Even with a 2-0 record, the Seahawks still have a few offensive questions hanging in the air.
That’s not a panic button. Not even close.
Seattle’s defense has been the story through two weeks, giving up just 17 points total, allowing the second-fewest yards in the league, and keeping opponents out of the 100-yard rushing club for 30 straight games. The Seahawks also lead the NFL with four takeaways, which means they’ve got more interceptions than scores allowed.
That side of the ball has been every bit as suffocating as it was during last season’s Super Bowl run.
The offense, though, has a little more gray area.
Yes, the Seahawks put up four touchdowns against the Cardinals in Week 2. Yes, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is still leading the league in receiving yards. And yes, they’ve gotten this far with backup quarterback Drew Lock handling all but five snaps.
Still, when the phone lines opened Monday, listeners had plenty to ask about that group. Three topics kept coming up.
The first: who’s actually WR2 behind Smith-Njigba, and when does Rashid Shaheed start looking like the player Seattle paid for?
That’s a fair question, even if it comes with some caution. Last year, after a Week 1 loss to the 49ers, the same kind of concern surfaced about Seattle’s receiver depth behind Smith-Njigba.
It didn’t end up mattering. JSN went on to account for more than 35% of all targets and finished with over 1,700 receiving yards.
Shaheed is a different case. Seattle gave him a three-year, $51 million deal in March after he was a difference-maker on special teams, especially as a returner.
He never fully broke through on offense, but the midseason acquisition and his impact on punt and kickoff returns made that easier to live with. After a full offseason in Seattle, though, the expectation was that he’d settle into a more visible role.
So far, fans are still waiting.
“I see a guy who’s still learning the wideout position,” said former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus, co-host with Stacy Rost on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “There are little things he could improve on, but the one thing he’s always going to have on his side is that he’s fast.
Once he gets the football, he’s got to be able to hit that gear and go. I think the more reps he gets, the more he understands this offense, the more comfortable he’ll be when he’s in traffic.”
Bumpus also pointed out that Shaheed could have more room to operate against teams that lean on man coverage. Washington, Seattle’s Week 3 opponent, is not one of those teams - the Commanders have used man coverage just 9% of the time through two weeks. But the schedule does bring some better fits later, including the Bears at 43%, and the Broncos and Chiefs at 23% apiece.
The backfield is another area where the picture still isn’t fully clear.
Rookie Jadarian Price has flashed enough to make people pay attention, especially after he ripped off his longest run yet last Sunday against Arizona: 25 yards. But he also left that game with a shoulder injury. Emmanuel Wilson stepped in and finished with nearly 100 yards, yet the combination of Price’s injury, his rookie status, and Zach Charbonnet’s eventual return from an ACL tear has kept the run-game conversation from landing on a firm answer.
Charbonnet, for now, remains on the physically unable to perform list and has to miss a minimum of four weeks to start the season.
Head coach Mike Macdonald didn’t sound especially worried about Price’s shoulder when he spoke Monday with Brock and Salk.
Then there’s the tight end group, which feels like the next place Seattle could unlock more.
AJ Barner nearly doubled his production from his rookie season last year, and 2025 second-round pick Elijah Arroyo is finally healthy. That combination gives Seahawks fans reason to wonder whether this group can become more involved, especially with one touchdown after another going to Smith-Njigba instead.
And if there’s a matchup that might help, Week 3 offers one. The Commanders allowed the fifth-most fantasy points and the second-most touchdowns to tight ends in 2025.
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Sam Darnold Decision They Wanted Soon
The Seahawks have spent the first two weeks of the season building momentum without ever really getting their quarterback situation settled. They opened with a close win over the Patriots, then backed it up with a more convincing result against the Cardinals, and in the process Drew Lock has done enough in Sam Darnolds place to keep Seattle moving while the starter works back from the glute injury that kept him out of the opener.
Now Darnold is expected to return to practice this week, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, which means the conversation the Seahawks hoped to delay is suddenly here. Lock has handled the job well enough to keep the team unbeaten, but Seattle remains committed to Darnold as its starter, so the next step is less about whether the team likes what it has seen and more about how quickly it wants to hand the offense back to the quarterback it planned to build around. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Have A Bigger QB Decision Than Fans Expected
Sam Darnolds availability has quickly become the Seahawks most interesting storyline heading into Week 3, even with Mike Macdonald making it clear the job belongs to the starter if hes healthy enough to go. Darnold has been dealing with a glute injury suffered in Week 1, and Seattle has had to weigh the value of getting him back on the field against the reality that Drew Lock has looked steady in relief.
Macdonald said Darnold is expected to practice in some capacity before the team makes its final call, which keeps the situation in motion for now. For a Seahawks offense trying to settle in early in the season, the question is no longer just whether Darnold can suit up, but whether Seattle has a reason to keep riding the hand the backup has given it if the starter is close but not quite ready. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Face A Drew Lock Decision They May Not Afford
Sam Darnolds injury absence has already reminded the Seahawks how much value there is in a dependable No. 2 quarterback, and Drew Lock has filled that role well enough to keep Seattle afloat. In limited starts, he helped the team go 2-0, giving the staff a level of comfort that is hard to find once a season starts to turn on depth and availability.
Now comes the part Seattle would rather avoid: interest from the outside. With the Giants suddenly in need after Jaxson Darts season-ending injury, Lock is a name that could come up, but the Seahawks may be wiser to treat him as more than a movable asset. A reliable backup is one of those pieces teams only miss once they no longer have it, and Seattles situation makes that lesson feel especially current. [Read more 🡒]