It's always important for fans to keep in mind that offseason roster moves are an ongoing process. As of today, the Seattle Seahawks have lost more talent from the 2024 roster than they have acquired for 2025. But the wheeling and dealing isn’t over. John Schneider certainly has more cards to play.
I wish that instilled more confidence in me.
Schneider is banking heavily on the upcoming draft, where his trades have yielded a wealth of high-value picks. He needs to hit multiple home runs to get this roster back to a level where it can contend for the NFC West crown. Rapid turnarounds are possible. It’s just that the performance of the Hawks’ GM in the 2024 draft was borderline disastrous. A similar result this year will put Seattle in a deep hole.
That said, the draft is not the only tool at Schneider’s disposal. He and head coach Mike Macdonald have made several moves in advance of the draft that may bear fruit. In a very real sense, the moves both men have made thus far, and the selections they will make in the draft, will reveal how quickly they learn from mistakes.
These four new additions will have the biggest impacts on the Seattle Seahawks next season
Though he has been at the job for a long time, the 2024 offseason was Schneider’s first without coach Pete Carroll by his side. Left to his own devices, Schneider made a series of poor decisions in terms of player acquisition. No need to rehash that. Fans know it all too well. What none of us know is how quickly he can bounce back and demonstrate better decision-making.
Macdonald did some things well during his first year as a head coach. The way he rallied the troops after their early season collapse is cause for hope. But he also made his share of mistakes, especially in terms of assembling a coaching staff.
2025 will shine a light on whether this is a team headed in the right direction with leadership that is evolving and building or whether this franchise is falling further and further behind and needs a new direction.
The following four new members of the Seahawks’ organization will have a major say in the answer to that question.
4. Cooper Kupp, wide receiver
DK Metcalf arrived in 2019 to take over one of Seattle’s receiver spots from Doug Baldwin. For the next five seasons, Metcalf and Tyler Lockett provided Seattle with one of the best receiving duos in the league. Both are now gone. They leave a substantial hole.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a budding superstar but Schneider recognizes that he cannot be the only pass-catching threat on the offense. So, the GM inked a couple of veterans to replace the departed stars. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been a one-dimensional deep threat throughout his career, but Cooper Kupp, at this peak, was among the best receivers in the league. Four years ago, he barely missed out on establishing a new league record for receiving yards in a season.
Kupp is no longer at his peak, but the former Ram is still a very smart receiver who knows how to get open and is a good runner in the open field. He will almost certainly become a reliable target for QB Sam Darnold from Day One. More importantly, he will allow JSN to flourish.
In 2024, the only knock on the former Ohio State standout was a lack of big plays. He became so essential to the Hawks’ ball control strategy that his route tree was often limited to shorter passes. Kupp can take over part of that burden, allowing JSN more freedom to run wild all over the field.
At the end of the season, do not look at Kupp’s total catches, yards, or touchdowns. Look at these two numbers: Kupp's first-down receptions and JSN’s yards-per-catch. That’s where Cooper Kupp will make his biggest impact.
3. John Benton, offensive line coach
In his first season, Mike Macdonald brought in a lot of young coaches with little professional experience. One of them was Scott Huff. Huff was a spectacularly good college coach who had tremendous success coaching lines at the University of Washington for seven seasons, and serving in various capacities at Boise State prior to that.
But the Seahawks offensive line was a disaster in 2024. How much of that was Huff’s fault is debatable. The right tackle and swing tackle were both down with injuries for much of the year and few teams can survive the loss of two tackles. Connor Williams' sudden retirement was a major blow. And Seattle simply did not have enough talent at guard.
Unfortunately, there’s just nothing to point at in Huff’s brief tenure that indicated he could overcome those problems. Now, it becomes John Benton’s turn. Unlike Huff, Benton brings enormous professional experience to the position. He has had a lot of success during his 19 years coaching in the NFL. Most of the years have been spent as an offensive line coach.
He will be tasked with fixing the Seahawks’ biggest roster issue. Thus far, Seattle has lost a starter from last year’s subpar line and has signed just one low-end replacement. Schneider may make another move or two in the summer, and he will almost certainly draft a couple of O-line prospects next month. Benton will have a lot of young players to develop. His success or failure in doing so will be crucial to the Hawks’ fortunes in 2025 and beyond.
2. Sam Darnold, quarterback
Any time a team brings in a new projected starter at the most important position on the field, it is a big deal. The fact that I am not ranking Sam Darnold as the Seahawks’ most important offseason acquisition may betray my own skepticism about whether he is up to the task. I hope I am wrong about this.
Darnold was very good for most of 2024 and his talent has always been obvious. But it is impossible to escape the fact that Sam Darnold has never flourished without superior talent around him. In fact, he had actually been a bad professional quarterback prior to teaming up with Kevin O’Connell, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones.
It is possible that playing under O’Connell flipped a switch in Darnold that he will carry forward into 2025. It is also possible that that seven-year vet, who has always taken a lot of sacks, will be overwhelmed by Seattle’s inferior protection scheme. Schneider has yet to bring in any other QB who might step in should Darnold falter, and returning backup Sam Howell’s uninspired performance in 2024 does not create confidence.
Even if Schneider selects a developmental QB in the draft – which he absolutely should do – 2025 is all up to Sam Darnold. It is his time to prove whether he is a legit Pro Bowl-caliber leader or if last year was a fluke.
1. Klint Kubiak, offensive coordinator
Sam Darnold may or may not be the answer at quarterback. Klint Kubiak had better be the right hire as offensive coordinator. Ryan Grubb, another coach brought in by Macdonald last year despite having zero professional experience, proved incapable of designing a coherent, effective offense. In 2024, Seattle’s success was often dependent on hero plays from QB Geno Smith.
Smith is now gone. Sam Darnold is not going to perform off-script miracles. Seattle will need a smart offensive attack that relies on the run and takes advantage of its two quality receivers.
Kubiak has all the pedigree you could want. Apart from his family connections, (he is the son of former pro QB and Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary), Klint has put in his time with several organizations. He has coached quarterbacks, which has become recognized as the logical stepping stone to offensive coordinator. He has served as both a passing game coordinator and an offensive coordinator.
Last year, despite losing virtually all of his best offensive talent to injury, Kubiak kept New Orleans somewhat competitive. Three of his biggest offensive weapons – Chris Olave, Taysom Hill, and Rashid Shaheed – missed a combined 29 games in 2024. Yet as long as starter Derek Hill was in at quarterback, the Saints still managed to be a middle-of-the-road offense. When Carr was out, Kubiak had no remaining answers.
He will not have elite talent in Seattle, though he will have some weapons. Kubiak will need to establish a running attack and figure out how to get the most out of his new quarterback. Seattle will struggle if Darnold plays poorly, but they can regroup from that. However, a second straight directionless year of offense will call into doubt whether Mike Macdonald has what it takes to lead an NFL franchise.
So you can flip Kubiak and Darnold at the top of the list if you want. GM John Schneider’s future may hinge on the QB’s success. Head coach Mike Macdonald’s future could be riding on how well his new coordinator performs.