The Seahawks are heading into 2026 with a championship offense that looks familiar in a lot of places, but not untouched. The core is back, the quarterback room still looks solid, and there’s real reason to think some pieces can take a step forward. There’s also one glaring question hanging over the whole group: what happens when Kenneth Walker III is no longer the guy defenses fear most?
Start up front, where Seattle is bringing back the same five projected starters that opened in the Super Bowl: Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford, and Abraham Lucas. That continuity mattered all last season, and it still matters now. Offensive lines that stay together long enough usually become sturdier than the sum of their parts, and that’s a big reason Seattle won it all in 2025.
This group could easily be labeled “same,” but there’s a case for a little more. Zabel and Sundell are both entering Year 2, and neither one is expected to backslide.
If anything, the expectation is that both improve, with Zabel the most likely to make the bigger jump. Bradford may be the spot that gets the most scrutiny, though that concern may be overstated.
Rookie Beau Stephens should have time to settle in, and if Josh Jones is back to full health, the line has a chance to be a touch better than it was a year ago.
At tight end, Seattle again has a group that should hold its ground. A.J.
Barner has already outperformed the early expectations that came with him, and he’s become a more dependable receiver than many thought he’d be. He, Eric Saubert, and Nick Kallerup also bring the kind of blocking that can wear on a defense over four quarters.
The biggest swing factor here is Elijah Arroyo. He missed the end of his rookie season, and Seattle is hoping he can add a more dangerous downfield element in 2026. Nobody is ready to stamp a ceiling on him yet, but the upside is there.
The receiver room is where things get more complicated. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was basically the whole passing game last season, and no team leaned on one pass catcher more heavily than Seattle did.
He’s back, so the floor is still high. But he won’t sneak up on anybody this time.
Defenses will spend the offseason building answers for him, and the Rams have already made moves at cornerback and edge rusher with Smith-Njigba in mind.
That means Seattle needs more from the rest of the group. A full offseason with Rashid Shaheed and a healthier Tory Horton could help provide it. That’s enough to keep this unit from sliding, but not enough to make a strong case that it’s clearly better.
The backfield is the one place where the offense could feel the loss most sharply. Kenneth Walker III gave Seattle a home-run threat that changed how defenses had to play.
Zach Charbonnet can be serviceable, and Emanuel Wilson can help if Charbonnet needs time coming back from injury. But the question is whether anyone else can bring the same kind of explosive stress Walker did.
That job falls to Jadarian Price now, and whether he can handle it is a major unknown. That uncertainty is why this group looks worse.
Then there’s Sam Darnold, who deserves more credit than he usually gets for how quickly he handled last season. He joined a new team, with new teammates and a new system, for the fourth time in four years, and still managed to settle in fast and become the team’s leader.
He should be even better in 2026. His connection with Smith-Njigba is already established, and his timing with the rest of the receivers - especially Shaheed - should keep improving.
Drew Lock gives Seattle a steady backup, and Jalen Milroe adds developmental depth. The one concern is the departure of Klint Kubiak, because quarterbacks and offensive coordinators build a special kind of trust.
If Darnold and Brian Fleury don’t get on the same page, it could matter. The expectation here, though, is that they sort it out this summer.
In Other News...
Seahawks Could Revisit A Familiar 2016 Pick Before Camp
Nick Vannetts name has surfaced again in Seattle just before veterans are set to report to training camp, a reminder of how the Seahawks sometimes circle back to familiar faces when roster building gets serious. The tight end, a third-round pick by Seattle in 2016, spent his first four seasons with the team before moving on and later landing with several other NFL clubs, including a recent stop with the Rams.
The timing of the visit makes it notable, especially with a new offensive coordinator in place and the tight end room still a spot worth watching. Vannetts experience in a different system could make him a useful piece if Seattle wants more continuity in how that group is used, but even a return would not come with any guarantees about where he fits once the roster starts getting trimmed. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks May Have A Surprising Answer To A Major Pass Rush Debate
Nic Scourtons ACL tear changed the Carolina Panthers edge-rush outlook for 2026, and it also opened a door for a Seahawks team still weighing how to handle its own pass-rush depth. Uchenna Nwosu has become part of that conversation, with the idea of moving him surfacing as a way for Seattle to reshape the position while giving a wounded Panthers front another veteran option.
For the Seahawks, the appeal is not just what they might get back, but what a deal could free up in the bigger roster picture. The cap room created by moving Nwosu could give Seattle flexibility to chase outside help, and names like Jadeveon Clowney and Joey Bosa have already been floated as possible fits, even if those possibilities remain firmly in the speculative stage for now. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Tough Olu Oluwatimi Decision At Camp
As training camp opens and the Seahawks get ready to defend their title, one of the quieter roster questions has suddenly become a real one in the middle of the offensive line. ESPNs Brady Henderson has projected center Olu Oluwatimi as a possible trade candidate, a notable turn for a player who started half of the 2024 season and has been part of the teams recent interior-line planning.
The bigger issue is what that means for Seattles depth chart going forward, especially with Oluwatimi not included in Hendersons 2026 roster projection. Jalen Sundell is currently viewed as the player ahead of him at center, which leaves the Seahawks weighing whether to keep Oluwatimi as insurance or explore a market that could form before camp is over or later in the season. [Read more 🡒]