Say what you want about Sam Darnold’s decision-making or inability to avoid sacks, but the man’s arm has never been in doubt. He can make every throw in the book. That includes deep seams over the middle, a throw that vanished from the Seattle Seahawks’ offense in the latter stages of Russell Wilson’s tenure as starter and never really returned.
Reports that Darnold, along with Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe, are working on these seam routes in practice should make the 12s very happy. It is one more sign that Seattle’s offense, which has been both boring and predictable for much of the last three seasons, is under new leadership, with a more creative vision of how to attack.
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has said he wants to emphasize the running game more than the club did in 2024. That in and of itself is a good thing. Being able to run the ball has a way of wearing down an opposing defense, both physically and mentally.
And the bonus? As soon as that defense begins to cheat safeties into the box, those downfield seams open wide. The offense just has to have the personnel to take advantage.
The Seattle Seahawks passing game has lacked diversity for several years
It began when Wilson was nearing the end of his time in Seattle.
The little QB with the big arm used to sling the ball all over. He could throw outs on a line. He could scramble around and buy time for a big play to break downfield – and then he could deliver the ball. But he never seemed to really enjoy the deep middle. Over time, that aversion grew worse.
Most analysts attributed this reluctance to his size. When you throw in the middle of the field, you bring a lot more defenders into play. For a QB who lacks height, that can be an issue. There are more hands waving in front of you in the pocket. There are more underneath defenders creeping into zones.
If you lack a clear vision, throwing into that maelstrom can be scary. Shorter quarterbacks will never have perfect vision.
In his final season in Seattle, Wilson ranked near last amongst all starters in terms of throws to the deep middle portion of the field. He was locked onto the sidelines, where he really only had to see one or two defenders to know if he had a clear lane or not.
Avoiding any part of the field limits what an offense can do. Eliminating the deep middle makes it far easier for defenses to focus on stopping the run.
But look for Darnold, a statuesque QB with a big arm, to work the deep middle far more often. In rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo, he has an ideal target. Arroyo has the easy, long stride to run right past defenders who spend a split second too long looking into the backfield.
He gets on top of coverage quickly, and once he gets separation, he is hard to catch. Just ask defensive backs at Georgia Tech and Syracuse. Both were burned by Arroyo for huge plays on seam routes.
For the season, Arroyo averaged almost 17 yards per catch and scored seven touchdowns last season. More than one-third of his 35 catches went for gains of greater than 20 yards. They weren’t all seams. Arroyo showed the ability to take a short sideline throw and make a defender or two miss. But the seam is where he is most dangerous.
And A.J. Barner, who won’t be called upon to go deep very often, is also ideally suited for this role. Barner does not have the burst that elite pass-catching tight ends possess. But when he hits his stride, he is moving fast. That can be very challenging for a safety who may underestimate how fast a big man can run.
Arroyo will be hard to cover because of his natural athleticism. Barner, because defenses will be focused on other things. Either way, throwing to tight ends deep down the seam could be a vital missing ingredient for the offense.
On the outside, Seattle has savvy route runners who can stress the entire field. They also have a couple of quality deep threats who can keep the safeties at home. Hitting the tight ends on seam routes, or perhaps a back on a deep circle, fits ideally into an open window.
They have the receivers to run the routes, the quarterback to get them the ball, and coaches willing to take the shots. If the line does its job, Seattle should be a much more exciting offense to watch in 2025.