The Seahawks have put together the most interesting quarterback room since Matt Hasselbeck and Super Bowl-winning QB Trent Dilfer came along in 2001.
Back then, Mike Holmgren – then in his third year – added Hasselbeck and Dilfer to replace Jon Kitna and Brock Huard. Hasselbeck came in a trade with Green Bay and Dilfer came from Baltimore after stepping in as the starting QB there and winning the Super Bowl the previous year. It took a year or so for Hasselbeck to fully claim the job over Dilfer, but then the Hawks went on a five-year run of playoff seasons that included their own Super Bowl appearance (and controversial loss).
Pete Carroll and John Schneider also cleaned house at the position in 2012, when Russell Wilson and Matt Flynn replaced Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst. Wilson won the job as a rookie and went on to become the best QB in franchise history, overtaking Hasselbeck for that honor, while leading the Hawks to their only Super Bowl title and another Super Bowl that should have been a win.
Now the Seahawks have wiped the slate clean again, with the hope that it will lead to more Super Bowl wins under Mike Macdonald, now in his second season.
To recap, the Hawks traded Geno Smith and quickly replaced him with Sam Darnold, then brought back Drew Lock and traded Sam Howell while adding explosive Alabama QB Jalen Milroe in the third round.
Some liken that series of events to 2012, when the Seahawks signed Flynn and then used a third-round pick on Wilson.
But the big difference is Darnold is a former No. 3 overall draft pick coming off an excellent year in Minnesota that we all hope is the sign that Darnold has finally found his NFL stride. Flynn was a flash in the pan in Green Bay that the Hawks were taking a flier on.
Wilson was a surprise pick in the third round who came in ready to start. Milroe was a surprise pick in the third round (to us anyway) who is not coming in to start — Macdonald has made that very clear.
Now it will be fun to see how this plays out over the next year or so. There are several ways this could go.
To us, the most likely scenario is that Darnold continues to ascend and becomes the franchise, while Milroe is used as a gadget QB as he learns and becomes the No. 2 over Lock in 2026.
But what if Milroe picks up the NFL passing game quickly and well enough to start? If Darnold is playing well and the team is winning playoff games, that would create a good conundrum. Macdonald clearly has Lamar Jackson in mind as Milroe’s ceiling, and that could lead to a trade of Darnold in 2027. Or, if Darnold is winning playoff games, Milroe could show enough to merit interest from other teams.
Either way, that creates value for the team.
If Darnold were to play poorly in 2025 and the team were to try Milroe, that would shake things up heading into 2026. If Milroe clearly outplayed Darnold, then perhaps he would become the starter and the Hawks would ditch Darnold after one year.
In the worst case, neither Darnold nor Milroe steps up over the next two years and the Hawks are looking for a new QB in 2027. The most fatalistic fans think they will be on the hunt again next year, but that seems pretty unlikely. These new QBs will get a couple years to prove it.
Darnold has a big advantage right now on Milroe in that he has been in the NFL for several years, had success in Minnesota last year and is in a scheme he knows with the coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who taught him that scheme. Milroe’s only calling card right now is his raw athleticism, which might get him on the field for changeup plays in 2025 but not much more, assuming Darnold plays as he did in 2024.
The best case is that both quarterbacks keep improving in 2025 and 2026 and the Hawks have a decision to make in 2027 about whether to go with Darnold or Milroe as the franchise quarterback. The odd man out then likely gets traded.
If Milroe cannot reach Darnold’s level of competence, at worst he would seem a sparky second QB.
An informal poll featuring about 50 real answers resulted in about 60% thinking Milroe will take over in 2026 or 2027. That was three times as many as thought Darnold would hold on to the starting job.
Here are some fan thoughts:
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