Trying to figure out where players stand in any team’s pecking order this time of year is akin to attempting to decipher the Davinci Code. Coaches are as vague as can be about where certain players stand, teams try to clamp down on media and fans photographing and tweeting about what they’re seeing, and even the preseason games themselves can tell us very little.

While there can be clues among these releases, it’s primarily an exercise in league obligation that few teams put much effort into.

This is evident by taking a glance at what the Seattle Seahawks released today as their “unofficial” team depth chart.

Let’s take a look and you’ll see what I mean. First, the offense….

At first glance there’s one thing that immediately stands out, and it’s a major bummer.

Second-year fullback Robbie Ouzts is listed as the starter, but the team announced today they’re placing him on the injured reserve list, meaning he’ll miss the entire regular season. We don’t know precisely why yet - head coach Mike Macdonald sounded vague but also ominous in his most recent updates on Ouzts - but we can make an educated guess. Ouzts missed the stretch run and playoffs last year with a neck injury.

And if reading those words just made you cringe, I get it. The Seahawks have a regrettable history when it comes to matters of the neck, with integral players such as Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, Chris Carson and Mack Strong forced to retire early due to neck injuries (although Strong was likely at the end of his career anyway.) Perhaps it’s not his neck and he’s got a chance to return fully healthy in 2027 - but at this point I’m personally not going to bank on that.

This creates a bit of a quandary for Seattle, as the scheme new OC Brian Fleury intends to operate involves using a fullback. Brady Russell is the next man up but he’s not reallllllly a fullback now is he? However, new signee Brock Lampe definitely looks the part. He logged 47 games at the position at Northern Illinois (where he played for current Seahawks running back coach Thomas Hammock), is built for the position at 6’ 1” and 249 lbs, and shows intriguing skills both in movement and as a blocker on his college tape. From what I saw in practice last week at training camp, he’s got a shot to unseat Russell as the primary FB, and should get plenty of reps in the preseason games to try and prove that.

Defensively, the one immediate anomaly is also injury-related - as we all know Nick Emmanwori is set to start and play a huge role as soon as he gets back on the field. And that could absolutely be in time to face the Patriots in week one, because the team also announced today that the second-year defensive back, who had ankle surgery a few weeks ago, has now passed his physical. That means he can be removed from the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP) and return to practice.

Outside of that, there isn’t anything else on either of these depth charts to raise an undue eyebrow, at least not when you recognize the one overriding trend that’s impossible to miss: this is less about who’s going to make the team or play more in games, and much more about who the veterans are.

Look closely. It’s essentially a flow chart recognizing clear starters while following them up with vets, in many cases following years of service pretty strictly.

A couple examples:

• Eric Saubert ahead of Elijah Arroyo (who’s having a healthy and dynamic training camp) at tight end.

• Bobby Hart listed as the second-team right tackle. From what I saw at practice, he’s unlikely to make the team. Amari Kight and Logan Brown have been waging a much more intriguing and potentially impactful battle for the second backup tackle spot alongside Josh Jones.

Honestly, the only rookie who’s penciled in high on this depth chart is first-round running back Jadarian Price, who’s listed as the second-stringer behind George Holani.

So while we all want this first depth chart to provide better clarity on how the team feels about every player, it simply isn’t structured that way at the moment - and for understandable reasons. This time of year is all about subterfuge, and transparency is rare.

Let’s see how things look in this preseason opener Saturday against the Cowboys at Lumen Field, that may very well give us more complete evidence as to how the team sees this roster shaking out.

I’ll produce my second annual 53-man roster projection after the Dallas game, so stay tuned for that.

Forever and always… Go Hawks!

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With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to empty out the notebook I carried with me throughout my week at Seahawks training camp last week in Renton, WA.

To recap: I was granted credentialed access on Tuesday by the team, but chose to join my Seahawks Syndicate Roundtable colleagues Bryce Coutts and Mookie Alexander on the berm on Wednesday and Friday. Then on Saturday I had a prime seat on the 50 yard line for the open Football Fest padded practice, which was administered much more like a scrimmage than the first two similar events under head coach Mike Macdonald.

What’s to follow are all of my notes from those four sessions, word for word - but with additional context added in parenthesis if needed for clarity. I’ll finish by summarizing my overriding impressions from the entire week.

Enjoy!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH. PADDED PRACTICE (CREDENTIALED ACCESS)

PAGE 1

Lots of work to RB’s - Delayed screens

Milroe significant improvment

KUPP DROP! rare

Fun FB motion

Sam to JSN bomb TD in 1-on-1 vs. Pritchett

Defense leads early

PAGE 2

* Milroe calm in pocket. Not anxious to run. Not forcing it.

Neal still out

RZ

Sam 2-for-2 TD

TD Sam → Kupp

Ricky White jet sweep TD

TD Lock scramble x2

MM “lock-in!!”

Milroe TD designed run

Milroe “Nice throw” roll

Milroe left Rochelle inc

PAGE 3

Ricky White! Back to back wins vs. Fuller from Drew

RZ - TD Sam to Kupp

Henderson 2 drops

Milroe to Charles - flag route chunk

PAGE 4

VELUS JONES! - Decisive & QUICK

CALL OUT PERIOD

Milroe deep Arroyo over Bud

Milroe perfect throw dropped (??)

Milroe long to Henderson

Mills vs. Richman - punch!

PAGE 5

Fleury and Aden.

“Don’t mess up the same stuff more than once”

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5TH - PUBLIC PRACTICE FROM THE BERM

PAGE 6

Tyrice getting run w/ 1’s

Logan Brown vs. Kight? (Is there a legit battle there form OT3?)

Sam in command - deep JSN & Shaheed

Not as much Price today

Mills worked Brown @ LT

Sam to JSN deep sideline 17 & 39 (Igbinoghene and Okada) Dime

PAGE 7

Sam to 22 perfect out between 20/29 (Love & Jobe).

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7TH - PUBLIC PRACTICE FROM THE BERM

PAGE 8 - NO PADS

Igbinoghene vs. #15 PBU in 1 vs. 1

Crowd noise!!

11 v 11

E. Wilson 1st carry

Knight some EDGE

Holani RZ

Sam to Kupp TD

PAGE 9

1’s v 1’s

Long TD Sam → 88 (Barner) Wheel route 65 yards

Sam deep in-breaker to JSN

ORBIT MOTION

PAGE 10

2-back Wilson & Holani!

WILSON LOOKING GOOD! [circled]

3RD DOWNS

*Holani

Drake INT

PAGE 11

KUPP best of 21 (Cooper beat Spoon on 2 highly-contested 1-on-1’s)

Pritchett INT double cover w/ Okada to C. White on a go route

Sam long to JSN deep in-breaker

Absolute dime skinny post to Kupp (these 2 plays were back-to-back right after Sam’s second INT, his best two throws of the day. Great bounce-back)

Milroe to R. White perfect post

PAGE 12

GAINES FLASHING

Saw several Shaheed reverses

Sam perfect TD to JSN vs. Fuller

TD to C. White

Shovel pass to Arroyo (3 straight red zone TD’s from Sam)

PAGE 13

2’s vs. 1’s RZ [circled]

Lock to Foster TD

D. Hall banged up? (he hobbled off on the second-to-last last play of practice but seemed fine moments later)

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8TH. FOOTBALL FEST AT LUMEN FIELD (PADDED)

Simulated OT

Holani with the 1’s

1 O vs. 2 D

Holani great inside run

Darnold bad pick by AJ Finley — overthrew deep out to JSN doubled.

2 O vs. 1 D

Stephens RG2: Jones, Haynes, Olu, Beau, Hart

E Wilson outside zone - DECISIVE

Byron Murphy stonewalled inside run

FG

O1 vs. D1 and 2 mix

Good pressure Hall and Mills

Mills TFL Wilson

D Hall TFL Velus Jones outside run

O’Toole some 1st team reps mix

Done first team O. 2 drives. Nothing.

Lock to Horton nice deep out after avoiding pressure

Velus Jones nice inside run

Wilson really good north south

2v1’s

Milroe perfect to Harden sideline route over Knight

Ivey quick win vs. Cabeldue

White vs. Pritchett - Pritchett dominant rep.

TEAM PASS

1v1

Sam out route to JSN — PBU Jobe.

Pili big time batted ball out of Sam’s hand

Rodney Thomas picks Drew Lock over the middle.

Seumalo and Singleton flashing.

Long TD from Milroe to Montorie Foster. Back shoulder after some pressure. Deep left sideline. Foster did the rest.

Milroe in rhythm and on time. Accurate.

RED ZONE

Sam TD Arroyo flag route

Good Pritchett run support rep

Finley good interior run stop

Maxen Hook big hit to prevent Kallerup from scoring on a pass from Milroe

Sam fumbled snap from Sundell

Velus Jones TD pitch.

1 D overall stingy in red zone

Murphy/Pili sack Sam

Murphy again sack. Chenna help outside.

Dansby PBU vs White/Lock at pylon

Bud Clark sack blitz Lock

Chazz Surratt making multiple plays in backfield

Stephens PANCAKES Hubbard on pull

Montorie Foster flashing. Keeps making plays.

Holani amazing pass pro coming back to take out Hubbard on the backside.

MY OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF THE ENTIRE WEEK

The biggest thing that stood out to me all week was how hard this Seahawks defense makes everything on the offense. Byron Murphy II was consistently disruptive inside, Rylie Mills kept flashing, and guys like Derick Hall, Tyrice Knight and Bud Clark were regularly creating pressure or getting into the backfield. Rookie seventh-rounder Michael Dansby was another guy who consistently caught my eye at CB, showing up around the football and making plays in coverage. But I also think there’s some important context when evaluating the offense. This operation looks further along than it did at this point last year. They’ve played clean football with virtually no penalties, and I’ve seen explosive plays at a much higher rate. Sam Darnold looks more in control and in command of the offense, and for the most part he’s been extremely accurate, decisive and quick getting the football out. The defense has kept them from sustaining drives at times, but it’s really difficult to draw conclusions about the offense when the running game can’t be played at full contact. And I liked a lot of what I saw from the backs: Jadarian Price looked dynamic, particularly catching the football, while Emanuel Wilson consistently showed that decisive, one-cut-and-go running style that looks like an ideal fit as a complementary back in this wide-zone scheme. Meanwhile, George Holani is what we expected him to be - the leader in the clubhouse as the primary back on 3rd downs due to his elite pass protection skills.

