MORSE: Preview of The Seattle Seahawks Opening Night

The focus is now on the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Seahawks easily dispatched the Patriots in the Super Bowl and open the new NFL season with a marquee matchup on Wednesday night before a national audience. This game features a rematch of the Super Bowl. Seattle will be raising their banner in front of their rabid 12^th man crowd.

Coaching accounted for a ton of success in Seattle, more than probably most successful teams that have won a Super Bowl in recent memory. Mike Macdonald did an outstanding job with the offense, because that is where most of the magic needed to happen to elevate a below-average roster. First, let’s take a step back to the spring of 2025. After three straight winning seasons, the Seahawks did something close to unthinkable. They blew up the offense. – Warren Sharp

Offense

3 WR 1 TE

The Seahawks were very healthy last year, even healthier than the Pats. Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba played all 17 games. Walker left in Free Agency, and Zack Chabonnet has not yet recovered from his ACL knee injury. They will be starting 1st-round pick rookie Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame.

The biggest loss may be that of losing Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak. “The Seahawks did lose their offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, who left to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach. Brian Fleury replaces him after spending the past seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. He served as run game coordinator and tight ends coach in his final year,” wrote Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuiness.

Pos	Starter	2nd	3rd	4th
QB	Sam Darnold	Drew Lock	Jalen Milroe	–
RB	Jadarian Price	George Holani	Emanuel Wilson Q	Zach Charbonnet O
WR	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	Tory Horton Q	Jake Bobo IR	–
WR	Rashid Shaheed	Montorie Foster Jr.	–	–
WR	Cooper Kupp	Irv Charles IR	–	–
TE	AJ Barner	Eric Saubert	Elijah Arroyo	Nick Kallerup
FB	Brady Russell	Robbie Ouzts IR	–	–
LT	Charles Cross	Josh Jones	–	–
LG	Grey Zabel	Beau Stephens	Mason Richman IR	–
C	Jalen Sundell	Olu Oluwatimi	–	–
RG	Anthony Bradford	Christian Haynes	Bryce Cabeldue	–
RT	Abraham Lucas	–	–	–

Darnold was a retread QB with a 35-38 career record after washing out of every prior stop on his journey. And that in 2025, Darnold would lead the league in turnovers, with:

The #2 most interceptions of any player…

The #1 most fumbles of any player…

The #2 most fumbles lost of any player…

His total of 20 turnovers: #1 most turnovers of any player in 2025 (20)

#1 most EPA lost of any player in 2025 (-100.2)

Darnold wasn’t great in the Super Bowl. He was 19/38 (50%) for 202 yards a TD and a 53 QBR. JSN was held to 4 catches for 27 yards (1 catch against Gonzo).

The Seahawks won the Super Bowl by running the ball down our throats with zone runs. They attacked our EDGEs (Chaisson and Jennings) and gashed us to make it 3^rd and short almost every series. Not having Walker is a big blow. Seattle didn’t play any of their starters in the preseason games (that sounds familiar). We don’t have any idea how Price will perform.

Price was electric per touch in college at Notre Dame, averaging more than 6.0 yards in all three of his college seasons. He forced a missed tackle on a class-high 26.9% of his touches. On one hand, there are far worse things than saying, “Well, Price was just not as good as Jeremiyah Love, and that’s why he was limited.” On the other hand, it still leaves us with some guesswork, since we do not see many backs with such light collegiate workloads selected highly in the NFL. Price has just 295 touches on his college resume. That is the fewest touches for any first-round running back in the 2000s – Warren Sharp

George Holani will serve as RB2.

JSN versus Gonzo is a primetime matchup worth watching. Smith-Njigba was uncoverable last year before the Super Bowl. Rashid Shaheen is a big-play wideout. Cooper Kupp is reliable when healthy. Last season he had 47 catches for 593 yards and 2 TDs. However, Kupp is now 33 and on the back nine of his career.

The Tight Ends are led by AJ Barner. He led the TEs with 52 catches on 68 targets for 519 yards and 6 TDs. Elijah Arroyo came in as a highly touted rookie 2nd-round pick out of Miami last year. Arroyo was targeted 26 times with 15 catches for 179 yards, 11.9 YPC, and no TDs.

