The Seahawks actually gave away two third-round picks for Quenton Nelson.
There was the one they gave the Colts in the trade (along with a future 5), and there was the one they cut to make room for the All-Pro guard.
It’s a great lesson about how John Schneider should always approach his third-rounders: Trade them. For players, for higher draft picks, for a cup of coffee. Just get rid of them.
Continue reading Schneider has found better ways to use his third-rounders
When Sam Darnold makes two major mistakes, it’s 50-50 whether the Seahawks will overcome them. But if he limits himself to just one, the Hawks win. Always.
Behind a dominant Dark Side performance, another JSN classic and a much-improved game from Darnold and the offense, Seattle clamped down on Kenneth Walker III and Patrick Mahomes on Sunday night – handing the Chiefs their first 2026 loss, 20-3.
It was a reminder that the Seahawks are fully capable of dominating any team in the NFL and are still a force to be reckoned with as long as they do not give the ball away.
Mike Macdonald said, “We’re still a championship-caliber team, and that’s what we’re chasing.”
Continue reading Darnold & Co. do their part as Dark Side smothers Chiefs
(UPDATE: This post originally included thoughts on Joe Mixon signing, but the Seahawks decided not to sign him.)
A lot of fans seem to be pretty displeased with Seattle’s backfield, despite Emanuel Wilson’s excellent game in the 30-23 win over the Chargers.
It’s understandable, with Kenneth Walker III leading the NFL in rushing for Kansas City, Jadarian Price on injured reserve and Zach Charbonnet still a couple weeks away from his season debut. A backfield of Wilson, George Holani and Velus Jones Jr. is not that inspiring.
The Seahawks seem to agree. They had Joe Mixon in for a visit, but they reportedly changed their minds on signing him after his physical. They did add rookie UDFA Robert Henry Jr. to the 53 from Washington’s PS. And then they added Dontae McMillan to the PS instead of Mixon.
Continue reading Hawks decline to sign Mixon; Charbs’ return delayed another week
When Sam Darnold was lost after one series vs. the Patriots in the NFL opener Thursday night, it was definitely a big bummer. But Drew Lock came in and played about like we expected: a couple of sparks and no big mistakes. With the No. 1 defense in the NFL backing him, that was enough to pull off a 13-10 win in a sloppy game by both teams.
With the news that Darnold might miss fewer than four games with his hip injury, the Seahawks look well prepared to weather the storm.
Continue reading Hawks should be OK until Darnold returns
Is Nick Emmanwori really iffy for the season opener? Or are he and Mike Macdonald playing mind games with the Patriots?
Emmanwori is coming back from ankle surgery that was performed in July. He has returned to the field in a limited capacity, based on injury reports.
The final episode of “Hard Knocks” featured another conversation between coach and player, in which Emmanwori said, “I feel like I’m grinding every day to a point where it’s like I’m making progress but can’t really do back-to-back hard days like that. Two days ago, I was pushing it, like I was running, and the next day it was kind of sore.
“I feel like other people’s (idea of) where they think I should be at, or where they want me to be, could be kind of interfering with where I’m trying to go or where I’m trying to get to.”
Continue reading Are Emmanwori and Macdonald toying with the Patriots?
The Seahawks’ roster – the 40 or so guys who matter most anyway – has been set all summer. The biggest struggle in camp involved sorting out the back end of the defense – and even as the cut to 53 (plus 17 on the practice squad) was made, the secondary is still the most unsettled position group on the team.
The top four – Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Julian Love and Ty Okada – are ready to roll. But Nick Emmanwori, rookie Julian Neal, new trade acquisition Avery Smith and recent vet signee Trevon Diggs (on the practice squad) all are behind in their prep for the season.
Emmanwori and Neal are just now practicing after recovering from injuries (surgery in E-Man’s case). Smith just arrived via trade from the Chargers (where he was in a similar defense), and Diggs signed a couple of weeks ago and saw just a few plays in the final preseason game. It will be a race to see which of those guys is ready for the opener Sept. 9.
Continue reading Initial roster set, but secondary is still in progress
Many NFL observers have made a big deal about the Seahawks losing two starters and two major backups this offseason. Some argue that those four losses – along with an offensive coordinator change — are enough to even make them questionable as contenders in 2026.
But Brian Nemhauser (HawkBlogger) recently performed a fun exercise that confirmed what we and other savvy observers already knew: The Seahawks certainly did not get any worse this offseason.
On the contrary, on defense anyway, the Hawks are likely to be even better off (as we have said).
Continue reading EPA splits reveal defense is no worse for departures
One of the great things about the Seahawks is that they are just discovering what they can do under Mike Macdonald, who is in just his third season running the team and is referring to the process toward winning another Super Bowl as “running it forward” – trying to get better (in all ways) than the 2025 team that won it all.
As the Seahawks prepare to finish their offseason work with a minicamp this week, we’ve learned quite a bit about their progress so far.
Among the major learnings over the past month:
Let’s take a look at what the Seahawks have said about their offseason work.
Continue reading Where Hawks are in ‘running it forward’
The signing of Dante Fowler Jr. does a couple of things for Seattle: (1) Finishes the replacement of the four key free agents who left and (2) potentially upgrades the pass rush by a bit.
The roster is now largely set – with maybe seven spots up for grabs or rotation — as the Seahawks prepare for another Super Bowl title run in 2026.
The question is: How much better are the Hawks now than they were in their 2025 championship season?
More important: Are they good enough on defense to stop Matthew Stafford’s Rams?
Continue reading Fowler (maybe) completes roster; now how good is it?
It’s Seahawks vs. Patriots Redux. There are tons of great storylines. Let’s check them out …
Sam Darnold is getting all kinds of well-deserved kudos for how he has rebounded from terrible situations in his first five seasons. Christian McCaffrey was teammates with him both in Carolina and San Francisco and calls him “one of my best friends and also an incredible player.” Josh Allen doesn’t usually watch the Super Bowl, but he will Sunday because he and Darnold (fellow 2018 first-round picks) are very good friends.
Continue reading
