RENTON, Wash. — For those Seattle Seahawks fans curious about the early performances of new quarterback Sam Darnold: Relax. His completion rate at Wednesday’s final veteran minicamp practice was 100%.
He successfully connected on every one of his handoffs.
His pass-completion rate was somewhat less impressive, but uncharted and presently irrelevant, as handing the ball off may be his most vital function this fall.
These are the 2025 Seahawks, and to whatever degree Darnold manages to replace departed Geno Smith, a major focus for him will be shoving the ball into the gut of Kenneth Walker or Zach Charbonnet and sending them on their way up the field.
Heading into his second season as Seahawks head coach, Mike Macdonald appears to be every bit as committed to running the ball as former Seahawks coach Chuck Knox in the 1980s.
With his offense known as Ground Chuck, Knox’s Hawks shaped the first Seahawks Golden Age feeding the ball to Curt Warner 335 times in the 1983 season.
I can’t come up with the name of a cut of butchered beef that goes with the name Mike, but his focus come training camp is going to be every bit rush-centric as the late Knox’s.
Darnold’s statistics from last season, leading the 14-3 Vikings, were comparable to those Smith registered with the Hawks, in his final season in Seattle before joining former head coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. So, any plus/minus speculation on that manpower change is a fair debate.
From what I’ve seen in a couple of noncontact sessions this spring, Darnold appears to be of journeyman quality. Maybe a little more. With no thumping on the line or bumping on the receivers, it’s hard to judge a quarterback’s passing, timing, leadership and reaction to pressure. Maybe he truly takes command when the lights come on.
Whoever is taking the snaps at quarterback, though, will benefit from Macdonald’s stated desire to win games with a tough defense and rushing attack.
Based on the Seahawks’ six wins in the final eight games of 2024, this edition easily could be a top-10 NFL defense and a top-half rushing attack. Add even a conservative passing game and it should keep the Seahawks in divisional contention.
Macdonald was not interested in making grand pronouncements or predictions after minicamp sessions.
“We’ll see when we’re playing real football,” Macdonald said. “I think we’re on our way to being tough, you know, we haven’t had to prove it yet with pads on, but I definitely feel like we’re a connected group.”
Macdonald quickly showed his willingness to retool when perceiving a weakness, reshaping his linebacker corps in the middle of last season, which cured much of the tackling woes that plagued the Hawks in the early fall.
The shift toward a power running attack, this time around, had to have struck him when they failed in some crucial occasions to convert on fourth-and-short yardage.
On Nov. 3, particularly, in an overtime loss to the Rams, the Hawks handed off to Walker with 1 yard to go on third and fourth down in the Red Zone, and got stonewalled twice. A win in that game would have given them the division title and a playoff berth.
On fourth down, needing 2 feet, the Rams had six players across the line of scrimmage by the time Walker took the handoff. No hope at all.
Committed to never coming 2 feet short again, Macdonald drafted three offensive linemen and a massive fullback.
Seventh-round guard Mason Richman, after the Hawks’ recent rookie minicamp, expressed his keen understanding of the expectations the team has for the offensive line.
“I think we’re starting to get to know each other,” he said. “We’re all going to go eat a bunch of food … going to be gaining weight, I guess, and pushing people around … should be pretty fun.”
Insightful and eloquent.
It certainly should be more fun for Walker and Charbonnet. Last season, Walker averaged just 1.7 yards before being hit by defenders. That absence of blocking left him the 42nd worst in the NFL in that statistic. His yards-after-contact average of 2.0, however, matched that of Eagles star back Saquon Barkley, a first-team All-Pro.
Knox used to tell Warner to “run to daylight.” Walker was left to feel his way toward darkness.
Getting a healthy Abe Lucas back at right tackle would be like landing a highly regarded free agent still on his rookie contract.
“Healthy” being the caveat. The Washington State product has missed 21 games the past two seasons.
A healthy Lucas is an archetypal right tackle, a mauler, a finisher, good in the pass and run game. A difference maker.
“The identity has definitely changed from last year to this; we’re changing it up, doing things differently,” Lucas said last week of the reversion to an “old-school mentality.”
The goal for the line, Lucas said, was to become elite at the basics. Ideally, if the parts are in place and the intent mastered and polished, perhaps the Seahawks’ outside zone rush could some day be considered with simple/unstoppable predecessors like the Green Bay sweep or the Washington Hogs’ counter-trey.
Asked if anything had come as a surprise in the offseason practices, Macdonald cited the team’s attitude.
“We’re a young team, and these guys have a gravity about them,” he said. “They just really have a great spirit about them. Our (vets) really decided to be invested in these young guys, and they care about where this team goes. And, man, that fires you up.”
And they better be ready to block.
Nothing can replace the Ground Chuck nickname. Maybe something in the way of ground beef. Say, Macdonalds To Go.
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