Seahawks open training camp with offense ‘right on schedule’

RENTON, Wash. – Asked after the first day of Seattle Seahawks training camp how the offense is progressing, coach Mike Macdonald didn’t hesitate.

“We’re right on schedule,” he said.

Of course, as Wednesday was the first day, it means the team is still in a “ramp-up and execution phase,” as Macdonald put it.

Players wore helmets, but there were no pads and no full contact, and hence nothing slowing down the offensive players when they ran through the defense.

Still, the first glimpse of the Seahawks’ offense offered some signs of promise.

Running back Kenneth Walker III, who was limited throughout the offseason program with an ankle issue, appeared full go, running with the first-team offense. On one occasion, he took a handoff, cut and broke quickly up the middle, displaying the kind of explosiveness he did when he rushed for 1,050 yards as a rookie in 2022. Last year, he was held to a career-low 3.7 yards per carry.

“Yeah, he looks great,” Macdonald said. “He’s in a great spot mentally. Just awesome to see him do all the things that we want him to do from the get-go. I know he’s really excited about what’s going on. Yeah, great first day with Ken.”

Drawing maybe the biggest cheer of the day was an early long completion from new quarterback Sam Darnold – stepping in for the traded Geno Smith – to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, in his third year but first as the perceived WR1.

During an early passing drill, Darnold fired a pass to Cooper Kupp, who stumbled out of his break but recovered quickly and dove and made the catch, looking spry as ever despite turning 32 over the summer.

The Seahawks need a lot more of the same the rest of the season as they count on Kupp to help replace the production of the traded DK Metcalf.

Then there was an offensive line, which while still sorting out who will play at center and right guard, had all 15 players participating fully throughout.

Last year, the Seahawks were facing questions from the start about the health of a few key players, notably Abraham Lucas at right tackle.

After spending last season rounding into shape following knee surgery, Lucas is full-go from the first day. The team hopes he’ll be back to playing as he did as a rookie in 2022, when he appeared on his way to being a long-term fixture at right tackle.

What Macdonald seemed to like the most Wednesday is the way the offense is adapting to the scheme of first-year coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Kubiak is taking over for Ryan Grubb, who was fired almost the minute the 2024 season ended.

Kubiak brought longtime NFL offensive line coach John Benton with him from New Orleans to install an outside zone blocking scheme that the Seahawks feel will be a better fit for the personnel on their offensive line and allow them to run it more and better than last season.

Under Grubb, the Seahawks ranked 29th in rushing attempts and 28th in rushing yards despite a backfield that includes two recent second-round draft picks.

Maybe even more important than run-pass ratio, there was also a sense that Macdonald and Grubb didn’t align well in terms of their coaching strategies.

Grubb, who came to the Seahawks after helping lead the University of Washington to the national title game in 2023, had never coached in the NFL, and while he and Macdonald had met a few times, they did not have a close relationship.

With Macdonald essentially running the defense, having someone he trusts overseeing the offense is critical. Grubb seemed to lose that trust as the 2024 season wore on.

While Macdonald has never worked with Kubiak, he was on the same staff with Kubiak’s father, Gary, in Baltimore. Seahawks running backs coach Kenney Polamalu also worked previously with Kubiak, giving Macdonald a glowing recommendation of their time together.

That comfort level, Macdonald indicated Wednesday, is paying off already.

“There’s a lot of people that Klint has worked with that I trust,” Macdonald said. “And having those relationships about what it was like working with him. …. These are guys you are working with every day and you’re going to go to battle with and Klint is just a high-character guy – high integrity, great football acumen. Obviously, we love the system that he is bringing to the table. But it’s fun to work with him every day.”

And what does Macdonald want out of the offense this season?

“Run off the rock, man,” Macdonald said. “We want to play our style of ball. Let the O-line do their thing. Get Sam on the move, separate the defense, all those things. It’s fun watching these guys put it together in how they drill it, to go from individual to group, how it all fits together, all the rules. It’s really exciting.”

How well Kubiak, Benton and the rest of the offensive coaching staff put it all together may determine the success or failure of this season.

The Macdonald-led defense appeared to find its footing the second half of last season, when the Seahawks went 6-2 and allowed the fifth-fewest points in the NFL at just 18.4 per game. All but one starter from the defense is back, fueling the idea that it should be hard for opponents to score against the Seahawks.

Whether a remade Seahawks offense can score enough for them to achieve their lofty goals is the question.

As Macdonald acknowledged, there’s a long way to go before that question can be answered, with the Seahawks needing to sort out who will play center and right guard and refine their scheme, among other items on their training camp to-do list.

“Some of that evaluation is going to take time when you get into pads and doing more situational work,” Macdonald said.

What isn’t in question is that the Seahawks players and coaches will do the work necessary to get it sorted out.

“One of our philosophies is we’re gonna get a ton of reps over the course of time, (so) all those battles will kind of show themselves and declare themselves,” Macdonald said.

“Schematically, we know who we’re going to be but how we’re going to do it, how we are going to call it, how we are going to formation it, that will present itself more clearly toward the end of camp.”