The Offensive line is a veteran group and has jumped into a top-10 ranking before the season starts. Three of the five starters played all 20 games last year, and Darnold was pressured on just 21% of his dropbacks. LT Charles Cross was a 2022 1st-round selection (#9) to anchor their Left Side. The 25-year-old’s PFF Grade was 73.2, 30/89 OTs last year. LG Grey Zabel had a good rookie season last season. The 6’6”, 305-pound Guard from North Dakota State was the Seahawks ‘ 1st-round selection (#18) in 2025. His PFF Grade was 57.2, 51/81amongst Guards. At center, Jalen Sundell has solidified the position. The 6’5”, 300-pound UDFA from 2024 played at North Dakota State with Grey Zabel. His PFF Grade was 64.1, 19/ 41 Centers in 2025.

RG Anthony Bradford is a massive 6’5”, 332-pound Guard. The 25-year-old played at LSU. He was the Seahawks ‘ 4th-round (109) selection in 2023. His PFF Grade was 50.6, 70/81 amongst Guards. Right Tackle is Abraham Lucas. The 6’6”, 315-pound Washington State OT is 27, entering his 5^th year in the league. He was selected in the 3^rd round (#72) of the 2022 Draft. His PFF Grade was 75.5, 24/89 among tackles. All five linemen are 27 or younger. That’s draft and develop, and they used high draft capital to do it.

Defense

Base 3-4

We all know what a great coach McDonald is on Defense with their Big Nickel, 3 Safety Defense. If we’re being honest, the defense clearly carried the offense to the Super Bowl and won it for Seattle. The Patriots had 78 TOTAL YARDS through three quarters with 0 points and one total drive (out of 10) that even crossed midfield. That drive ended on the Seahawks’ 44-yard line. Seattle allowed the third-lowest EPA per play of any Super Bowl defense in the modern era. – Warren Sharp

	Starter	2nd	3rd	4th
LDE	Leonard Williams	Mike Morris	–	–
NT	Byron Murphy II	Brandon Pili Q	–	–
RDE	Jarran Reed	Rylie Mills	–	–
WLB	DeMarcus Lawrence	Dante Fowler Jr.	–	–
LILB	Drake Thomas	Tyrice Knight	Chazz Surratt	–
RILB	Ernest Jones IV	Patrick O’Connell	Power Echols IR	Aaron Smith IR
SLB	Uchenna Nwosu	Derick Hall	Connor O’Toole	–
LCB	Devon Witherspoon	Nehemiah Pritchett	–	–
SS	Ty Okada	Bud Clark IR	–	–
FS	Julian Love	–	–	–
RCB	Josh Jobe	Julian Neal Q	Avery Smith	Terrion Arnold O
NB	Nick Emmanwori Q	–	–	–

The Defense was 1^st against the run, giving up just 3.5 Yards per Carry. Leonard Williams is a monster at LDE. He 6’ 5”, 310-pound End was the 1^st round (#6) selection of the Jets in 2015. Entering his 12^th season, Williams is a 3 x Pro Bowl and an All-Pro selection. Seattle just signed him to a three-year extension with $60M of new money. His PFF grade was 75.3, good for 11/134 among DTs. Byron Murphy played very well last year. The 6’1”, 305-pound NT from Texas went on to have 62 Tackles and 7 Sacks from the NT position. He was a former 1st-round selection (#16) in the 2024 Draft by Seattle. Murphy’s Grade was 72.4. 25/134. Jarran Reed is the RDE. The 6’3”, 315-pound lineman played at Alabama. The 33-year-old was drafted in the 2016 Draft, 2^nd round (49^th). This is Reed’s second stint with Seattle.

On the EDGE is Demarcus Lawrence, formerly of Dallas. The 6’3”, 265-pound DE came to Seattle via trade. The former Boise State Bronco finished with a PFF Grade of 82.9, 13^th/115 Defensive Ends. Uchenna Nwosu is the other DE. The 6’2”, 251-pound End played at USC. Nwosu was selected in the 2018 2^nd round (48) by the LA Chargers. His PFF Grade was 60.4, 80^th/ 115. The Seahawks lost Boye Mafi in Free Agency, and that could be a big loss.