Maybe my biggest individual takeaway, though, was the noticeable progression of Jalen Milroe. Early in the week I wrote down that he looked calmer in the pocket, wasn’t anxious to run and wasn’t forcing things. By Saturday, I was writing “in rhythm, on time, accurate.” His back-shoulder deep ball to Montorie Foster at Football Fest was one of his best throws of the week, and Foster himself just kept making plays. Velus Jones, Ricky White and Tory Horton had their moments as well. Overall, I came away thinking this defense looks deep, fast and disruptive, but I’m also more encouraged by the offense than the simple results of these practices might suggest. The operation is cleaner, the explosive plays are showing up, and Darnold looks comfortable running it. There are still things that need to get ironed out, but after watching this team up close for an entire week, I think both sides of the ball gave me plenty of reasons to feel good about where this team is at this stage of camp.

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I know, I know…. it’s early. WAY early. The idea of trying to predict who will ultimately make the Seattle Seahawks final 53-man roster in August is an insane undertaking, especially when you consider the rookies and veterans have hardly even practiced together.

And yet, I do it every year.

This will be the first of three final roster projections I offer up over the next few months. The next one will be the first week of training camp, with the final offering coming in the days leading up to the actual cuts.

These discussions always inspire debate, some of it heated, so let me lay out up front what I look for in this first projection:

1. Positional versatility. The more positions a player can handle, the greater their roster value. This especially rings true in the offensive line group (and, spoiler alert: it may directly impact one of my predictions). If a certain player can only play one position, for example, and that player fails to win a starting job - that player may be in jeopardy of being cut or traded. Those backup roster spots are gold; there simply aren’t enough to go around in many cases.

2. Likelihood of getting through to the practice squad. Jared Ivey and Connor O’Toole didn’t make the final roster as undrafted free agents in 2025 because the Seahawks had visions of either of them playing a big role for the team - in fact neither of them did - but they valued their future upside enough, and were concerned enough that they’d be claimed during the waiver process, that they wanted to “stash” and protect them on the 53-man. This doesn’t always pay off in the long run. The team did the same in 2024 with a number of their young offensive linemen. Christian Haynes is still around from that group, albeit with his future hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, Michael Jarrell was traded to Atlanta last year and Sataoa Laumea was released last summer and has only been seen on practice squads in Pittsburgh and New Orleans since then. It’s not always the best players who make the final roster, but the ones each team feels the strongest need to protect from waivers.

3. Special teams value. When deciding how many players to carry at any one position, the final numbers often depend directly on who the most valuable special teams aces are. This leads to annual fluctuations in how we see them divvy up spots at the bottom of the roster among positions such as WR, LB or in the secondary.

And so, with that in mind - here’s my Seahawks 53-Man Roster Prediction 1.

Read more

What are we doing here folks?

Now that the dust has settled on the 2026 NFL draft, we’re getting all the usual post-draft takes. Team grades, rankings of the best and worst picks, and the typical justification that teams are often forced to provide when they make a selection (or several) that appear to go against the consensus pre-draft expectation.

But the hate being directed toward former NFL general manager Scot McCloughan this week seems to exceed annual draft de-briefing - and it serves as a cautionary tale for anyone who dares to think differently than all the pseudo “scouts” who clog up the Twittersphere these days. (Yes, I still call it Twitter and always will - sue me.)

In an article written by Matt Barrows of The Athletic, published three days after the conclusion of the draft, McCloughan was asked to compare former Notre Dame running backs, and running mates, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price (Love was selected third overall by the Arizona Cardinals, with Price going off the board with the final pick of the first round to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.)

The backlash online was swift, and furious.

Among the examples:

I spent a good amount of time trying to reply to these comments, pointing out that McCloughan was instrumental in helping Seattle GM John Schneider construct the Seahawks back-to-back Super Bowl teams from 2010 - 2014. That he was good enough to be hired not once, but twice as a general manager; in San Francisco from 2008 - 09 and Washington from 2015 - 16.

It didn’t matter.

In fact, @LegacyFitz11 even tried to double down, responding with “He was incompetent in SF and WASH as shown by these drafts I showed. Yes, he was bad at his job. Thats why he is no longer a GM.”

Except here’s the thing… “Fitz” is objectively wrong, as were most the other dozens of commenters who essentially tried to sell the same story.

It doesn’t take a whole lot of brain power to make the case that McCloughan was the best general manager of the dysfunctional and disastrous 24-year run ownership tenure of Daniel Snyder in Washington. Prior to his hiring, the then-Redskins won a total of seven games over the 2013 - 14 seasons. Under McCloughan’s direction, the team went 17-14-1 over his two seasons, including an NFC East title and playoff berth in 2015. He drafted such long-term NFL players as Brandon Scherff, Preston Smith, Jamison Crowder, and Austin Reiter - among others.

And anyone trying to make value judgements about McCloughan’s ability as a talent evaluator simply cannot do so without accounting for Snyder’s infamous draft meddling. In one well-documented case, McCloughan had Maryland WR Stefon Diggs as his highest-graded player when Washington was on the clock with the 105th pick, only to be told at the last minute by Snyder that under no circumstances was he going to be allowed to draft Diggs. McCloughan had to pivot to Crowder instead. Incidentally, Diggs was still available when their next pick came up in the 5th round too, but the Snyder’s mandate held and McCloughan had to settle for Arkansas linebacker Martrell Spaight, who would go on to start a whopping seven games for three teams over his six-year NFL career.

(The other disturbing aspect of the online blowback to McCloughan’s Love/Price comparison was the sheer volume of commenters making fun of his well-documented issues with alcohol addiction, which contributed directly to him losing both of his GM posts - but I don’t want to give any of that bullshit any more fuel than it’s already gotten. Shitting on the faults of other human beings is a fact of life these days online, but not one I want to stoke the flames of for the purposes of this commentary.)

But now that I’ve established the foundation of the story, here’s what I came here to say: the NFL draft is a passion of mine, in fact the entire process of scouting and team-building brings me as much joy - if not more - than what happens on the field. Anyone who’s ever watched or listened to my show can attest to that. It’s fascinating and fun, but I also take it very seriously. Who in their right mind wants every single opinion, about every single draft prospect, to be the same?! Is groupthink what we really want to achieve here? If that were the case, should we just go back to the days of one central scouting service providing prospect evaluations to all the NFL teams? It’s ludicrous.

GM’s make mistakes. Hell, it’s not that different from baseball where even the best in the game fail more than they succeed. As just one example, Schneider went from revered early in his career, to laughing stock for his drafts from 2014 - 20, back to genius. The reigning NFL Executive of the Year just became the first GM to ever win Super Bowls with completely different rosters under two different head coaches, but the time in between was often rough. Thankfully, he worked for a competent ownership group who recognized his value and showed a staunch willingness to stick with him through the ups and downs.

Also, are we now just going to pretend that the draft is an exact science? Do I really need to provide a list of all the “sure thing” top-10 picks that have busted over the past several decades? How about all the late-round picks and undrafted free agents who have put together long, prolific careers?

No? I didn’t think so.

McCloughan had a rocky run in the NFL, most of it due to off-field issues unrelated to his evaluation work. But why does he have to take so much abuse for having the balls to go against the consensus? Where is this online vitriol coming from? I don’t understand it, and as someone with a deep love for the process I couldn’t just watch it all happen - I had to say something about it.

One final note: McCloughan is still evaluating college prospects, running his own independent scouting service that several NFL teams still use.

Not bad for an “incompetent” former GM eh?

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“Smart, tough and reliable.”

It’s one of Seahawks general manager John Schneider’s favorite mantras when it comes to personnel acquisition and team-building, emphasizing not just the player, but the person.

And boy, has that approach paid off.

When Schneider addressed the media for the first time after Pete Carroll’s firing, he said team owner Jody Allen’s mandate was clear: keep moving forward with an emphasis on positive team culture. Since then, Schneider has spoken openly about some of his draft misses from the past, admitting that in some cases, the mistake wasn’t the football talent. It was the makeup of the individual.

While every NFL offseason is usually filled with stories of player missteps and off-field issues around the league, it’s mostly crickets in the Pacific Northwest. And when it comes to locker room chemistry, it’s easy to see why Schneider’s teams play so hard, and so hard for one another. That doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of the extensive work Schneider and his staff put into uncovering a player’s DNA and figuring out what makes him tick.

With the NFL Draft now just days away, it’s an important reminder. Mock drafts, big boards, and prospect rankings from the major outlets often don’t weigh makeup the way the Seahawks do. That means many outside projections are bound to miss the mark because they miss the point. If you’re a bad fit culturally, or even carry a reputation for inconsistent practice habits or a sour attitude, you probably won’t be on Seattle’s board.

With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of prospects I believe meet all Seattle’s character criteria, while also providing the kind of upside traits they look for. I haven’t included position groups that don’t seem to make sense as needs in this particular draft, especially in light of the fact they enter this draft with only four picks.

Big shoutout to Dane Brugler and all the work he does to build “The Beast” draft guide for The Athletic, as I relied heavily on that publication for these character notes. I also pulled a couple coach/scout comments from Bob McGinn’s annual series featuring anonymous scouting quotes as well.

Running Backs

Jadarian Price — Notre Dame, 5-10 1/2, 203
Despite Brian Kelly leaving for LSU shortly before signing day, Price stayed loyal to Notre Dame and became one of the foundational recruits in Marcus Freeman’s first class. Humble and quiet by nature, but serious about the work. One scout put it this way: “Type of guy you’re OK with your daughter dating.”

Mike Washington Jr. — Arkansas, 6-1, 223
Comes from a service-minded family background. Graduated from Buffalo with a degree in public health and has been working on a master’s degree at Arkansas. Quiet, reliable character with a “man on a mission” mindset. A scout said the staff felt he “put his head down and worked from the moment he arrived,” fit in quickly, and “left an imprint on the program.”

Jonah Coleman — Washington, 5-8, 220
Three-time dean’s list honoree who graduated with a 3.91 GPA in education. Earned Academic First Team All-America honors and was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. A senior captain described by coaches as “charismatic” and “genuine,” with one scout noting that coaches “go out of their way to talk him up.”

Nicholas Singleton — Penn State, 6-0, 224
High-character worker and quiet leader. One scout described him as introverted but added that the staff viewed him as one of the best workers in the building.

J’Mari Taylor — Virginia, 5-10, 199
Former walk-on who has earned everything and responds well to challenges. The kind of background that usually translates well to NFL coaching.

