Field Gulls
Did the Seahawks do enough to close the gap with the rest of the NFC West?
In a recent HawksZone Rundown episode, hosts Ryan MacMillan and Bryce Coutts were joined by special guest Garret Greenlee of Football Analysis to analyze the Seattle Seahawks’ 2025 outlook. You might have seen Garret’s videos on YouTube, where he has nearly 200,000 subscribers breaking down the entire NFL. This conversation covered the NFC West, the Seahawks draft class, Sam Darnold’s potential, the running game, and paths to an elite defense.
Greenlee highlighted the NFC West’s competitiveness, noting the Seahawks’ bold offseason moves, like trading Geno Smith and signing Sam Darnold, position them to challenge teams like the 49ers. The division remains fierce, but Seattle’s revamped roster sparks optimism.
“The NFC West I feel doesn’t get as much publicity as it should nationally,” Greenlee said. “I really think it is the most complete division in football, top to bottom. AFC West can certainly give it a run for its money and so can the NFC North. But the NFC West, there’s no bad team. [...] Every team is a complete unit, and you can tell me right now that Seattle goes 4-2 in the division, they could go 2-4, really nothing would surprise me. But that doesn’t apply to just Seattle, it applies to all of the teams in the division.”
“I definitely think the national media is a lot lower on Seattle than what they should be, especially with how many positives there were to take away from year one of the Mike Macdonald era,” Greenlee also added.
The 2025 draft class, led by first-rounder Grey Zabel and third-round QB Jalen Milroe, earned Greenlee’s praise. He lauded Zabel’s fit on the offensive line and Milroe’s high upside, though he noted Milroe’s growth may require patience, aligning with GM John Schneider’s vision. There was one area he believed Milroe could be instantly beneficial.
“What Jalen Milroe will also provide is when you get into that deep red zone area, that 5- to 10-yard line, you can bring him in kind of as... not gadget player, but another quarterback that teams are going to have to deal with,” he said. “This is not going to be a Ricky Williams/Ronnie Brown Wildcat offense where they might throw one pop pass to the tight end that you might have to look out for. This is a legit player that started in the SEC last year and he was a third-round pick for a reason (I will go ahead on preface that), but he’s a guy who has legit running back capability at the quarterback position. He ran for 20 touchdowns last year. I am very excited for the idea of Jalen Milroe in the Seahawks offense this year and everything that Klint Kubiak can muster up with him.”
On Darnold, Greenlee (a Minnesota Vikings fan) is hopeful, citing his 2024 Pro Bowl season (4,319 yards, 35 TDs) with the Vikings. He believes Klint Kubiak’s play-action-heavy scheme and weapons...
