What I’m looking forward to in Seahawks 2025 Training Camp!!
by: OD Sports Guy
IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!! No it’s actually not but football season, the Seahawks season in particular feels like that moment when you get to rush the tree to open your presents as a young child. The excitement for this year is incredibly high. After a fabulous offseason by John Schneider and company highlighted by one of my favorite drafts, it’s easy to become optimistic about the Seahawks future. But should that mean be optimistic about the 2025 Seahawks? Let’s take a look position by position.
Quarterback: The glamour position of the sport, the leading source of all football debates. The Quarterback. Geno this…Geno that. Sam this…Sam that. Geno Smith was probably the more talented quarterback, arguably a top ten arm in the league. However he’s in his mid-thirties and what he’s been lacking he wasn’t going to overcome at this stage of his career. Leading to multiple mediocre seasons. Sam is in his prime, coming off his breakout season. However when it counted jittery Sam reappeared and he left an indelible reminder of who he’s been since entering the league the last 2 games of last year. I don’t and didn’t have high hopes with either guy and I still feel Coach Mike McDonald and the Seahawks can find great success in 2025 with either guy they chose. The Seahawks chose Sam at a slightly cheaper rate which I think was the better choice. Neither of these scenarios were that intriguing to me. But Seattle took a big swing in the draft and with the 92nd pick of the 3rd Round got themselves a lottery ticket in the form of JALEN MILROE!! I have to admit I wasn’t smitten with this pick to say the least when the selection was made. I was deflated with all the equity secured with all the picks prior to his, it just changed my mood at that point. BUT I’M BACK BABY!! I have made a complete about face. I couldn’t be more excited. We may have our guy, possibly a budding superstar. Whatever if i’m getting carried away, I’m on dream street leave me alone! Jalen is big, strong, fast, can run, has a strong arm, beautiful deep ball, accur….ehhh let me stop there. That’s what we will need to see. How much he can develop his accuracy, his anticipation, his ability to read defenses. I love the kids personality and ambition, after spending hours watching any footage I can find of him I’m all in on Jalen Milroe. He won’t play this year except for certain packages, but I’ll be paying close attention to his improvement. If he pans out and takes the reins from Sam in a year or 2 the Seahawks could be a juggernaut in the very near future!
Running Back: Besides insiders people aren’t paying enough attention to how deep this running back group is for Seattle. Both Zach Charbonnet and Damien Martinez are thumpers, bruisers. Kenny McIntosh has shown nice burst and downhill running, surprisingly some pop also breaking tackles. Martinez was a steal in the 7th round, so much so both Charbonnet and McIntosh should look over their shoulder as Martinez climbs the depth chart. Really excited about him. But let’s not get this twisted, let’s not get this misconstrued, MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, this is about Ken Walker III, K9 for me. This guy has superstar ability and is the most talented player on this offense. Yes I’m biased because I love his game but that doesn’t make me wrong. He’s due for a contract extension next year so he will have a lot to prove. I’ve seen several people question if he should be the change of pace guy and let Zach be the bell cow, or should we look to trade him, “he doesn’t seem like he can just hit the hole and go.” He’s incredibly shifty and probably at times has overdone it, but too many times he’s made something out of nothing and I didn’t see many holes for him to just hit last year. By the way that reason seemed like the excuse for a lot of offensive struggles but not when it came to Walker. He can catch, he has tremendous speed, has power, he’s a homerun threat from anywhere on the field. I don’t question, with the right opportunities he’ll produce and become the fan favorite. My only gripe is his durability, which we haven’t seen yet. Playing a career low 12 games last year and entering his last year on the deal he will have to show that he can be counted on week in and week out. If he can, I’m expecting a big year from him and that will be what I’m keeping a close eye on this training camp from that group. (I just got excited again thinking about Milroe and Walker in the backfield, hellish combo yeee!!)
Wide Receiver: There is a whole new identity and makeup in the wide receiver room. The last remnants of receivers from the Pete Carroll era are now gone, (yes I know he was there for Jaxon Smith-Njigba rookie season). The major mainstays, the amazing Tyler Lockett was waived and moved on to Tennessee and the specimen that is DK Metcalf demanded a trade and was obliged and shipped to Pittsburgh. National media believes these were just too much of enormous losses and has extremely low expectations for this group and offense. I have a different outlook. I was very much hoping to get Cooper Kupp in free agency despite his age and his recent durability issues. I love the Kupp signing because not only do I believe he is still a productive receiver, but more so in a new and somewhat young room his character will be a positive light. The team first guy, the work ethic, the attention to detail, the professionalism, that’s the impression you want to leave our new number one receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN) who broke out last year. Huge opportunity for JSN this year to enter the top 10 receivers in the league. Has all the tools, great route runner, great hands, very good after the catch and has had amazing tutelage which will continue with Cooper Kupp. I’ll be looking for him to hone his craft even more and become the leader that they will need going forward. They added deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling (MVS) who’s also familiar with Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak system, playing in it last year. On it’s face it doesn’t look like world beaters. I believe it’s identity building though. Playing for each other, helping each other get open, blocking. I’m excited about the foundation I hope builds this year and furthermore excited about 5th Rd Draft Pick Tory Horton. Would have been drafted earlier if not for an injury last year, but big tall with good hands and great speed. He’ll be brought along slowly, but should be acclimated more and more during the season is my hope. We’ll see how much he gets to do in training camp. This offense will be throwing to the backs and tight ends also so that should be taken into account also. Honorable mention here is fan favorite Jake Bobo and Cody White respectively.