Le’Veon Moss — Texas A&M, 5-11, 203
Described by scouts as a hard-nosed competitor and a respected leader in the locker room. The reputation here is toughness, edge, and team respect.

Eli Heidenreich — Navy, 6-0, 206
Outstanding practice habits and a player who likes to be coached hard. That usually gets attention in Seattle-type team-building conversations.

Max Bredeson — Michigan, 6-2, 250
Innately motivated and intensely invested in Michigan football. One scout said, “When he says he leaves everything out there, it’s no cliché.” Former teammate Rayshaun Benny even said he watches Bredeson highlights to get fired up.

Adam Randall — Clemson, 6-3 3/8, 232
Vocal leader and senior captain who handled an uneven career arc with maturity. Randall’s own quote about adversity building toughness and grit speaks well to his makeup.

Offensive Line

Chase Bisontis — Texas A&M, 6-5 1/4, 315
Blue-collar mindset and a weight-room grinder. Longtime strength coach Tommy Moffitt called him the strongest collegiate player he has ever coached. Also one of only six combine prospects to complete every drill.

Keylan Rutledge — Georgia Tech, 6-4, 316
Team captain at both Middle Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Routinely plays through pain, and Brent Key called him the toughest player he has coached.

Gennings Dunker — Iowa, 6-5, 319
Pre-med student whose intelligence shows up on and off the field. Reliable practice habits, works to maintain his body, and carries an easygoing personality. One scout called him a “sharp dude” and one of the more popular players in the program.

Beau Stephens — Iowa, 6-5, 315
Twice won the Hayden Fry Award for exemplary leadership and dedication on and off the field. That kind of internal recognition matters.

Febechi Nwaiwu — Oklahoma, 6-4, 319
“First in, last out” worker whose effort won’t be the reason he fails. Scouts describe him as an elite human and leader of the offensive line room. Multiple references to his intelligence stand out as well.

Keagen Trost — Missouri, 6-5, 311
Graduated from Indiana State with a degree in sport management and later earned a graduate certificate in positive coaching and athletic leadership from Missouri. Strong maturity markers here.

Jake Slaughter — Florida, 6-4 1/2, 303
Accountable player with a mature demeanor and a love for the behind-the-scenes work. A two-year captain, with one scout saying, “He’s a 43-year-old in a 23-year-old body.”

Sam Hecht — Kansas State, 6-4, 303
Intelligent player who picks things up quickly. Quiet, head-down, go-to-work mentality. Also played through painful shin splints as a freshman without broadcasting it, because he was still a walk-on trying to earn his place.

Trey Zuhn III — Texas A&M, 6-6 1/2, 312
Committed just one penalty in 2025, routinely plays through pain, and is viewed as the ultimate team player. A two-time captain who helps bring along younger teammates and even added center reps in 2025.

EDGE

Cashius Howell — Texas A&M, 6-2 1/2, 253
Competes with a chip on his shoulder. Scouts describe him as a self-starter who is “all about ball” in the way he trains and prepares.

R Mason Thomas — Oklahoma, 6-2, 249
Turned down major NIL money to stay at Oklahoma. Not overly vocal, but beloved by teammates. Coaches described him as coachable and a role model within the program.

Keyron Crawford — Auburn, 6-4, 253
High-character player with a strong reputation for work ethic. One scout noted that he’s always working, and coaches say he does even more when nobody is watching.

Wesley Williams — Duke, 6-4, 256
Productive special teams player with five career blocks. Team captain and widely viewed as bright, even-tempered, and impossible to outwork.

Mason Reiger — Wisconsin, 6-5, 248
Motor runs hot all the time, and that energy shows up in production. Scouts also see him as an energetic teammate who makes the people around him better.

Cornerbacks

D’Angelo Ponds — Indiana, 5-8 1/2, 182
Hypercompetitive and wired to hate completions. One scout said he gets genuinely angry when passes are completed in practice.

Treydan Stukes — Arizona, 6-1, 190
Elite work ethic across the board and intentional about self-improvement. Added more than 25 pounds early in his college career and became “Coach Stukes” after his ACL injury. A three-year captain under two staffs.

Keith Abney II — Arizona State, 5-10, 187
Plays with a competitive temperament that can’t be taught. Part of the core group that helped shift culture and standards under Kenny Dillingham.

Davison Igbinosun — Ohio State, 6-2, 189
Loves to compete and, according to coaches, raised the level of the entire defensive back room from the day he arrived.

Daylen Everette — Georgia, 6-1, 196
Described by scouts and team sources as mature and consistent behind the scenes. One scout called him the leader of the DB room and said he carries himself like a future coach.

Devin Moore — Florida, 6-3, 198
More introverted by personality, but teams describe him as an A-plus human being who genuinely wants to be a good teammate.

Charles Demmings — Stephen F. Austin, 6-1, 193
Innately motivated in football and life. One scout said he barely knew anyone at the Senior Bowl and still took over the huddle as an energy source. Reliable competitor with obvious internal drive.

Will Lee III — Texas A&M, 6-1 1/2, 189
Team sources say he loves the game and wants to be great. Simple note, but usually one of the strongest endorsements you’ll get from inside a building.

Safeties

A.J. Haulcy — Houston, 6-0, 215
Played 702 defensive snaps in 2025 without a single penalty. Reliable teammate who loves ball and improvement. One scout said he may love getting better more than anyone in that program. Durable and productive across four college seasons.

VJ Payne — Kansas State, 6-3 1/2, 206
Coaches say he wants to be great and is willing to work for it. A simple but meaningful trait when it comes to projection.

Robert Spears-Jennings — Oklahoma, 6-2, 205
Outstanding worker with a self-starter mentality and viewed as a leader in the defensive back room.

DeShon Singleton — Nebraska, 6-3, 205
Team captain who drew glowing feedback from the school. One scout said his position coach raves about his loyalty and willingness to do whatever is asked.

Linebackers

Kyle Louis — Pittsburgh, 6-0, 225
Passionate about training and body maintenance, and his coaches rave about his football character. Pat Narduzzi said nobody in his decade at Pitt watched more tape than Louis. Team captain, energetic presence, and a real competitor.

Keyshaun Elliott — Arizona State, 6-2, 231
Described as an A-plus kid with grown-man maturity. Served as a sophomore captain at New Mexico State and later was voted onto Arizona State’s Pat Tillman Leadership Council in both seasons there. Scouts say he already works and studies like a pro.

Bryce Boettcher — Oregon, 6-1 1/4, 233
Brings the same energy and toughness every day and leads by example. One scout said, “I’ll push all my chips in the center” on his makeup, calling him a big-time competitor whose teammates gravitate toward him. Also logged 584 special teams snaps in his Oregon career.

Jimmy Rolder — Michigan, 6-2 1/2, 238
Received glowing feedback from the Michigan staff. One scout said there’s no selfishness to him, called him a coach-pleaser, and emphasized that he does what is asked. Violent special teams temperament adds to the profile.

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Never can I recall such a mysterious draft for the Seattle Seahawks - at least not since I started writing about them and running my own podcast.

Due to equal parts weak overall draft class and a lack of premium draft capital, attempting to predict what Seahawks general manager John Schneider should do, let alone try and guess what he will do, is a challenging lift.

Monday, I release my annual predictive mock draft where I try and pin down what I think will happen when the draft commences in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Over the last two years, I’ve only gotten one pick right: Byron Murphy as their first-rounder in 2024. In my defense, I wanted to predict Grey Zabel as the pick at No. 18 a year ago but simply didn’t think Schneider would actually do it.

While working through the process of whittling down my board of realistic Seahawks targets, it struck me…

I should share my notes.

And so, what I have for you today are four different hypothetical scenarios, all intended to get a final feel for how the draft board might fall, and how Schneider and his staff may ultimately approach things from their war room in Renton, WA.

Here’s how I set this up:

1. I start each mock with a different position group. Let’s see which ones fit the board the best and allow the rest of the class to fall in such a way Seattle can still address their most pressing needs.

2. There are trades up and down the board to try and get in position to take the guys I want, but I won’t clutter this page - or your brains - with the details. Just know that every move I made was an exact match on the Rich Hill trade value chart, which assigns point values to each selection based on real-world trade data over the last 10 years.

3. I used the industry consensus prospect rankings to try as best as I can to get the most accurate opinions about where these player slot, but I didn’t stick to the board religiously. If I thought a player was better than his ranking, or that the Seahawks might agree, I didn’t hesitate to reach.

4. While Best Player Available is a mantra we hear Schneider utter repeatedly, and is always my general focus, need is also baked into his prospect grading system. It will never not matter.

5. Another thing that matters, a lot, to Schneider is character. Any players known to have significant questions about their work ethic, love for the game, off-field behavior or general attitude, were not considered.

6. Finally, I’m not providing full scouting reports and size/trait specs here. Tune into the YouTube channel for that or check out draftsignal.pro where I contribute as a scouting analyst.

Here we go… buckle up.

TAKE THE RUNNING BACK FIRST

This is a concept that’s gotten a lot of traction in league circles, ever since Kenneth Walker left in free agency and signed with the Chiefs. While it might make the most sense in terms of biggest need at the moment, positional value is a concept that some people hold on to with white knuckles. I’m not opposed to it, and in fact there are reasons to believe it actually could happen (I haven’t ruled it out yet as my choice in Monday’s predictive mock). But if this angers you, it’s a good time to remind you that these are hypothetical simulations. Take a breath, and scroll to the other three mocks below if you must.

You’re going to see some of the same names in all of these mocks. This is a reflection not only of a few prospects that are “my guys” after all my off-season study, but also a group of players I believe will appeal to the Seahawks.

Price is simply the best overall running back prospect that will be available to Seattle in this draft. The sample size at Notre Dame is small, sure - you can thank Jeremiyah Love for that - but the skillset is legit. He has vision, quick feet, burst, and enough long speed to hit the home run - something that shows up in his time as a kick returner. And while he has limited reps in the passing game, there’s enough evidence to suggest he can be an every-down back. The fit is so sensible that a number of big-name national voices are predicting this very outcome. And he’s such a clean prospect as a person that he took literally zero official 30 visits. On and off the field he would fit what the Seahawks value, and what they need right now. If you think they won’t do it because of the positional value argument, the same was said about guards last year before they went ahead and took Zabel in the first round anyway.

