Summer is still going strong in Seattle, which means there are more good times to be had before football season starts. But, for the Seahawks and the rest of the NFL, the preparation for football season starts this week.

It’s Year 2 of the Mike Macdonald era – with high expectations after his 10-win rookie season. The Hawks have a playoff-amenable schedule and an odd juxtaposition on offense and defense. The latter unit – a top-five defense — returns entirely intact, with two or three additions on top of that. The offense, meanwhile, is being rebuilt almost from the ground up – with just four definite returning starters (after Noah Fant was released this week) and a completely new staff.

It likely will take a while for the offense to jell. It starts with the line, which thankfully has a very solid left side in Charles Cross and rookie Grey Zabel but also has work to do at center and right guard. In the passing game, Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp need to get synced up. Ideally, Klint Kubiak and his familiar staff can work some magic with the running game early on, to take pressure off Darnold.

The schedule lines up for 11 or 12 wins, by our estimation. That would mean a playoff spot and a shot to do even more.  

Some might say: How can you predict a playoff season when we haven’t seen the completely remade offense in action? Well, Ryan Grubb’s imbalanced, dysfunctional, collegiately coached unit finished 18th in scoring, 14th in yards in 2024. Kubiak had the Saints off to a hot start (91 points) in his first two games with the team last season, before injuries tore the offense apart and the Saints finished 24th/21st. Macdonald is hoping to see Kubiak sustain that first two games over a full season in Seattle and see rankings at least as good as Kubiak’s 2021 Vikings offense (14th/12th) — which was the last offense he ran before the Saints in 2024.

As we have written before, Macdonald and Kubiak are trying to fast-track the development of the offense with players who know the scheme, especially Darnold.

Kupp is familiar with the scheme and said everyone is ready to make it come to life.

“I just believe in this style of offense, what it is, the detail that’s involved in making it happen,” he said when the Seahawks opened OTAs. “I think it’s the kind of offense you have to run if you want to win championships. We’ve got guys across the board, and guys are bought into it and are starting to understand what we’re trying to get done. It’s exciting to bring that stuff alive.”

While the offense will be a work in progress early in the season, the defense should hit the ground running. John Schneider improved Macdonald’s top-10 defense by adding DeMarcus Lawrence and Nick Emmanwori after re-signing Ernest Jones IV and Jarran Reed.

The veteran defenders were excited when they returned for offseason workouts.

“We’re just working on taking that next big step,” Leonard Williams said. “Across the board on defense, we feel like we’re the heart of this team, and we kind of showed that at the end of last year. Not saying that we don’t believe in those guys on the other side of the ball; I hope they’re thinking the same thing. I want them to think they’re the heart of the team. We take a lot of pride in that and we’re working towards being the tip of the spear for this team.”

As they begin to sharpen that spear, let’s take a look at the roster.

Quarterback

Key players: Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe.

Draft story: Picked Milroe late in the third round and traded Sam Howell to Minnesota for a big move up in the fifth round to get Rylie Mills. The net cost of the Howell experiment was a fourth-rounder. And the Hawks basically traded one Sam for another with the Vikings.

The status: Darnold is the No. 1 guy for 2025 and needs to shake all of the doubters by building on the success he had with the Vikings in 2024. … Milroe’s development will be fun to watch in the preseason. Once the season begins, it will be interesting to see when and how Macdonald uses Milroe. … The 2025 season will dictate what the Hawks do at the position in 2026. They have to be hoping Darnold plays to his contract, because that means they will have a shot at a good run through the postseason.

Macdonald on Milroe: “He’s going to be trained to play quarterback for us. When he’s in there, he’s going to be playing quarterback. But the athleticism is going to come to life when he’s on the field.”

Kupp on Darnold: “He’s awesome. He’s been great in terms of having a little bit of familiarity with the offense coming into this. The insights that he shares and the confidence he has in being able to say, ‘Hey, these are the things that have worked in this offense.’ … And being able to collaborate together and figure out what that looks like for us as we put this team together—this skill group, this offensive line, this quarterback group. As we get together and figure out what we’re going to be about, to be able to have that collaborative talking, it’s been really good.”

Running back

Key players: Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Damien Martinez, George Holani, FB Robbie Ouzts, FB Brady Russell.

Draft story: Martinez was rated a fourth-rounder and the Hawks got a steal in the seventh round. They also added the 274-pound Ouzts, the first fullback they have drafted in over a decade.

The status: Martinez is a power runner who proclaimed himself Beast Mode 2.0. It’s hard to envision him not making the team, which means one of the three holdovers is likely on the way out. Walker is in the final year of his rookie deal and has missed 10 games in his three seasons. It would not be a surprise to see him traded. That would leave a solid trio of Charbs, Martinez and McIntosh. The other option is simply having McIntosh and Martinez battle it out for the third spot. … Ouzts and Russell are the two nominal fullbacks, and it will be interesting to see how Kubiak uses them. Hard not to like a 274-pound fullback who can run 19 mph (per Schneider).

Macdonald: “We’ve got a lot of great players that fit that tight end-fullback mold. Special teams is going to be a big part of it, too. … It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Wide receiver

Key players: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jake Bobo, Tory Horton, Ricky White III.

Draft story: Horton was a great value pick in the fifth round (he was considered a late 3 or high 4). White was added in the seventh round.

