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Seattle Seahawks Offensive Report Card

Image: seattletimes.com

Seattle Seahawks Offensive Report Card

This offensive report card will feature each offensive position group featuring starters and depth of the Seattle Seahawks roster and giving them a grade. These grades should give insight for what the team needs to upgrade over the off-season.

Season Summary

One of the popular picks for Tank City, USA this year, the Seattle Seahawks proved to be anything but that. Led by a journeyman quarterback and a historically great NFL Draft class, the Seahawks did the improbable – they made the postseason. While their run was cut short by a more talented 49ers team, there is a lot of optimism for this team heading into the off-season. They have cap flexibility and 4 of the top 51 picks in this years’ NFL Draft.

Quarterback

After the trade of Russell Wilson last off-season, everybody thought this was the worst quarterback room in the league. Nobody was inspired by the Geno Smith / Drew Lock quarterback competition in training camp. That all changed when they started playing the games. Smith completed nearly 70% of his passes on the year with 30 TDs, 11 INTs, and passed for 4,282 yards. As shocking as this is to many folks, maybe it shouldn’t be. Geno is a big, strong armed quarterback who had the luxury of taking over a system he’s been learning for a few years. He’s more accurate than people think and has excellent mobility, but only uses it when he needs to. Without question he outplayed Russell Wilson this past season, making Seattle’s front office look very smart for trading him away.

Going into this off-season, Smith and Lock are free agents. Unless a long term deal is hammered out, Geno will likely receive the franchise tag. Lock would be great to retain but he may receive offers from other teams. Throw in the fact that Seattle picks 5th overall (received from Denver in the Wilson trade) in the upcoming NFL Draft. With 3-4 top ten quarterback talents, the Seahawks could take a strong look at these guys. Keep in mind Geno will turn 33 next season. This team may need to look toward the future at the position.

Grade: B

Running Back

Kenneth Walker is a future star in this backfield. They struck gold when drafting him in the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in 15 games (11 starts). Rashaad Penny cannot stay healthy and is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason. This team wants to run the ball to set up the pass. The problem is there is really no depth after Walker at the position. This is an area Seattle needs to improve. Walker was nicked up after becoming the starter so when he’s not in the line up, there isn’t much you can rely on at the position. 

Grade: C+

Wide Receiver

With DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, Seattle has one of the best WR duos in the league. Both receivers exceeded 1,000 yards on the year. Lockett did it while playing injured in the last quarter of the season. Outside of Metcalf and Lockett, the depth at the position is lacking. Marquise Goodwin was a solid third option and had a good connection with Geno. However, spots 4 and 5 are razor thin and aren’t reliable going into the offseason. The good news is Metcalf and Lockett are locked into contracts for the next few years. The goal this off-season should be to add some more depth to the position.

Grade: B

Tight End

Another element to the Russell Wilson trade was Noah Fant. The TE provided an immediate upgrade to the position for 2022. With that said, the unit is about average for the league. Fant is a receiving tight end, but only had 486 receiving yards on 50 catches. He’s a special talent but needs to start playing like it. Will Dissly is a very capable backup and measured up well with Fant. Going into next season, the Seahawks would like to see more development out of this position. 

Grade: C+

Offensive Line

The offensive line performed admirably this year. With two rookie tackles, they held up pretty well early on. But as the season went on, both began to struggle. This threw off the timing of the offense a bit. In total, the offensive line allowed 46 sacks this season (24th in the NFL). As always, some of that can be attributed to the quarterback. Geno has had questionable pocket presence and could reduce that number with more scrambles and throw-a-ways. With that said, the pass protection definitely regressed as the year went on. The running game was solid this year. Whether it was Walker or Penny in the backfield, they ran the ball well. Don’t look for many changes to this year. Give the tackles another year to develop and resign C Austin Blythe. 

Grade: B-

Overall

The offense for the Seattle Seahawks was better than expected this season. Geno Smith played like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He has two All-Pro caliber receivers in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, as well as a solid running game. It should be expected that this team will bring back a lot of its existing pieces. With Kenneth Walker and Noah Fant in Year 2 of this offense, they should have better seasons. 

The biggest question, surprisingly, is will Geno Smith be the quarterback next year? The franchise tag is affordable this off-season by quarterback standards. With that said, Seattle has the 5th pick in the NFL Draft. Will they find somebody they like to draft? Quarterbacks in the draft are much more affordable than Geno Smith and could provide adequate play relative to Geno. Bryce Young, for example, would be an interesting fit in Seattle if he’s there at 5. All in all, if Seattle adds some depth to this team and lets the young players develop, this offense could be special next season.

Grade: B-

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