ESPN gives Seattle Seahawks supporting cast a rave review

ESPN, which seems like it normally disses the Seattle Seahawks, ranked the supporting casts of NFL offenses for 2023 and Seattle is looking pretty good. The ranking was compiled by Bill Barnwell, whose writing I like a lot. Barnwell usually composes articles that are well thought out and well-supported, so I am really hoping he's correct about the supporting casts of teams this year.

By supporting cast I (and Barnwell, of course) mean the offensive weapons a quarterback (Geno Smith, of course) has to work with and this means the receivers, tight ends, and running backs. If you are a supporter of the Houston Texans (32nd) you are going to hate ESPN's list. But if you like the San Francisco 49ers (which clearly we do not), then you'll love the ranking because Barnwell has them with the best supporting cast in all of football.

But the Seahawks aren't far off and rank fourth overall. This is the case even though Barnwell thinks Kenneth Walker III might not actually be as good as some of his numbers implied in 2022. Barnwell site's Football Outsiders success rate percentage - Walker was next to last in qualifying running backs in 2022 - as a reason that Seattle drafted Zach Charbonnet in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Seattle Seahawks earn high ranking in ESPN's list of offensive supporting casts

But Barnwell loves the receiving trio of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and he calls the trio "fearsome." Metcalf could be far more explosive in 2023 if his percentage of catching passes while targeted in the end zone reverts back to 40 percent (his average in his first three seasons) compared to just 20 percent in 2023.

The biggest worry for the Seahawks would be for key injuries to happen early in the season. Smith-Njigba might be a great receiver sooner than later but almost all rookie receivers need a little time to acclimate to the speed of the NFL. Smith-Njigba needs to begin as a WR3 and stay that way for many games before being forced into WR2 or higher.

And the offense won't work if there is not great blocking upfront, of course. The offensive line might be the biggest question mark of the Seahawks' offense. Will tackles Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross be better in year two (they weren't awful as rookies but they still absolutely must improve)? Will Seattle start two rookies on the line (Olu Oluwatimi at center and Anthony Bradford at right guard)? And can the unit build cohesion quickly?

If the line is good, the 2023 version of the Seattle offense should score a lot of points. The Seahawks defense should be better this year too. If all works out, Seattle could make a deep run in the postseason.

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