Spoiler alert: Stukes is in all four of these mocks. He simply checks every single box for Seattle, from ability, to need, to character. He’s versatile, fast, athletic, and had some of the best coverage numbers in the country in 2025. While some teams may see him as a nickel, I think Macdonald would use him more as a deep safety to take advantage of his elite on-ball skills. He might even be able to survive as an outside CB if the need arose. He’s an older prospect (he’ll turn 25 during his rookie season) but the skillset, fit and character all scream “Seahawk!” And he gives them something that a team source told me is a priority this offseason, a weapon to help them slow down Matthew Stafford and the Rams. Those deep in-breaking routes are Macdonald’s kryptonite. Stukes would help.

Stephens was a VMAC visitor - the only offensive lineman to do so. He’s a perfect fit in the outside zone running scheme, a mauler in the run game, and outstanding in pass protection. He’s also a guy that his coaches and teammates rave about. Iowa linemen are usually a solid bet, and if Stephens winds up in Seattle I’d put money on him beating out Anthony Bradford for the RG spot.

Demmings is a small-school CB who excels in press-man coverage. He showed loyalty to Stephen F. Austin, turning down NIL riches to finish his career with the Lumberjacks. His ball production is outstanding, and the athletic profile was good enough to place him in the top 5 at his position at the scouting combine. He met with the Seahawks, fits their character profile, and would be tremendous value at pick No. 137.

GO WITH THE GUARD AGAIN!

While Stephens was the only official 30 visit among offensive lineman, such prominent reporters and analysts as Brady Henderson, Lance Zierlein and Jordan Reid have mentioned that Seattle did a lot of work on this guard class. It’s not widely recognized as their biggest need, but it’s not inconceivable they could take care of this position first and upgrade the one spot on the roster fans, and some analysts, deem to be the biggest weakness. Rutledge has become my favorite guard in this class, at least among those who will be available to Seattle. He’s incredibly strong, immovable in pass protection, and surprisingly athletic for his size. He finished in the top five in nfl.com’s athleticism score among all offensive linemen at the combine, and clocked the fastest short shuttle of them all. His tape is full of quick get-offs and successful reach blocks, and he gets to the second level with ease. He’s tough as nails (he played 26 straight games for the Yellow Jackets despite a 2023 car accident that almost resulted in his foot being amputated) and he’s known as a leader and a tireless worker.

How does going guard impact the rest of the board? Well, I was able to get Stukes again, but had to trade up to do it. Jonah Coleman was a nice consolation prize at RB, as he’s my 2nd favorite Seahawks backfield fit. He may not have the home run ability that Price possesses, but he’s an ideal fit for the scheme, and the most polished third-down option in this class - something most rookie backs struggle with.

Fuller is like “Charles Demmings Light.” He was tasked with playing a fair amount of press at Toledo, is physical in the run game in a way that will appeal to Mike Macdonald, and plays special teams as well. He too was a VMAC visitor and would provide great value if they pass on outside CB early on.

And then there’s Michael Heldman. His game isn’t the same, but he reminds me of when I first laid eyes on Maxx Crosby at Eastern Michigan. Different year, different body type, but same state! Heldman is a physical freak, literally. He made Bruce Feldman’s “freaks list” and scored a 9.9 Relative Athletic Score (RAS). And he did what a player at a lower level should do if he has designs on playing in the NFL - dominate. He’s shows a compelling combination of power, run defense, burst and bend.

“YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PASS RUSHERS!”

That’s a statement we used to hear a lot from Pete Carroll. Ironic, in that for many years after their back-to-back super bowls they failed to field enough good ones. Mike Macdonald won’t allow that to happen.

There is a sense out there among fans that the Seahawks should punt on the position this year and just fill out the EDGE room with ring-chasing veterans, especially after the news that Dante Fowler met with the Seahawks this week (something my source says is a “90 percent” certainty to happen because Fowler “wants to be a Seahawk.”) But if Schneider doesn’t draft a pass-rusher this year he may face the very real possibility that he’ll have to rebuild the entire room in 2027. (Demarcus Lawrence is the only one under contract beyond 2026 and there’s no guarantee he won’t retire after this season.)

So, drafting another Lawrence makes sense, especially since this one is one of the more intriguing size/speed/production packages in the class. While he did it at a lower level, he often looked like a man among boys coming off the edge. The run defense needs work, but the foundation is there, and I’m told he “blew the Seahawks away” during his VMAC visit.

I was able to still maneuver around the board to land Stukes, Stephens and Demmings again, leaving running back for the final 6th round pick. Trayanum was a VMAC visit, has the size Schneider covets, and brings an intriguing amount of explosive traits to the table. His jump-cuts are among the best in the class and he’s a scheme fit.

JUST GET IT OVER WITH!

While I had to jump through some hoops to make sure I got Stukes in those first three tries, I wanted to see what it would look like if I didn’t mess around and just took the one guy I think might be the best fit for the Seahawks on the entire board.

Stephens was still there at 64, which is an example of me taking him higher than his consensus ranking would suggest, but in the words of Mike Macdonald I “did not care!” This draft class is all over the place, and at days end I just want to draft the best (and right) players.

That left me pivoting to Crawford at EDGE, a player who has more potential and upside than bankable resume. 2025 was his first year playing EDGE, but that means his off-ball linebacker experience equates to a comfort level dropping and playing coverage. Then, as a pass rusher, there’s a lot to drool over. He’s explosive, slippery, and violent. Doesn’t that sound like a Mike Macdonald pass rusher? Scouts often spoke of going to Auburn to scout Keldric Faulk but coming away more impressed with Crawford. Furthermore, he’s another one of those players reported to possess A+ character and work habits.

Hemby was one of the first VMAC visitors of the cycle, and has an all-around game that looks so good on tape you wonder why he’s isn’t projected to go higher.

And then there’s Heidenreich - quite frankly one of my favorite players in this draft. A former RB, he was used more as a slot receiver last year and the stylistic comparisons to Christian McCaffrey are warranted. I believe he could project as a regular contributor in the slot, while also being in the change-of-pace mix in the backfield. We don’t often see players from Navy succeed in the NFL, but Heidenreich as as good a chance as we’ve seen in quite some time.

Well, what do you think? If you were John Schneider, which one would you choose?

I won’t give you my answer today, because that’s what Monday’s predictive mock is for. Subscribe to Seahawks Forever on YouTube, and follow me on Twitter at @SeahawksForever - stay tuned for the show schedule, and I’ll see you there.

In my blind reaction to this week’s John Schneider show on local radio, we get a rare look behind the curtain at how the Seahawks evaluate player health. For injured prospects, it’s not just about how healthy they are right now. Schneider and his staff are also …

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RB KENNETH WALKER AGREES TO TERMS WITH KANSAS CITY

According the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, it’s a 3-year deal for Walker worth up to $45 million max value, with $28.7 million fully guaranteed.

It’s a deal that makes sense for all parties. For Walker, it’s a chance to maximize his value with what will likely be the biggest contract he’ll sign in his career. For the Chiefs, they’ve been looking for a dynamic backfield compliment to QB Patrick Mahomes for years.

Meanwhile, there was simply no way Seattle general manager John Schneider was going to climb that high to compensate a running back, not with all the other young starters who are either current free agents, or eligible for big-money extensions. As a finishing piece for a team that relies on their offense to win, and who’s very expensive franchise signal-caller is now 30 years old and coming off an ACL injury? Yeah, he fits in Kansas City.

This one stings, because we saw the best version of Walker at the end. If he stays healthy, he has a chance to put up some big numbers in KC. That will be hard to watch.

Meanwhile, Schneider needs to find answers quickly. The only healthy running back on the 53-man roster at the moment is George Holani, a player with an extensive injury history of his own. With Zach Charbonnet not expected back from ACL surgery until October at the earliest, Schneider may need to double up in both free agency and the draft to ensure new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury has the pieces necessary to continue building the dominant ground game Mike Macdonald wants his offense to be built upon.

Look for Falcons UFA Tyler Allgeier to be a focus, with former 49er Brian Robinson Jr. another possibility due to his familiarity with Fleury from their time together in San Francisco.

BEARS SIGN S COBY BRYANT

Bryant is one of John Schneider’s best draft success stories, and now he’s heading to the Windy City. According to multiple sources, he’s agreed to sign with the Chicago Bears.

Drafted as a CB out of Cincinnati, where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s best cornerback, Bryant was converted to safety and became one of Mike Macdonald’s most trusted coverage players.

Seattle approached Bryant in August about getting a long-term extension done, but he chose to bet on himself. Multiple reports indicated that the team also pushed hard to get him locked up yesterday before the free agency floodgates opened.

It’s a 3-year deal for Bryant up to $40 million. As I suspected, very close to the 3/42 extension the Rams handed to Quentin Lake during the season.

SEAHAWKS AGREE TO TERMS WITH CB JOSH JOBE!!

Keeping one of their own free agents home, Seattle locks up Jobe on a 3-year deal worth a maximum of $24 million dollars.

This is a huge get, from a competitive and financial standpoint. Most projections had Jobe commanding $10 million or more in AAV, and yet he stays in the PNW for much less.

I’d mentioned several times on the show I expected this to happen - not just because Jobe is an ascending player who fits Mike Macdonald’s scheme and culture in every way, but also because of who Jobe is as a person. He’s not your typical pro athlete. He’s more on the quiet, reserved side… often not wanting to participate in interviews and spotlight moments as much as others. Comfort was as important to him as dollars.

Now, the Seahawks can essentially run out their starting defense on March 9th, with Ty Okada sliding in for Coby Bryant (as he has before, to great effect) and Jobe as your starting, field-side outside corner.

RASHID SHAHEED KEEPS HIS SPEED IN SEATTLE!

When ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that the Seahawks and Shaheed were “not close” in contract talks, the general consensus was that the Raiders and former play-caller Klint Kubiak would swoop in and bring the speedy WR and elite kick returner to Las Vegas. But then the Raiders signed former Vikings WR Jalen Nailor to a 3-year deal, indicating there might be one last opportunity to make a run at keeping Shaheed in the fold.

And John Schneider made it count, locking Shaheed up to a 3-year, $51 million deal with $23 million guaranteed.

Schneider traded a 4th and 5th round pick to acquire Shaheed from New Orleans at the trade deadline, and while he never really became a consistent weapon on offense, without his big returns on kickoff and punt teams Seattle may not be in possession of their second Lombardi Trophy today.