Tight End: I want to just yell ELIJAH ARROYO ELIJAH ARROYO ELIJAH ARROYO (if you see this please sign soon) here and just leave it be. I was in huge celebration with this selection in the draft, to increase my excitement we’ve heard quite a bit of praise already for the rookie and how he will be used. That will have my attention in camp, how involved he will be. AJ Barner had a good year last year as well. Surprisingly catching the ball more than what his specialty was as a blocker. There’s a good chance he’s at the top of the depth chart to start the season. I really like this room because of these 2.
Offensive Line: ALL EYES ON THEM…this training camp and this season this is the group that will get the most attention. Who will line up where, who will be healthy, who will win the center and right guard position. Charles Cross at left tackle eligible for an extension, Abraham Lucas at right guard in a contract year are your day 1 starting tackles. 1st Rd Pick, Grey Zabel who I’m ecstatic about is penciled in at left guard. Although I’m curious why they won’t even consider starting him at center, many pundits said he could have an All-Pro type of career there. We have a huge void at both, probably bigger at left guard though so I’m fine with it. What does this look like with the new coaching staff, new scheme? Who’s better in the new scheme, Christian Haynes or Anthony Bradford? Who wins out at center, Jalen Sundell or Olu Oluwatimi? Where do Cabledue and Richman fit into this situation? Clearly this was the downfall of the offense last year. They definitely needed more talent but this group was unhealthy last season from beginning to end. Not to excuse last season’s inept performance, but you have very little chance to be successful when you have that many injuries. Regardless, going into training camp many more questions than answers, but finally a structure and much better coaching than what’s been there in a long time could result in what may be the beginning of a foundation but more importantly a stout identity.
Full Back: Robbie Ouzts (OOOUUUUUTZ) & Brady Russell battling it out for the comeback role of full back to the offense. I love Brady’s energy and role on the team, I hope he makes this team. But this should be Robbie’s role to lose. He feels like he’s naturally a full back and has been playing the position. Plus I want to yell OOOUUUUUTZ!!!
Safety: I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE NICK EMMANWORI (if you see this please sign soon). I love this kid, loved him coming out of the draft. Then the reports about his character had me shaky. But I’m glad Coach McDonald got his guy and the potential havoc he and Spoon will create is going to be beautiful. This is a deep unit, with Coby Bryant breaking out last year and the tremendous leader Julian Love is, very excited about this unit.
Cornerback: Corner is another strong unit. The Seahawks, regardless of the national media lack of acknowledgement, has a top 7 secondary in the league make no mistake about it. Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen highlight the unit. Spoon has flashed several times as he is used in different ways which I expect to expand this year, but primarily used in the slot. Riq Woolen is the one to keep an eye on. In his last year of his deal has given glimpses of possibly being the best corner in the league and head scratching performances that ask you to question whether they should move on from him. That’s the pendulum. This is his opportunity, he needs to show maturity, a willingness to tackle and be consistent. If he can the Seahawks are loaded in the backend, if he can’t they could be in trouble at corner. Even though I really liked Josh Jobe’s performance last year and look forward to him building on that.
Linebacker: This is all about depth. What do they do behind newly resigned Ernest Jones IV and last year’s rookie standout Tyrice Knight. It’s a good starting linebacker unit, but doesn’t seem like they have answers in case of injury. Is anyone going to step up, is Drake Thomas an option, will undrafted free agent D’Eryk Jackson from Kentucky surprise, will they make a transaction to address it? It will be very interesting how this plays out in camp.
Defensive Line: Another underappreciated elite unit in the NFL. They get penalized for not having superstar names along the defensive line, even though very few defensive lineman played better than Leonard Williams last year. The 2024 Seahawks were 10th in Sacks and 2nd in pressure rate in the NFL. That for some reason went largely ignored. They come back in 2025 with a healthier Uchenna Nwosu and free agent addition Demarcus Lawrence added to the group of Hall, Mafe, Williams and company. All that being said my entire focus will be on last year’s first rounder Byron Murphy II. He was used out of position last year out of necessity and not at his strength for the majority of the season. He has already hinted at being allowed to use his best skill set of rushing the passer a lot more this year, forget that he’s outright stated that as fact. I can’t wait to see him live up to his potential and absolutely wreck offensive lines and quarterbacks this year! Health permitting the defense overall will be a top 10 defense this year.
Special Teams: Special teams need to outright improve this year. There was a change in rules and how kickoffs will be conducted but we just weren’t any good in this department. Both Jason Myers and Michael Dickson were lights out again last year, no reason to expect anything different this year. But both kickoff and punt returners will have to be established in training camp this year and shouldn’t be too difficult to improve on last year. Just watch last seasons Jets game for reference.
Coaching: Finally the coaching. Mike McDonald had a superb rookie season at the helm. Room for improvement of course but along with Aden Durde got this defense pointed in the right direction. The real headline in this section is the arrivals of OC Klint Kubiak, OL Coach John Benton and QB Coach Andrew Janocko. Can they fix this offensive line, can they balance this offense out, can they establish a physical identity? Can Janocko keep Darnold on an upward trajectory and more importantly can he help Jalen Milroe develop into the star he could be? I feel very optimistic about this staff, they seem to have a purpose and a plan and for now that’s enough for me. Just need to execute it now!
