In watching this Sam Darnold breakdown video by All-22, I was reminded that Seattle’s offensive line has an advantage that not many other teams have right now: The Seahawks should return at least 4 of 5 starters in 2026.
By extending Abe Lucas, exercising Charles Cross’s fifth-year option, and drafting Grey Zabel, Seattle’s offseason was heavily concentrated on both upgrading the offensive line and trying to create continuity for several years more. If Jalen Sundell can retain the center job — or even if he can just block well enough for coaches to move him to right guard — the Seahawks will retain at least 80% of their starters for 2026.
If Seattle is satisfied with Cross and he’s satisfied with their best offer, an extension for the left tackle would mean that these players are under contract through at least 2027 or 2028.
The obvious weak point to explore upgrading is Anthony Bradford at right guard, but despite any damning newsletters written about him the third-year pro has ample time to improve and could yet prove himself to be worthy of retaining that job. Then the Seahawks could return 100% of their offensive line in 2026 and even if you find that odds of a Bradford 180 to be too unbelievable, it’s only one starting job and it’s perhaps the only open starting job on the entire offense next year.
Yes: The ENTIRE OFFENSE!
That would mean that Seattle could focus their early picks, their free agent spending pool, and their trade targets on center and/or guard (the center/guard flexibility of Sundell and Zabel means that the Seahawks are able to acquire the best player and not just the best guard):
The 10 Seahawks with the most offensive snaps are all signed in 2026
12 of the top 13 are signed in 2026, with Kenneth Walker as the only exception (44.5% of snaps)
The offensive player with the next-most snaps who is unsigned is TE Eric Saubert, at 34% of the snaps. Everyone else over 15% of snaps is signed
So far, there have been no indications that Sam Darnold or Cooper Kupp are merely one-year fixes. The Seahawks could seek out more receivers next year because of Kupp’s age but at this time he’s one of the best blockers on the team at any position and if he finishes the season with 70 catches for 700 yards that’s all that was really expected of him.
Kupp has been Darnold’s go-to weapon on third-and-short passing plays (8 targets, 5 catches, 5 first downs) whereas JSN has been the go-to receiver on third-and-long (7 targets, 4 catches, 2 first downs), and they’ve been targeted almost equally on first-and-10. Kupp was a good value signing by the team and at this rate I don’t see him in any danger of a release. A retirement seems like a more likely reason for departure but he probably wants the $13 million.
So offensively under contract for 2026:
QBs: All 3 are signed
RBs: Charbonnet, Ouzts signed (Walker FA)
WRs: JSN, Kupp, Horton signed (Bobo is restricted FA, Young FA)
TEs: Barner, Arroyo signed (Saubert FA)
OL: Cross, Zabel, Sundell, Bradford, Lucas, Oluwatimi signed (Josh Jones FA)
And I didn’t include all depth players there, but yeah there’s also George Holani, the rookie offensive linemen, Nick Kallerup, and Brady Russell is a restricted free agent.
We’re looking at a Seahawks team that already has its 2026 offense in place, especially if Walker is re-signed, and it is still unlikely that Klint Kubiak or any coaches are leaving after the season. All due respect, coordinators are almost never as likely to get a head coaching job as fans of that team expect. There aren’t a lot of jobs, there are a lot of candidates.
Seattle didn’t just draft Zabel in an effort to improve the offensive line, they mainly overhauled the coaching staff and brought in three or four coaches specifically tailored to make those players better. By having continuity from 2025 to 2026, not just along the offensive line but at all offensive positions, it’s the formula franchises want for building great offensive lines.
Sometimes the best offensive lines in the NFL, which the Seahawks could actually be on track to achieve for the first time in two decades.
If you look at the best offensive lines in the NFL like the Eagles and Lions, it’s not just the players on the offensive line who stay the same, but also many of the players around them. Detroit has almost the same offense today as they had in 2023 — the only changes are at guard and WR3 — which is a good reason why the Lions were first in scoring in 2024 and are first in scoring again in 2025 despite losing “the league’s best offensive coordinator”.
The Seahawks currently rank 5th in scoring, which is also what the Lions ranked in 2023.
I’ve said before that the Seahawks could go back to the well and draft another guard with their first pick in 2026, potentially creating the best offensive line in the league. And why not? Nothing has changed since then with the exception of probably needing some upgrades on defense, especially at premium first round positions like edge rusher.
Of course, everybody on the offensive line could stand to be better including Zabel, Cross, and Lucas. With what the future seems to have in store for Seattle’s offense, I’d be surprised if that doesn’t happen.