A full offseason to foster chemistry with quarterback Sam Darnold should help unlock Shaheed’s full potential, and give new Seahawks OC Brian Fleury a dangerous toy to try and keep teams from paying too much attention to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

AS EXPECTED, SOMEONE AGREED TO OVERPAY BOYE MAFE

I said it last summer, shortly after the Bills and Chiefs extended Greggory Rousseau and George Karlaftis, respectively, to the tune of similar 4-year, $80 million dollar deals that Mafe wouldn’t be a Seahawk in 2026. If that’s what teams are paying for their second-best pass rusher, certainly some team would overreach to try and dream on Mafe’s immense physical traits and upside. That team is the Bengals, and what did they give Mafe? You guessed it, $20 million a year.

It was never going to make sense in Seattle at that price, because Mafe never turned those traits into production, logging just 2 sacks last season while essentially serving as the team’s 4th pass-rusher in their EDGE rotation.

It’s not a big loss, but Seattle will need to make a significant add to their pass-rush room. Mafe was at least young. But with Derrick Hall entering the final year of his rookie deal, Uchenna Nwosu in a contract year and turning 30 soon, and DeMarcus Lawrence muling retirement, this EDGE room is full of uncertainty. Look for this to be addressed still in free agency and again in the draft, where a deep and intriguing pass-rush class awaits.

RIQ WOOLEN SETTLES FOR ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH PHILADELPHIA.

The mystery surrounding CB Riq Woolen’s free agency has been solved. After two days of very little buzz around the polarizing cover corner, Woolen agreed to terms on a 1-year deal for up to $15 million with the Eagles, going from this year’s Super Bowl champion to the previous one.

On one hand, it’s surprising that Riq couldn’t find a long-term deal, seeing as how by just about every metric he had his best year in coverage in 2025, bouncing back from a brutal start to the season that saw him give up to huge plays to the 49ers resulting in a last-minute week one loss. On the other, there have been concerns about Woolen’s maturity, focus and run defense ever since he exploded on the scene with 7 interceptions as a rookie in 2022.

Despite it being a one-year term, Woolen could still help the Seahawks add yet another compensatory draft pick in 2027. If he earns the full $15 million it could even net them a 4th-rounder. They’re already sitting with another 4th round pick and two 5ths for the losses of Boye Mafe, Kenneth Walker and Coby Bryant. Comp picks are subject to change depending on how many UFA’s Seattle signs themselves, if any.

Check out Seahawks Forever on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@seahawksforeverdanviens and considering subscribing to help support me as a full-time, independent content creator. Forever and always…. GO HAWKS!

The Seahawks have a new offensive coordinator, with 49ers TE coach and run game coordinator Brian Fleury getting the call to replace Klint Kubiak, who’s now officially moved on to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

And the move was as surprising as it is intriguing - to me at least.

Others may take some convincing.

It’s the same story every offseason. Free agency, the draft, coaching hires—if fans don’t know the name, the default reaction becomes, “Well, this must be a bad move.” Reactions to Fleury’s hire have ranged from “brilliant!” to “as bad of a hiring as Jim Mora Jr.!”

And yeah, I didn’t make that last one up. See for yourself.

This was just one example. You didn’t have to look for or wide on social media to see negative reactions to this hire.

As it turns out, “hot sauce honky” came to this extreme (and extremely cynical) conclusion after doing zero research into what Fleury’s roles actually were in San Francisco. As it turns out, he was EXTREMELY involved in making, organizing, and even calling plays under Kyle Shanahan.

In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Shanahan raved about Fleury’s offensive mind, and revealed that he leaned on him as heavily as any of his staff when it came to coordinating the 49ers offense.

“Those are the guys I rely on through play-calling throughout the game. It’s not like I’m just in silence there calling every play. I’m discussing it with the guys we’ve prepared with in the week.” — 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan

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It just keeps happening!

Time and again we’re seeing the Seattle Seahawks and general manager John Schneider lock up key veterans to multi-year extensions, only to find the deals to be extremely reasonable and team-friendly.

In an era where players can clearly see the value of hitting the open market in free agency, the Seahawks may have found the Holy Grail of managing the salary cap - acquiring and developing good players who fit the culture and want to be a part of it long term.

We’ve seen numerous examples of this in just 2025 alone: Demarcus Lawrence, Cooper Kupp and of course Sam Darnold all agreed to deals during free agency that handsomely rewarded the player but did so without strapping Seattle’s future financial flexibility. Then we saw Ernest Jones RE-sign for what appeared to be less than other inside linebackers of a similar age were fetching in free agency. Abe Lucas’ new deal, finalized on the dawn of the regular season opener, turned out to be extremely cap-friendly as well.

And now we know the full scope of Charles new contract, as posted to overthecap.com this morning.

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It went from a hurricane to a light breeze, seemingly in an instant.

The once-deafening roar flowing from the 12’s at Lumen Field would wash over opposing offenses, impacting the game even before the players set foot on the field. Teams changed the way they practiced to get ready for a road game against the Seattle Seahawks, preparing silent counts and hand signals to change plays at the line of scrimmage.

It didn’t start when Pete Carroll arrived, in fact I still maintain that the 2005 NFC Championship Game against the Carolina Panthers was the loudest it’s ever been and will ever be again. There’s something to be said about your first time am I right?

But when later paired with the legendary defenses of the early Pete Carroll/Legion of Boom era, it created an almost insurmountable challenge. You simply couldn’t expect to beat the Seahawks in Seattle. It’s a major reason that since 2012 the team has only experienced one losing season, going a combined 147 - 81 overall since then, a winning percentage of 64.5%.

The home record over that same span (2012 - present) is nearly the same: 66.6%, but when you consider the Seahawks went 33-7 at home from 2012 - 2016, a winning percentage of 82.5%, it’s pretty easy to spot when the shift happened.

The 2017 season saw Seattle drop to 4 - 4 at home, a stunning reversal of fortune, and it hasn’t felt the same since. Suddenly, Lumen Field just wasn’t an intimidating factor any longer. There was a slight uptick the next year (6 - 2) but then it was right back to 4 - 4 in 2019. The Covid year of 2020 provided a brief glimpse of past home glory as the team won seven of their eight games at Lumen, but there were no fans in the stands.

It cratered after that. In the four seasons from 2021 to 2024 the team managed to win less than half of their games at home (16 - 18 over that stretch.)

Over the last several years we’ve spent a lot of time talking about this topic, and I did entire episodes on my podcast about what the reasons may have been. Everyone had a theory and honestly they were all likely factors that combined to make Lumen less scary. Whether it was the influx of non-Seattleites moving to the Emerald City as part of the tech boom, who attended games because it was cool and not an exercise in passion. Or maybe it was the cost of tickets rising to the point that working-class families decided it made more sense to watch the game at home on their crystal-clear 70” TV’s and eat their own food without having to deal with the added expense of just getting to the game.

But to me the answer was much more obvious - the defense.

When is the Lumen Field advantage at it’s most pronounced? When the defense is on the field. That’s when the crowd stands, cups their hands to their mouths, and SCREAMS! In it’s homefield heyday, that meant starting before the opposing offense even huddled, making it harder for the quarterback to exhort the play call and even more difficult to call audibles at the line of scrimmage. It set the tone any time Seattle was on defense and served as a literal 12th defender in the extra split-second it provided the pass rushers to explode off the ball.

But as Carroll lost his way defensively and teams started to drive up and down the field consistently, the home crowd lost its edge. Those new fans, without the history of growing up with the team and living through the tough times that came before Super Bowls were even a thought around here, didn’t care enough to push through the lulls. It became harder and harder to keep it up, sacrificing the ability to talk effectively at work for days afterwards, only to see your defense act as a sieve.

That’s where Mike Macdonald came in, and in just two seasons he’s not only confirmed the “boy genius” reputation he brought with him as a defensive mastermind, but he’s overseen a home field renaissance in Seattle. After struggling to a 3 - 6 home record in his first season as he tweaked, massaged, and reconstructed the defense that at season’s end was playing as well as any other in the league - 2025 saw the breakthrough we were all hoping for.

It didn’t look great early. A blowout home win over the Saints in week 3 was sandwiched between nail-biting losses to the 49ers and Buccaneers. Tampa drove up and down the field, scoring 38 points. The home record after three games stood at 1 - 2.

It felt like history repeating itself.

They haven’t lost at home since.

A couple things have happened: first, the defense. It’s back, and in a BIG way. The Seahawks allowed the fewest number of points in the NFL this season and backed it up with top-5 finishes in just about every single key defensive metric. Once the home fans started to see what was happening, and even more than that when they began to believe in this defense, and this team, you could feel it turn.

Suddenly, there were far fewer opposing fans making their way into the stadium, a sign that Seahawk season ticket holders simply weren’t willing to let their tickets go. Football in Seattle was cool again.

A couple other factors may have contributed. As of last offseason the Seahawks established a policy of renewed scrutiny for season ticket accounts. Want to use your tickets as an asset and sell most (or all) of them for a profit? Cool, then we’re going to take your seats away. And if you thought that was a hollow threat, tell that to the season ticket holders who dared list their tickets on the NFL Ticket Exchange last week. They all received an email with a not-so-subtle reminder of the policy.

I know because I received one, but more on that in a minute….

Whatever the primary reason the bottom line is that the Seahawks seem to have recaptured the magic of what it’s like to be uplifted by the home crowd. They played a huge role in wins against fellow playoff teams like the Texans and Rams, and were just as loud and raucous even in easier wins like we saw against Arizona and Minnesota. No one was sitting on their hands because the game was a blowout for the good guys, no one was leaving early. This team is a fun one to watch. They’re violent, physical, fast and play an exciting brand of ball. Off the field, they’re about as good a group of people, and personalities, as you could ask for. It’s easy to see why it’s catching on again.

And I’ll say this, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Playoff football is different, and for the first time since 2017 the Seahawks get to play a home playoff game in front of their fans. If you thought that Thursday game against the Rams was loud, wait until you hear what’s in store for Brock Purdy and Co. this Saturday.

It’s going to be LOUD loud, in a way some of you have never experienced. It’s going to wash down over the two teams and make life much more challenging for the 49ers. They won’t shrink from it, they’re too experienced and good for that (at least on offense) and Kyle Shanahan will have them well prepared, but they won’t be able to escape the relentless roar of the 12’s bouncing around Lumen Field, finally restored to its rightful place as one of the most intimidating places for any visiting team to play. San Francisco will have to account for it and overcome it if they hope to come away with the upset.

It won’t guarantee victory, but the home crowd will absolutely play a role on Saturday. It might just give the Seahawks the edge they need to add two more home wins to their 2025-26 ledger and catapult themselves into their fourth Super Bowl next month in Santa Clara.

