Seattle Seahawks 2026 preview: The defending Super Bowl champions reload

• Defending champions: Seattle enters 2026 after a 14-3 season and a Super Bowl victory in Mike Macdonald's second year.

• Rookie impact expected: First-round running back Jadarian Price could see an early workload after Kenneth Walker's departure.

• The PFF Early Bird Sale Is Here: Save 33% and get PFF+ for just $79.99, our lowest price of the year.

Explore PFF Fantasy Tools

EARLY BIRD SALE: SAVE 33% — the lowest price of the year (opens in new tab)

Mike Macdonald's second season as Seahawks head coach could hardly have gone any better. Seattle finished 14-3 to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC before winning three straight playoff games to hoist the Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl champions.

With Macdonald already viewed as one of the brightest defensive minds in football, the Seahawks have every reason to believe they can contend for another title in 2026. The NFC West won't make it easy, however, as the Los Angeles Rams spent the offseason reloading in an effort to knock them off their perch.

Here is our 2026 preview of the Seattle Seahawks.

Key Free Agency/Trade Additions

Dante Fowler has been a consistently productive edge defender throughout his NFL career. He has recorded at least 30 pressures in every season and is coming off a career-best 77.6 PFF grade with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025.

With Boye Mafe departing in free agency, Fowler should step into a significant rotational role. Under Mike Macdonald, don't be surprised if Fowler delivers one of the most productive seasons of his career.

2026 NFL Draft Class

With Kenneth Walker leaving in free agency for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seahawks used a first-round pick on Jadarian Price, pairing the rookie with Zach Charbonnet in the backfield. Charbonnet suffered a knee injury in January, so Price could see a significant workload early in his rookie season.

Serving as Jeremiyah Love's backup at Notre Dame, Price carried the ball just 281 times in college but forced 73 missed tackles and averaged 4.3 yards after contact per attempt. He also earned a PFF rushing grade of at least 79.9 in each of the past three seasons and recorded 31 runs of 15 or more yards.

Seattle also used two Day 2 picks to reinforce its secondary, selecting safety Bud Clark and cornerback Julian Neal. Clark earned PFF grades above 80.0 in each of his final two seasons in college and excelled both in run defense and coverage. Neal posted a career-best season in his lone year at Arkansas, allowing just 27 receptions on 386 coverage snaps while recording 10 combined pass breakups and interceptions.

Reasons for optimism

By re-signing Rashid Shaheed, the Seahawks have kept one of the NFL's best wide receiver trios intact. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off a season in which he ranked second only to the Rams' Puka Nacua in yards per route run (3.42) and PFF receiving grade (93.2). The group is also remarkably sure-handed, having combined for just eight drops on 268 catchable targets across the regular season and playoffs.

Despite the departures on defense, the Seahawks should continue to feel confident on that side of the ball with Mike Macdonald leading the unit. Twelve defenders played at least 300 snaps and earned PFF grades above 70.0 last season, and 10 of them return in 2026. That continuity should keep Seattle among the NFL's elite defenses.

The QB Annual Is Live

Every qualifying quarterback. Every metric that matters. PFF grades, passing splits, EPA per dropback, clutch performance, interception luck and more — all in one interactive guide built on the same data trusted by all 32 NFL teams.

Read the QB Annual (opens in new tab)Get PFF+ (opens in new tab)

Reason for pessimism

The Seahawks did lose offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who left to become the Las Vegas Raiders‘ head coach. Brian Fleury replaces him after spending the past seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as run game coordinator and tight ends coach in his final year.

With Sam Darnold still at quarterback and the talented receiving corps around him, Seattle has more than enough talent to remain one of the NFL's better offenses. Even so, a transition to a new playcaller could bring some early growing pains.

Breakout Candidate

Derick Hall took a significant step forward in his third NFL season, setting career highs with a 73.9 PFF run-defense grade and a 72.6 PFF pass-rush grade. The Seahawks rewarded him with a contract extension before he could reach free agency, and with Boye Mafe departing this offseason, Hall is in line for an even larger role in 2026. His career high is 45 pressures in a season, but if he continues on his current trajectory, reaching 60 is well within reach.

Key roster battles

Ty Okada played 758 snaps in 2025, with the former undrafted free agent earning a 73.1 PFF grade. He is the logical favorite for an expanded role following Coby Bryant's departure to the Chicago Bears in free agency.

The more intriguing question is whether rookie Bud Clark can push him for that role. Both players should see significant playing time, but Clark's versatility could give him the edge. He logged more than 150 snaps in the box, in the slot and as a deep safety during his final college season, giving Seattle plenty of flexibility in how it deploys him.