The status: JSN has a whole bunch of new guys in the WR room. The vets will lead the way, but Horton should work his way into the mix while also returning punts. Ideally, he will replace MVS as the No. 3 in 2026. His slight build reminds us of Paul Richardson, who struggled with injuries for much of his Seattle tenure. The Hawks used less draft capital on Horton (a 5 vs. a 2), but hopefully he is not a repeat of P-Rich and becomes more like Tyler Lockett. … White could make the team on special teams – he blocked four punts at UNLV.

Tight end

Key players: A.J. Barner, Elijah Arroyo, Eric Saubert.

Draft story: Arroyo – a top-15 talent, per Schneider — was picked at 50 due to injury concerns.

The status: Fant was cut on the eve of camp, saving the team over $8 million. Now the pressure is on young guys Barner and Arroyo — the rookie needs to stay healthy and learn to beat NFL coverages. … Saubert is the veteran brought in to help the young guys learn the scheme, which he knows from his time in Denver and San Francisco. … Ouzts sure seems like a great guy to add in jumbo TE packages.

Offensive line

Key players: Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Abe Lucas, Josh Jones, Olu Oluwatimi, Christian Haynes, Anthony Bradford, Sataoa Laumea, Jalen Sundell, Bryce Cabeldue, Michael Jerrell, Mason Richman.

Draft story: Zabel was the ace pick at 18 – without a starting guard, the draft would have been a failure. As usual, Schneider added a couple of late-round linemen. People seem most jazzed about Cabeldue.

The status: The Hawks took the first step toward extending Cross by picking up his fifth-year option. A new deal is coming. … Other than Jones, the new swing tackle, this line group is entirely homegrown. Kubiak, Rick Dennison and John Benton will have to sort through all of these lesser talents and find the best center and right guard. Olu is penciled in at the pivot, but some people think 2024 UDFA Sundell – Zabel’s North Dakota State teammate and roommate — could be better. Neither is proven for a full season though. … Haynes should be the favorite for right guard, based on draft pedigree, but Bradford and Laumea beat him out in 2024 and now Cabeldue is in that mix. One of those guys will end up behind Zabel at left guard. … Because Zabel can play every position, they need to keep only nine linemen on the 53.

Defensive line

Key players: Jarran Reed, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Johnathan Hankins, Mike Morris, Rylie Mills. 

Draft story: Mills was added in the fifth round, but he is likely to miss at least half the season as he recovers from an ACL injury.

The status: The top three are stellar, but this unit is very thin behind them. After missing out on a nose tackle in the draft, they brought back Hankins. They will keep looking for big bodies until they find a good one. … Schneider is going to have to make another move at some point, like he did for Roy Robertson-Harris last year.

Inside linebacker

Key players: Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, Drake Thomas, Josh Ross.

Draft story: It was a weak draft at linebacker and Seattle took none.

The status: Jones was re-signed to lead the run defense. Knight remains his sidekick. Emmanwori is a safety first, but he should add depth here, too — especially in nickel. Otherwise, this unit is very thin yet again.

Outside linebacker

Key players: Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, DeMarcus Lawrence.

Draft story: The draft was full of good edge rushers, but the Hawks did not get one. But they added UDFA Jared Ivey (6-6, 274) from Ole Miss; he was rated a fifth-rounder by Dane Brugler.

The status: Lawrence should boost the run defense and be a solid rotational pass rusher with Nwosu, Mafe and Hall. The latter two combined for 14 sacks in 2024. Mafe is in a contract year. … Nwosu redid his deal and started camp on PUP. He might not be in Seattle past 2025 if he cannot stay healthy (22 missed games over the past two seasons). … Lawrence, 33, also might just be a one-year guy, so this position looms as possibly a big need in the 2026 draft. For 2025, though, it looks like a solid bunch.

Cornerback

Key players: Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Shaq Griffin, Nehemiah Pritchett.

Draft story: The Seahawks needed a corner, but they really wanted Emmanwori and then chose Arroyo at 50 instead. They did sign LSU’s Zy Alexander (6-1, 187, 4.56), who was considered a fifth-round talent. But he was cut on the eve of camp due to an injury.

The status: Griffin was brought back after four seasons away playing with JAX, HOU, CAR and MIN. … Macdonald is looking to get more consistent play out of Woolen in his contract year. We thought he might be a trade option, but that seems out after the Hawks did not draft a corner. … Jobe (back for $1.9 million this year) also will be a free agent in 2026, so Witherspoon figures to have different teammates next year. But, like outside linebacker, it’s a solid unit in 2025.

Safety

Key players: Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Nick Emmanwori, A.J. Finley, Jerrick Reed.

Draft story: Emmanwori slid into the second round, and the Hawks jumped up 17 spots to get the safety who was rated No. 15 overall by Daniel Jeremiah and No. 17 by Dane Brugler.

The status: Emmanwori signed a fully guaranteed deal ($11.6 million) and will play all over the place once he gets acclimated to Macdonald’s defense. He is lucky to be behind two big playmakers in Love and Bryant, although he should bump Bryant from the starting lineup at some point. Bryant is a free agent in 2026, so the Hawks are set at safety whether they keep him or not.

Special teams

Key players: Michael Dickson, Jason Myers, Chris Stoll.

Draft story: The Hawks added several guys who should help on special teams, especially Horton and Wright.

The status: Dickson received an extension in June. He is the NFL’s top-paid punter at about $4 million a year. … Myers is signed for two more years.