I promised I’d explain my current ticket situation, as I’ve taken some heat online for posting them for auction.

We’ve had season tickets in our family since the very beginning, my dad got them primarily as a way for he and I to hang out and bond over football. Since about 2001 my dad was no longer able to physically attend games, so I took over those tickets and have managed them ever since. Now with his passing, the tickets officially move into my name - something that the Seahawks won’t allow without sacrificing all those years of built-up priority until after the account holder passes.

Over the years I have always been an avid attender of home games, missing very few over the years and usually only because of work conflicts. I have NEVER missed a home playoff game, not one. But this year is different. In February, on the urging of my fiance, I took a chance and walked away from my 30-year career in hospitality to take a shot at doing content creation full time. That also allowed me to be mobile, and join her on her travels (she’s a travelling ICU nurse.) Currently we’re based in West Virginia. As much as I would LOVE to attend the game Saturday (and next weekend if they advance to the NFCCG) I simply can’t. She has a work conflict, and there are budgetary constraints. As much as we talked about solutions there simply weren’t any.

So, what to do about my tickets? First, I offered them to my good friend who used my tickets during the regular season. Great Hawk fan, and someone I trust, but he’s out of the country. I poked around looking for someone who needed tickets but found no takers. I listed them for sale on the NFL ticket exchange last week thinking it would be safer since the opponent was unknown. When they didn’t sell by week’s end I pulled them down for fear of some 49ers fans snapping them up.

That’s why I came up with the auction idea! I could offer them to viewers, followers, members and people I’ve connected with over the years on social media, bonding over football. This was the best way I could think of to ensure they wind up in the hands of a true 12. I set a fair minimum bid well below what the current lowest price is to just get in the door. In the process, any profit derived from the sale will go towards the significant expense of spending the week in Mobile, AL in two weeks covering the Senior Bowl. To me it’s a win-win. I make sure the tickets go to a legitimate Seahawk fan, and I get the help I need in making the Senior Bowl happen. And yet somehow, predictably I suppose, the trolls found me. “Don’t buy these it’s a scam!” “This guy is a casual! He doesn’t even want to go to the playoff game!” Context be damned! (Seriously though, some people just need to get a life.)

But screw those guys. I’m doing what I feel is right. If YOU are looking for two tickets to the game Saturday my auction runs through tomorrow, and I’ll reveal the winner in the evening. This is for two seats: Section 328, Row K, Seats 1-2. They cost me $486 for the pair. The cheapest prices to get in the door right now are over $500 for EACH ticket. I set a minimum bid of $800, more than fair. If you’d like to submit a blind bid you can do so at dviens08@gmail.com or through any sort of DM if that’s available to you. My Twitter DM’s are open @SeahawksForever as well.

Thank you for reading this and for supporting my content. If you’d like to consider joining my Patreon where you get all my content under one roof, for one low price, and WITHOUT the inserted YouTube ads, go to www.nwforever.com.

Forever and always…. GO HAWKS!

For as long as I can remember I’ve taken a great deal of pride in being able to admit when I’m wrong, publicly and on the record. When you have a podcast there’s simply no escaping it - what you say and do and put online can live forever. Goodness knows, anyone who’s ever watched my draft coverage over the years knows just how wrong I can be. Truth be told, I’m the guy who thought Ryan Leaf was going to have a better NFL career than that Peyton Manning kid ever would, and that’s just one example!

Well, I’m preparing myself for the eventual revelation that I may have been wrong all along about this whole Klint Kubiak thing. He may just end up getting one of these NFL head coaching jobs after all.

Amid reports that Kubiak has already been sought out for an interview by the Atlanta Falcons and could end up being under consideration for some of the other open jobs as well, I’ve had to take a step back and reevaluate my feelings regarding the viability of his candidacy.

The first time I heard Kubiak speak was an “a-HA” moment for me - or so I thought. Rarely have I ever heard a coach produce a drier, more vanilla performance. His answers were short, like… UBER-short, and delivered without even a hint of personality. As the old cliche goes, watching paint dry would be more entertaining than a Klint Kubiak press availability. “We’re safe,” I thought. “He’s not going anywhere.”

You see, before an NFL owner can be convinced to commit millions of dollars to a young, unknown quantity as their new head coach, they usually have to be moved. It’s not enough to blow them away with X’s & O’s, you have to convince them they’re investing in potential greatness. I just don’t see those qualities from Kubiak.

Based on resume alone I can see the appeal - he’s shown flashes of brilliance piloting offenses in Minnesota, New Orleans and now Seattle, but he’s never had the opportunity to show what he can do in a healthy environment in back-to-back seasons because he’s been on staffs that were shown the door. In my opinion, he needs to string together a few top-10 offensive performances in a row to convince some owner that the Kubiak mind is worth paying for even if he’s not going to “win” any press conferences.

But Kubiak may benefit from unusual timing this offseason. With five head-coaching jobs currently open, and several others yet to be determined, this year’s field of offensive-minded candidates is shallower than others. Kevin Stefanski looks to be at the head of that pack because he’s a proven commodity (personally I think the decision to move on from Stefanski is pure idiocy, but par for the course in Cleveland.) Outside of Stefanski, Joe Brady in Buffalo may garner interest, Philip Rivers could reportedly be under consideration from a few clubs, and Mike McCarthy may be in line for a return to the sideline. Save for the inevitable surprise or mystery candidate, those are really the only non-defensive names showing up on candidate lists so far.

Many of these teams with openings have young QB’s, so I understand the appeal of bringing in someone with a track record for getting the most out of the position, and Kubiak’s scheme is in many ways QB-friendly. Bottom line: I’m admitting now to myself (and you) that it’s not too early to start thinking about what the Seahawks may do in the event Kubiak moves on.

With that in mind, here are six candidates I could see as logical fits if Mike Macdonald needs to hire his third OC in 3 years.

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Sunday’s 30-24 Seahawks win over the Titans is one I’ll never be able to forget.

Not for the spectacular and historically-significant performance by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, or the way Grey Zabel gutted it out against Jeffrey Simmons on one healthy leg, or even for the win itself that saw this promising squad improve to 8-3.

No, none of that mattered.

As the third quarter turned into the fourth quarter, at 12:28pm PST, my father took his final breath.

I’m grateful I was able to be by his side, sharing his pillow. Flanked by my sister and mother, he went as peacefully as one could ever hope for.

Grateful because I wasn’t sure I’d make it in time. I was supposed to be in Nashville, TN attending a Seahawks away game for only the third time in my life. When I got the call that things had rapidly taken a turn for the worse the game was no longer a concern. I booked the first flight I could find. Then, the Boeing 737 I boarded in Columbus, Ohio was so new they hadn’t even installed the new WiFi system yet. Five and a half hours in flight with no connection, not knowing if I’d receive a text message upon landing that I was too late, terrified me the entire way.

But I should have known he’d hang on until I got to him, and even that he’d persist long enough to share one last Hawks game with me. Not just because he was as stubborn a man as I’d even known, but because that’s how important sports was. Not to him personally - most times he could take it or leave it - but because of what it meant to us and our lifetime bond.

Born November 14, 1932, Robert Paul Viens was neither a great athlete nor a rabid sports fan. But when you’re born and raised in the northeast (Hartford, CN) it’s just kind of in your blood. He might never had ended up caring about any of it at all if it weren’t for the coinciding events that occured in 1976.

First, the Seahawks and Mariners came into existence together, catapulting Seattle into major sports city status. Around the same time, while sitting in Miss Carr’s 5th grade class at Eastgate Elementary School in Bellevue, WA, I caught a glimpse of the kid sitting next to me secretly organizing his baseball cards under his desk, trying not to be seen.

Until that point, I had an awareness of what sports were but didn’t much care about any of it. But within days I was enthralled by it all. My classmate shared his collection with me, and I was introduced to the magical world of sports statistics. At the time I actually liked math, and it came easy to me. But it’s when I started playing sports that it turned from curiosity to passion. Those baseball card nerd sessions turned to hoop games at recess, and when my father took notice he saw an opportunity to bond with the only other male in the household (I was the middle child, sandwiched between two sisters).

He got in on the ground floor, making us one of the original Seahawks season tickets holders. It was a significant commitment for him. He was never blessed with financial prosperity, always fighting to support a family on what I was aware even then was a month-to-month basis. But I later came to understand it for what it was, an opportunity to share an experience with his son.

Truth is, if it weren’t for sports I don’t know if my dad and I would have grown as close as we were. I used to joke that he was 60 back when he was 30. He always dressed, thought and acted like an older man, a product of what he described to me as a very strict upbringing, along with his military service.

Dad was a proud Marine, fighting in the Korean war. He still had his dog tags, military uniform and documents, and he would often show off his Rambo-like knife while regaling me with tails of what life was like “in the foxhole.”

I always saw my dad as very businesslike, even at home. He’d have a few drinks and cut loose at times, unveiling a hidden sense of humor that I came to appreciate much more as I got older. He was downright hilarious, honestly, and the older and more cynical he got the more he’d balance it out with a cutting remark - the kind you’d think about an hour later and think “oh damn THAT was funny!”

But sports was the tie the bound us. He loved taking me to games, albeit never, ever on time. His penchant for running late was a trademark of sorts, a contradiction given his military experience. This led to one particular moment that I never let him live down: April 3rd, 1989. The Seattle Mariners were facing Dave Stewart and the Oakland A’s in that season’s home opener. Running late, per usual, I was trying to hustle us up the wavey ramps to our 300-level seats, prodding him to keep pace as it was already the bottom of the first inning. Before we could get inside a massive roar poured out of the concourse exits. Finally arriving at our seats I asked the gentleman sitting next to me what just happened….

The Kid has just hit his first big-league home run on Stewart’s first pitch to him. I missed it.

Yeah, I think I reminded him of that about a million times, although I spared making him relive it one last time among the many things I whispered in his ear yesterday.

And when we weren’t attending games we would talk about them. Or, to be fair, I would. Struck by the bug, I could never get enough. For him, seeing the game was enough - but not for me. I had to dissect it, relive it, break it down. I didn’t realize it at the time but he probably wasn’t even paying all that much attention. He was humoring me. Because while he enjoyed the shared experience he never had my passion for the intricacies of sport - and that was OK. It was the being together that mattered.

Oddly enough, when it came time for me to try and get on the field he was not in favor. When I decided I wanted to play organized football he was away on a business trip in Chicago. I had brought home a permission slip to try out for the Bellevue Foxes youth football team when I was 13. That phone call from my stepmother to him did not go well. His answer was no. The fear of injury, I suppose, although I suspect there were financial fears attached to it as well.

