard Quenton Nelson, but in Nelson's first game, through no fault of his own, the line was awful. Now, he is in the midst of missing at least a couple of games with a knee injury. Once he returns, Grey Zabel has to be far better at right guard than he was in Week 9.
7. Tight end
Elijah Arroyo injured his shoulder early in the season, but wasn't producing before that. AJ Barner has been underused until recently, when he has had more of an impact on short-yardage runs. The group was supposed to stand out positively in Brian Fleury's offense, but has mostly been a dud.
6. Specialists
Rashid Shaheed, even before he was injured in Week 7 and missed a couple of games, was ineffective as a punt and kick returner. He was a star doing so in 2025. Meanwhile, punter Michael Dickson is 14th in net yards per punt (42.8) in the league and 28th in yards per punt (45.0).
5. Inside linebacker
The offense has been so inconsistent and poor at times that all of the defensive positions rank higher here. Drake Thomas has been great as a run-stopper, but not good in coverage, with a quarterback rating allowed of 100.3. Ernest Jones IV has been less effective in run defense than at any other point in his career.
4. Safety
This group has played efficiently, even while missing presumed starters early in the season. With Julian Love and Ty Okada back, the quality has improved. Love's quarterback rating allowed is an astonishingly low 49.4. Okada has been excellent against the run.
3. Edge rusher
The edge rush spot isn't as good as last season, but that is mostly due to Boye Mafe leaving in free agency and free agent acquisition Dante Fowler Jr. being poor, except in Week 9. DeMarcus Lawrence has been excellent in the final season of his career, and Uchenna Nwosu's presence has been greatly missed in the games he has sat out due to injury.
2. Cornerback
Josh Jobe wasn't good early in the season, allowing three touchdown passes in the first five games, but has been solid since. Nehemiah Pritchett has been one of the happy surprises of the season, though, both in terms of coverage and playing the run with physicality. Devon Witherspoon has been his normal elite self, and the team cannot afford for him to get hurt.
1. Defensive line
Rylie Mills hasn't taken the second-year leap that many hoped he would, but the starting group is elite. Leonard Williams disrupts an offense in any way possible, and Byron Murphy is nearly unblockable at times in the pass rush. Jarran Reed is in his early 30s, but still effective and versatile.
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