If 2,773 consecutive days of Seaside Joe has taught me anything, it’s that a daily publication requires evolution. It can’t be the same drop of water hitting your forehead until it drives you insane—or one guy screaming his Seahawks opinions at you.
This newsletter has to be better than that. For you and for me.
I want Seaside Joe to reflect what we think about the Seahawks. That means keeping it interactive and original, collecting your insights to create data that speaks for us, not just for me.
Seahawks Player Rankings: Quarter-season Update
That’s why I’ve introduced subscriber-led series like the weekly expectations contest, community 53-man roster, and player rankings created BY YOU.
Two months ago, 90 of you took a leap of faith to rank the Seahawks’ entire 90-man roster. Now, after training camp, preseason, and four games…
John Schneider says the Seahawks have a “70-man roster” with the practice squad, so I’m including everybody on the “ready squad”—even running back Joe Mixon, who signed with the team on Monday. The Seahawks also signed running back Robert Henry, Jr. off of the Moons’ practice squad, so don’t be too shocked when you see that random name on the list.
Plus, I’m including IR-to-return players and Zach Charbonnet, but NOT players who won’t be back in 2026. So it’s 74 players.
Don’t Worry! It doesn’t take as long as you think!
The list is already in somewhat of a fair order (but don’t read anything into the order, it’s intentionally imperfect), so your moves are as simple as a little drag and drop. When you’re done, check the “I’ve reviewed…” box and submit.
Rank Every Seahawks Player: CLICK HERE!
Aggregate player rankings will be posted at the end of the week. Send this newsletter to other Seahawks fans who don’t know about Seaside Joe yet.
Our pre-training camp Top 10:
1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1.96)
2. Leonard Williams (2.54)
3. Sam Darnold (2.98)
4. Byron Murphy II (3.91)
5. Charles Cross (6.11)
6. Devon Witherspoon (6.69)
7. Nick Emmanwori (6.70)
8. Ernest Jones IV (7.43)
9. Abraham Lucas (7.93)
10. DeMarcus Lawrence (10.44)
I know we all have thoughts about this order after 2.5 months has passed since we made it. We won’t see much movement at the very top and I expect the starting quarterback to retain a high placement, despite some questions being posed about Sam Darnold’s value compared to Drew Lock. But don’t let me influence your lists, the decision is yours.
A refreshed ranking should also allow us to have discussions about certain players where clarity is needed, such as:
Are most fans down on Abe Lucas, or is it not that noticeable?
How concerned are we about DeMarcus Lawrence’s zero sacks?
Who are the most underrated Seahawks players?
Another player I’m seeing questions about recently is A.J. Barner, the 11th-ranked player on our original list. Like this one from the Super Joes Q&A.
Scott M: What's up with Barner? His blocking looks less consistent and his productivity is off target. Do you think he's still getting up to speed after shoulder surgery?
That’s a good memory you have, as I had forgotten that Barner didn’t go under one knife, but two: Both ankle and shoulder surgery in February. And Barner showed up on the injury report for SIX different body parts over the second half of the season.
Even so, Barner said he felt his “best” going into camp and those are his words, not mine. We can only go off of what he tells us, not assume there’s a connection there between old injuries and current production.
As a receiver, Barner is on pace for 433 yards, which actually isn’t far off from the 519 yards he had in 2025. He is averaging 25.5 yards per game compared to 30.5 yards per game last season. It’s so early in the season that Barner could change the narrative of his entire 2026 “slump” with one big game.
This lines up with his routes run in 2026.
Next Gen Stats noted in Week 1 that Barner led the NFL with 245 routes out of an “in-line alignment” last season, gaining 390 yards on those passes.
In four games, Barner has run 69 routes from an in-line alignment, putting him on pace for 293 in-line routes. That’s a lot more than he had last season.
All nine of his catches and 102 yards have come from this alignment, meaning he’s on pace for more yards as an in-line tight end than he had in 2025.
What disappeared are the routes and targets from any other alignment. Is this related to the change of offensive coordinator? Is this related to playing with Lock for two weeks? Barner had three targets with Lock in two games, but he has 12 targets with Darnold in two games.
Barner caught 10 touchdowns in his first two seasons, but he hasn’t caught one in 2026 yet. And I don’t really care. He will score. He’s going to continue being a red zone threat.
As a blocker, you’re referring (I assume) to what I wrote last week (mostly the video I linked to that I didn’t create and can’t take credit for) and some of the murmurs of bad blocking up front. This is worth further study and continued monitoring and it’s probably too early in the season to be concerned. Barner has had a stellar reputation as a blocker since college—remember he was only supposed to be a “blocking tight end” as a fourth-round draft pick—so I’d lean more towards a rebound than a fallout.
Where will Barner fall in our next player rankings? I can’t wait to find out!
I’ll cover the rest of the Super Joes questions soon. Upgrade to Super Joes if you want to receive next week’s newsletter asking for questions:
We’ve heard so much about both Barner and Aroyo on the cusp of breakout seasons, they need to get it done! Barner may have had at least one possibly two drops. Pick it up TightEnd Room!