I was devastated. But while I can’t remember if it was days or just hours, it broke his heart seeing the disappointment in my eyes when he returned home. A few days later I was strapping on a helmet for the first time.

Like him, I was never a great athlete. Also like him, I was just stubborn, determined and scrappy enough to spend years grinding at it even when I realized it wasn’t going to lead to anything significant.

His middle name was Paul, but it could have been Persistence.

He supported us while working as a credit manager for the Union Oil Company. In those days, offices weren’t as centralized as they are now and the term virtual work wasn’t even a concept. To advance in the company he had to accept transfers, from one local satellite office to another. Thus, we lived a sort of military-like life - three years here, three years there. Burlington, WA - Missoula, MT - Bend, OR - Bellevue, WA - Schaumburg, IL - then back to Bellevue. It was then that he made a major change, leaving Union Oil… and his wife.

The first decision would prove to be unwise, and he’d spend the rest of his life struggling even more to make ends meet. The second one turned into his greatest blessing. His next wife, Kathleen, was by his side to the very end. They would have celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary next Valentine’s Day. She’s also one of my greatest blessings, the nurturing mother I never experienced in my younger years. She quickly became Mom to me, and always has been.

The health issues began about 20 years ago. First it was prostate cancer, but to no one’s surprise he beat the crap out of that, for a time. A few years later the cancer returned, only to be squashed - again this time for good.

He lost his eyesight around 2005, and this came as a big blow to both his bank account and his pride. He and my mother supported themselves for nearly two decades by supplementing their income delivering The Seattle Times. And this was no small paper route. We’re talking 200 papers in a rural area stretching from Kent to Ravensdale. It was exhausting and grueling, but they never missed a shift. I would help them sometimes - going to the warehouse on a busy Sunday morning to help them stuff the inserts and even barreling through snow on occasion to assist on a powdery winter’s night. He was simply the hardest-working man I’d even known.

Then the heart problems started. Decades of chain-smoking and ample alcohol consumption both came to an end years before as he decided to quit them both cold turkey and never look back -yet another example of his legendary, dogged persistence when he set his mind to something. But the damage had been done. It reached the point a few years ago where the doctors told him “no more.” He had exhausted his lifetime limitation of stents and pacemaker upgrades. He was on his own now.

He spent the last few years essentially confined to his easy chair, swallowing a dozen pills a day for his various ailments. He found solace in the Veteran’s Administration and their generous support programs. They sent him reading magnifiers, books-on-tape machines, electric carts, a stair lift, and daily care providers. One of his daily helpers started taking him to the local senior center twice a week to play Bingo. He looked forward to these sessions as much as he used to look forward to going to Seahawks games back in the day.

Our final game together came November 29, 2015. We were hosting Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers in what would prove to be a most memorable finish. Leading by two points with just over 2:00 left in the game, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense took possession needing only a first down to secure the win, but they got much more than that. Doug Baldwin took a short Wilson pass 80 yards to paydirt, capping a 39-30 barn-burner! (Recently, I had the opportunity to relate that experience to Baldwin himself and express how much it meant to me. In true Doug Baldwin form, he was touched by my story.)

After that game was a logistical nightmare. Traffic around the stadium was so chaotic I couldn’t find an Uber that could close enough to us. We’d have to walk a few blocks to find a rendezvous point. I felt horrible, as it was a struggle for him to move around even with his cane. Didn’t even phase him one bit. He calmed me down, imagine that. Said he didn’t care how long it took or how far we had to walk, he’d manage. He was smiling the whole time, just happy to once again be enjoying a game with his son.

Around that time I started to accept the fact that I might not have him in my life much longer. The following year I made the difficult decision to move to AZ to pursue a career change. When I left he said “well, this is probably the last time I’ll ever see you.” I told him he was full of shit, that I had more faith than him that he had a lot more fight left in him. The next time I saw him (just a few months later after the Arizona experience didn’t go as planned), I got to look him in the eye and tell him “I told you so.”

I’d get that opportunity again this week.

I no longer live in the Seattle area full time as my fiance and I travel around the country. She’s a contract nurse and I create content full time. We go where the contracts are, exploring new areas and considering potential future long-term “home base” options along the way. Many of you reading this may know that I came back to Seattle in late July, intent at the time on pursuing full-time credentials from the Seahawks. While I enjoyed the training camp access they provided me (and hope to continue doing that every year) I quickly realized that being credentialed wasn’t going to benefit me in the way I had thought, and that it would interfere with the type of balance I crave at this stage of my life. I would have had to burn the candle at both ends, covering the team full time while also going back to my old restaurant job part time just to make it work financially. And I’d have to do it all 2,500 miles away from my partner. That just wasn’t acceptable to me. Once I gained that clarity, I knew without a doubt it was the right decision.

But I knew it was going to break dad’s heart. I stayed with him and mom while here for camp, and I know he cherished that time. His health was declining significantly and mom was recovering from a procedure of her own and unable to help him in the middle of the night. There were things near the end that he just couldn’t do for himself. He was weaker than ever. I helped with chores around the house, helped shuttle mom to her doctor’s appointments, and assisted him to and from the bathroom when needed. Our conversations were different than before. We talked about wills, plans, and contingencies for when he was gone.

But here’s the thing. Despite knowing more clearly than ever that he was nearing the end, I really thought he would never die. He’d already made it a full decade longer than any of us thought, including him, and I was convinced he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

He understood my decision to return to my current home in West Virginia, and in classic Bob Viens form endorsed it 100%. You see, he only ever wanted what was best for me - even if it wasn’t what was best for him. That will be his enduring legacy for me.

The day I left, again, was Labor Day. As I was hugging him, telling him I loved him in a way that felt different than any of the other times, he said it again: “This will be the last time I ever get to see you.”

When I heard that he would be entering home hospice care, I got the news straight from the source. Mentally, he was as sharp as ever right up to the end. He got to tell me himself. He told me he was ready for what was next but I could hear it in his voice, he was scared. The next day he FaceTimed me, and we had a great chat. His concern? Would the Seahawks be able to beat the Rams? Right up until the end we were still bonding over sports. During the ALCS he called me almost every day, from the VA hospital, wanting to know my thoughts on the Mariners. I wanted to badly for him to see them get to a world series in his lifetime.

Then, last Tuesday, our final conversation. It lasted 7 minutes. Still sharp and cogent but shaking with emotion, he had one concern.

“Don’t fly back to see me,” he said. “I don’t want you going into debt just to see me in a pine box.”

Classic Dad, more worried about my financial situation than what was right.

“You don’t get to make that call,” I replied. “I’ll find a way, I’m coming.”

The thought was that we would book a flight back together, my fiance and I, we just needed to get her new schedule and find the right gap.

There wouldn’t be time. A few days later my sister informed me that Dad was crashing. His blood pressure was unsustainable. He was no longer taking any of the many medications that helped keep him going for all those years. There wasn’t much time left. I got on that plane, the one without the WiFi. Sweating out each minute of those five hours. Then when we landed, they couldn’t get the door open! 20 more minutes stuck on board, not knowing if I was too late.

I should have known better!

By the time I arrived he could no longer speak and wasn’t responsive. But as my partner reminded me there is ample evidence that when they’re in that state they can still hear us and process what they’re hearing. Some patients who have recovered from that state relate details of the conversations that happened around them.

I leaned down and laid my head by his, whispering in his ear, “I told you, again, it wouldn’t be the last time.”

Not only did he make it through the night, allowing me the time I craved to tell him all the things I wanted to, but I guess he wanted to share one last game with me as well.

It meant something to him, you can’t convince me otherwise. His breathing, inconsistent throughout the night with constant, long, frightening pauses, got more consistent again, steady, and remained that way through the first half.

With the game firmly in hand, I guess he felt it was OK to let go. He simply went to sleep. One last win enjoyed with his son and his family.

I used to think we were nothing alike. I’m a sweats-and-t-shirt-around-the-house guy whereas he would wake up every morning and get fully dressed for the day. I mean fully dressed. Slacks, a button-up shirt (tucked in of course), belt, and shoes. To do nothing but sit in that easy chair. (See? 60 when he was 30).

And we certainly didn’t agree on a lot of things, maybe even most things. There were aspects of the way the world is that we didn’t see the same way. And when it came to sports, oh boy would we battle. He had this thing that I suspect many of you can relate to; the mysterious allure of the unused backup quarterback was always the better choice over whoever the starter was, in his view. For ten years I tried desperately to convince him that Matt Hasselbeck wasn’t just a good QB, but mostly a very good one. Nope, Seneca Wallace was the answer! Or Mike Teel for gosh sakes.

But as I sat next to him, rubbing his arm, cherishing those last few hours, I took an inventory of all the things we had in common - of all the things I took from him, all the good stuff. Some of it is as inconsequential as quirky eating habits and cravings, but mostly it was the intangible stuff. The dogged determination to succeed when things were muddy and not going in my favor. The persistence. The constant belief that I’d find a way to turn things around as I struggled my entire adult life to get from one paycheck to the next.

And if there’s anything I’m certain of as he took his last breath, it’s that he died knowing that his son had finally found the one other thing that seemed to elude him for over 5 decades. Love. At the top of the list of things my dad and I had in common; we both experience hard luck in that arena. For him, that all changed 45 years ago when he met Kathy. For me, it took a bit longer. But the first time he met my partner of now 3.5 years he knew, just as I did the first time I met her, that I’d finally found it. As much as I wish he’d have lived long enough to see me marry her, at least he passed away knowing that I was at long last happy.

Another thing I’m certain of, I know he was proud. Ever since I left television sportscasting back in 1996 he would ask me, “why don’t you just get back into it?” It didn’t matter how I answered it he wouldn’t let it go, because that was just his way. When I started my first podcast, “The Dan Cave” back in 2018 he was one of my regular listeners. He didn’t care that he was only one of dozens, he loved hearing my voice again talking about the thing I loved as much as anything, sports. As my show evolved, changed and grew he only became more proud. He figured out how to ask Alexa to play the episodes for him, and when it became a legitimate side gig he would tell anyone who would listen that his son had a Seahawks podcast and they should listen to it. I guess that question he kept asking since ‘96 was finally answered. That was his chance to say “I told you so.”

Truth be told, if it weren’t for him I probably wouldn’t be the sports fan I am today, I wouldn’t have a podcast, I wouldn’t be writing this column. It was our way of connecting, for a lifetime.

