2026 NFL offseason preview: How will Seattle Seahawks run it back for shot at back-to-back titles?

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2026 NFL offseason preview: How will Seattle Seahawks run it back for shot at back-to-back titles?

February 9, 2026

The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.

Seattle Seahawks

2025 season record: 14-3 (o 8.5 wins), first in NFC West, won Super Bowl LX, first in DVOA

Overview

The 2025 season looked like it might have been set up for a transition season, not a Super Bowl-winning one, in Seattle. During the offseason, the Seahawks traded both Geno Smith and DK Metcalf and both moves continued the trend of general manager John Schneider moving on at the right time. Sam Darnold was a younger, cheaper, and more efficient player at quarterback, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba stepped into the role of No. 1 receiver and spent most of the season on pace to break the single-season receiving record.

[Get more Seahawks news: Seattle team feed]

The success on offense still pales in comparison to what head coach Mike Macdonald did on the defensive side of the ball. Seattle was the best defense in the league and was so perfectly schemed up and coached to shut down some of the best offenses in the league. Seattle finished the season first overall in DVOA with a 14-win season and the top seed in the NFC.

Seattle had one of the youngest teams in the league by snap-weighted age during the regular season and looks to be a franchise positioned to stay among the top contenders in the NFC as long as Macdonald is in charge.

Cap/cuts outlook

Seattle has nearly $72 million in effective salary cap space, according to Over The Cap, which is the fourth-highest figure in the league. A lot of that will likely be used to re-sign some of the defensive talent hitting free agency. WR Cooper Kupp stands out as a possible cap casualty with around $9.5 million freed up on the cap from a release. Kupp was second on the team in targets during the regular season (70) but saw less than half of the targets that went to Jaxon Smith-Njigba (163). Seattle could also extend pass rusher Leonard Williams. Williams, who turns 32 years old in June, will enter the final year of his contract with a $15.8 million salary and $29.6 million cap hit.

Key pending free agents

CB Riq Woolen
DB Coby Bryant
S Ty Okada
Edge Boye Mafe
RB Kenneth Walker III
WR Rashid Shaheed

Woolen has been knocked for some inconsistencies and penalties in coverage, but he’s been great for multiple seasons. In 2025, he ranked 14th among cornerbacks in adjusted yards allowed per coverage snap. Bryant and Okada both spent a majority of their snaps playing deep. Bryant had four interceptions on throws of 20 or more air yards, which was second in the league behind Jaycee Horn’s five. Mafe had a wild profile as a pass rusher. His 40 pressures were sixth on the team and he recorded only four quarterback hits, but he was eighth among edge rushers in ESPN’s pass rush win rate.

Walker was the more explosive of Seattle’s two backs, but had a 34% rushing success rate during the regular season compared to Zach Charbonnet’s 44%. Shaheed’s trade deadline acquisition was a game-changer for special teams and added just enough as a field-stretching receiver.

Positional needs

Wide receiver
Interior offensive line
Cornerback Safety

Seattle never fully figured out a consistent second option to complement Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the passing game. Smith-Njigba led the NFL with a 35.8% target share and accounted for 44.1% of the team’s receiving yards, the fourth-highest rate since 2000.

Grey Zabel is a future All-Pro at guard, but the other two interior spots were inconsistent throughout the season. Jake Sundell started 13 games at center and was 23rd at the position in blown block rate, per Sports Info Solutions, among players with at least 400 snaps. Anthony Bradford was 28th in that metric among right guards.

The cornerback and safety holes will be determined by free agency. At corner, the Seahawks have Devon Witherspoon and can utilize Nick Emmanwori at that spot, which is a great start. Who plays as the other outside corner will be the question. Josh Jobe played well to start the season, but ended the season 44th among cornerbacks in adjusted yards allowed per coverage snap. With Bryant and Okada set to be free agents, that leaves Julian Love as the lone safety in the lineup.

2026 NFL Draft picks

1st round, pick No. 32
2nd round
3rd round
6th round

Good draft fit

Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama

It’s tempting to go cornerback here, and the Seahawks will likely consider it. But the offensive line needs an infusion of talent, especially given a QB like Sam Darnold who operates well when things are clean. Proctor is huge (6-7, 370), but he has the type of athletic traits that could make him a steal of the draft one day, even late in the first round.

Betting nugget

The Seahawks won 14 games in the regular season for the first time in franchise history, and were one of the NFL’s best teams against the spread, going 12-5. — Ben Fawkes

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