At one of the Inside LBs is Drake Thomas, a 6’ 223-pound LB from NC State. He was an UDFA signed by Las Vegas in 23. His PFF Grade was 73, 23^rd /88 LBs. Thomas has come out of nowhere to be an effective defensive player. Earnest Jones is the other ILB. Jones is 6’2”, 230 pounds. Out of South Carolina. He was selected in the 2021 draft in the 3^rd round, 104) by the LA Rams. His PFF Grade was 58.8, 50^th /88 LBs.

The secondary is led by Devon Witherspoon, who just signed a massive contract, resetting the defensive back market ahead of the Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez. The 5’11”, 181-pound CB played at Illinois. He was drafted in 2023, 1^st round (#5). His PFF Grade last season was 89.9, 1^st / 114 CBs.

Witherspoon was a 2nd Team All-Pro in 2025 and a 3x Pro Bowl player. Ty Okada is the S who is replacing Cobee Bryant, whom the Seahawks lost in Free Agency. The 5’11” 185-pound S played at Montana State and was a UDFA in 2023. His PFF grade was 73, 17^th / 98 Safeties. Julian Love is the other Safety. The 5’11”, 195-pound safety played at Notre Dame. He was selected in the 4th round (108th overall) in 2019. His 82.2 PFF Grade was 6th /98 Safeties in 2025. Love was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2023. Josh Jobe has been elevated to replace Riq Woolen, whom they lost in Free Agency. Jobe is 5’11”, 191 pounds, and played at Alabama. He went undrafted in 2022 and was signed by Philadelphia. His PFF Grade last season was 56.6 81^st / 114 CBs. He is the weak link in their secondary.

Nick Emmanawori had a terrific rookie season last year. Mike Macdonald used Emmanwori as a hybrid Linebacker / Safety in a Big Nickel alignment. This allowed the Seahawks to play a 2 Deep safety alignment. The Blitz packages they dialed up put pressure on the QB. Emmanwori is hurt and is unlikely to play in the game Wednesday. The 6’3” 227-pound Safety played at South Carolina and was a 2025 2nd-round selection (35). His PGG grade was 71, 21^st / 98 Safeties. If he can’t go, the Seahawks don’t have another Safety on their 53-man roster. They will have to elevate one of four Safeties they have on their Practice Squad (D’Anthony Bell, AJ Finley, Maxem Hook, or Rodney Thomas. This could change everything for the Seahawks Defense.

Special Teams

	Starter	2nd	3rd
PK	Jason Myers	–	–
P	Michael Dickson	–	–
H	Michael Dickson	–	–
PR	Rashid Shaheed	Tory Horton Q	–
KR	Rashid Shaheed	Jadarian Price	George Holani
LS	Chris Stoll	–	–

Jason Meyers led the NFL Kickers with 171 points. He finished 18^th in FG%.

Michael Dickson was 5^th with a 49.0 yards-per-kick average, but fell to 12^th with 42.2 net per punt. Dickson, as you may remember, was outstanding in flipping field position in the Super Bowl.

Rashid Shaheed is an excellent Punt Returner. He averaged 14.4 Yards Per PR, 4^th right behind Marcus Jones at 17.3.

Shaheed is not nearly as dynamic as a kickoff returner, and he had so few that he didn’t get ranked. I would be really surprised if Jadarian Price is on the kickoff return team.

The Seahawks were able to sign three of their own players to huge contract extensions. They have been able to do this because they have drafted very well, developed their own players, and extended them before they can reach Free Agency. However, they lost 4 starters to Free Agency, and the middle to lower end of their team roster is weak. They signed 3 Free Agents to low-end, 1-year contracts: DE Dante Fowler ($2.5M), CB Noah Igbinoghene ($1.8M), and RB Emmanuel Wilson ($1.5M).

The Seahawks enter the game as 3.5-point favorites. A team gets 3 points for being the home team, which means the oddsmakers think this is going to be a close game, a game the Patriots just might be able to put in their win column.

Injury Report

The first Official Injury Reports from both teams:

Patriots

Ben Brown Knee DNP

TryVeyon Henderson Ankle DNP

Christian Barmore Knee DNP

Seattle

Nick Emmanwori S Ankle LP

Ty Okada S Hamstring DNP

Julian Neal CB Quad FP

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN stated Nick Emmanwori is considered ‘iffy at best’ to be available for the week one game against the New England Patriots.

TreVeyon Henderson was seen in street clothes and didn’t participate in practice on Sunday. He is unlikely to play on Wednesday Night.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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