For that, I’ll always be thankful. For every single moment, I’m thankful. I miss him already.

At the end of every podcast episode I say “Forever and always, Go Hawks!”

But today….. forever and always, I love you Dad.

But Schneider kept his word, and the plan came to fruition midway through the first round when he used the 18th pick to select North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel. Zabel was installed as the immediate starter at left guard and has done nothing but prove his worth since both as a pass protector and run blocker, where he’s spent most of the season ranked first among interior linemen in NextGen Stats Run Block Win Rate metric.

Zabel’s performance is just one of the reasons Seattle’s offensive line is playing at a higher level than we’ve seen in at least a decade - allowing only 10 sacks of Sam Darnold through the first 10 games. That puts the Seahawks on pace to shatter the team record of fewest sacks allowed, set in 1977 when they gave up 21 sacks during what was then a 14 game season.

Despite that, the running game hasn’t quite been what offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak so desperately wants to serve as the foundation of his attack. There’s still work to be done with that unit, particularly at right guard where Anthony Bradford continues to struggle in his third year.

They may look to acquire a veteran there, as Seattle currently fields one of the youngest offensive lines in the league. But could Schneider instead shock us all and double down on IOL in back-to-back drafts?

It wasn’t my intention to prioritize that position in this 3-round mock draft, that’s not how I ever approach these things. I try and “let the board speak to me” while trying to balance positional need with the strengths of the class and a Best Player Available approach.

It just so happened that this time, those things all came together.

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How does it feel Seahawk fans? Has it sunk in yet?

Or, and this would be understandable, are ya still just a bit nervous?

Since winning their first Super Bowl in 2014, this team has crafted a brand - good, but not good enough.

We all know the story but it bears repeating today: over the last 10 years Seattle has won 97 games, good for 8th-best in the league. Some quick math tells us that’s an average of 9.7 wins per season - the definition of “mid” in a league where the rules are stacked against the winners, tilted towards the losers, and intended to create as much parity as possible. The greater the parity, the greater the fan interest across the country and that means more eyes on TV’s and more dollars in already-rich team owners bank accounts.

Over that span there have been 3 division titles and 6 post-season appearances but nary a playoff win along the way.

That all appears to be changing.

After destroying the Arizona Cardinals 44-22 in Seattle on Sunday the Seahawks improved to 7-2 for the first time since 2019. The New York Times Playoff Prediction Model gives them a 94% chance to make the playoffs and a 36% percent likelihood of winning the NFC West - and we’re barely halfway done with the season!

And yet here we are, once again having to fight for our lives in what might be the toughest division in football because Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford have the Los Angeles Rams rolling.

As you can see from the chart, the Times has the Rams slightly ahead of the Seahawks in their model, favoring them to come away with the division by 21 percentage points.

Why? Perhaps for the same reasons we as Seahawk fans cringe just a little bit when things seem to be going well, because we’re seen this story play out before. We’ve gotten our hopes up, only to be let down. Mediocrity is a flighty vixen, teasing us one minute only to turn around and remind us that we were wrong to expect anything more.

But this feels different, doesn’t it? Ever since Mike Macdonald was John Schneider’s hand-picked choice to succeed Pete Carroll, I’ve maintained that there was greatness ahead. Deep down I was certain it would come, it was only a matter of when. But after a master-stroke of an offseason that saw Schneider rise to his very best when forced with the prospect of two of his best players wanting out of town, all the pieces seem to be in place just a year and a half into Macdonald’s tenure.

The team that Schneider and Macdonald have built presents an enviable combination of youth, depth, and talent spread across every position group. Sam Darnold has been an obvious upgrade over Geno Smith, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba seized D.K. Metcalf’s departure and announced to the world that not only is he, yes, a true “WR1” - but he just might be one of one in the entire league. The defense is violent, fast, and smart. The offense can beat you in a number of ways. The offensive line is playing at a level we haven’t seen since in over a decade. The coaches know how to reach and prepare their players. Unsung and unknown players step in and perform at a high level whenever a starter goes down to injury. Most of all, we’re getting to a point where we can expect to see this type of performance week in and week out. This feel real.

And yet, nearly everything I just said about Seattle can also be applied to the Rams. When the Seahawks travel to LA Sunday for the first of two meetings remaining between these two teams, they may as well be staring in a mirror. This usually makes for epic football games - two talented teams vying for the same goal going head-to-head while playing their best ball of the season.

As a football fan, I can’t wait! These are the moments that make this sport so great, the moments I live for!

And I say all of that to say this…. we might just lose this game. The Rams are really good.

But guess what? We may very well flip the script, make a statement, and announce to the world that the NFC tide is turning! As I said earlier, this feels different. There’s a special quality to this team, and you can sense that no one believes this more than the players themselves. Sunday’s game is an opportunity, the kind of moment these players lay their bodies on the line for each and every day. And as fans, these are the reasons our closets are full of team gear, our pets are named after players, and we toss and turn waiting for game day.

This feels like the beginning of a long stretch of contention for an organization that wants to put the mediocrity brand behind them and get back to competing for championships - but forget about the future, this team is playing like they’re built for now, for this Sunday…. and beyond.

So try as you might, set aside your sports PTSD, fight against your natural inclination to fear the worst. Embrace this moment. Because no matter what happens at SoFi Stadium in 6 days, we’re witnessing the start of something extraordinary.

To borrow from a certain soon-to-be American League MVP who makes his living just across the street from Lumen Field…. “Might as well go win the whole damn thing.!”

It starts Sunday.

Check out www.nwforever.com for all of my content. YouTube, audio podcasts, substack, Discord, everything under one roof.

That obviously never came to fruition, but Glazer’s connections to the team were noteworthy.

With a seismic coaching change occurring early in 2024 the resulted in Mike Macdonald being the new head man in the PNW, does Glazer’s insight carry as much weight now?

We may be about to find out.

Today on the FOX NFL Pregame show Glazer shared what he knew about which team’s were approaching Tuesday’s trade deadline the most determinedly, and your Seahawks were front and center.

“The teams I’d say that are most aggressive right now…one team you’re talking about in the west here that may surprise you, the Seattle Seahawks, they are very aggressive right now, for several different positions,” said Glazer.

The “several different positions” is what stands out to me. Let’s examine the possibilities:

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No sooner had I written about the surprising return to practice of Christian Haynes than we received some bad news from Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.

Speaking to reporters prior to practice today, Macdonald divulged that star safety Julin Love suffered a setback to his injured hamstring and that his game status was “in jeopardy.”

Love missed the week 3 Saints game after suffering the injury the previous week in Pittsburgh. He came back and played in Arizona the following week but aggravated the hamstring against the Cardinals. Prior to the BYE, Macdonald had indicated that Love would likely be good to go and ready to practice in full after the break.

This will likely delay the Seahawks opportunity to get all five of their best secondary players back on the field at the same time. The combination of safeties Love and Coby Bryant, along with cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and rookie “big nickel” Nick Emmanwori only played four snaps together during their week one loss to San Francisco, as Emmanwori was injured on the games 5th play and was missed the next several games. They haven’t all been able to get back on the field at the same time since then.

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According to the team, when the Seattle Seahawks hold their first practice today in preparation for their Sunday Night Football matchup against the Washington Commanders, Christian Haynes will make his long-awaited and somewhat mysterious return from a pectoral injury that landed him on injured reserve to start the season.

Last year’s third round pick out of Connecticut, Haynes has failed to live up to expectations. Prior to the draft, Haynes was considered by most draft analysts to be the best wide-zone running scheme guard in the entire class, if not the best guard overall. Since then, he’s failed in numerous attempts to beat out Anthony Bradford for the right guard job.

The question now is - will he be given a legitimate chance to push for that spot again?

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And yet… here I am.

Still doing what I love for a living — still grinding, still hustling — and doing everything I can to make this work. And you have been with me through all of it. Every encouraging comment, every share, every dollar of support has mattered more than you know.

So first and foremost — thank you.

Big changes are here.

Over the past year, I’ve been experimenting with different platforms — YouTube, Patreon, Substack — trying to find the best way to deliver content, reward supporters, and build a true community around the teams and topics we love most.

Starting today, I’m streamlining everything under one unified banner: Northwest Forever.

You can now access everything I create through www.nwforever.com — the new Patreon hub that ties it all together. And I mean Seahawks Forever, Mariners Forever and whatever else I decide to do all in one place!!

Here’s what’s new:

• 🏈 ALL my podcasts and videos — and without the YouTube-inserted extra ads on the videos!

• 📰 Full Substack access — all columns, breakdowns, offseason plans, and deep dives are included.

• 💬 Discord community access — daily conversations with other fans and creators.

• 🏆 The “Bracket of Boom” — our new monthly fan tournament where you vote to decide one video topic for me to produce.

• 🎥 Exclusive livestreams and private video chats — just for supporters.

All of this — under one roof — is available now through the “All Everything Package” on Patreon.

About Substack

Up until now, my Substack has been completely free. I originally planned to start charging once the season began… then I pushed that date back… and back again.

But after a year of learning how to sustain this work, that changes today.

I’ll still post some free articles occasionally, but if you want full access to everything I write — film studies, breakdowns, offseason plans, and opinion pieces — you’ll need a paid Substack subscription. I’ve set it at $5/month, which is literally the lowest Substack will allow (I tried to make it $3!).

And remember: if you’re already a Patreon member, Substack access is automatically included in your membership at www.nwforever.com — no need to subscribe twice.

What doesn’t change

If you’re used to watching my videos on YouTube or listening to my podcasts on Spotify, Apple, or elsewhere — nothing changes for you. You’ll still be able to enjoy all the regular content there.

The difference is that Patreon members get:

• Uninterrupted versions of every video (no more auto-inserted YouTube ads!)

• All my audio podcast episodes

• Bonus segments and early releases

• A true community experience through Discord and monthly live interactions.

Where we go from here

This next phase isn’t just about growth — it’s about value.

I believe these changes bring you more access, more connection, and more fun for less than the price of a couple of coffees a month.

I’m deeply thankful for everyone who’s been part of this journey so far. Together, we’re building something that feels unique to the Northwest — passionate, informed, creative, and community-driven.

Here’s to what’s next — and to growing Northwest Forever together.

— Dan

(P.S. You’ll notice I’ve updated the name of this Substack to “Northwest Forever,” so I can write not just about the Seahawks, but also the Mariners and other topics our community cares about.)