Seahawks offense has failed to regress, continues to impress

After five weeks, you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger surprise, as far as the Seattle Seahawks are concerned, than the offensive explosion that has taken them to the fifth-highest point total in the NFL.

Especially because the Seahawks swapped out four of their most important players, and many experts thought the offseason was a complete disaster. Remember this one?

Ben Solak, NFL analyst: The Seattle Seahawks. They downgraded at quarterback and also shipped impactful receiver DK Metcalf. If Sam Darnold retains his level of play from Minnesota to Seattle, the dropoff from Geno Smith to him won’t be too damaging — but it’s likely that Darnold won’t match his 2024 output. The Seahawks have also not addressed their offensive line, electing to spend big money on aging edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, who is coming off a foot injury. I don’t see the vision.

Obviously the hero of the story is Sam Darnold, and we won’t forget the upgrade from Ryan Grubb to Klint Kubiak. But the best statistics to demonstrate the Offensive Coordinator differences are in the players themselves, and the result we see today is because not one, not two, but all four gambles have resulted in upgrades. Let’s take a look.

Sam Darnold or Geno Smith

• Darnold this season: 98/134, 1246 yards, 9 TD, 3 INT, 9.3 Yards/Attempt, 53.6% success rate, 6 sacks, and a 78.9 QBR
• Smith this season: 106/163, 1176 yards, 6 TD, 9 INT, 7.2 Y/A, 46.9% success rate, 16(!) sacks, 38.6 QBR
• Seattle 2024 output through five games: 143/199, 1466 yards, 5 TD, 4 INT, 7.4 Y/A, 18(!!) sacks.

The fact that Geno Smith threw almost 200 passes in those five games is unbelievable. Not only is current Darnold both safer and more explosive, but Geno has regressed tremendously.

Verdict: massive upgrade.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba or DK Metcalf

This one is where quite a few people were wrong. The swap in question was never DK Metcalf for Cooper Kupp. The swap that took place was Metcalf out as WR1, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba up to become WR1. He is the focal point of the passing offense, the primary target, which Metcalf was, and which Kupp is not. This is what Seattle knew to be possible, and this is what we compare.

• JSN this season: 34 rec, 534 yards, 2 TD, 133.9 Passer Rating when targeted, 24 first downs converted
• Metcalf this season (four games, Steelers had bye): 15 rec, 261 yards, 3 TD, 147.9 Passer Rating when targeted, 12 first downs converted
• Metcalf first five games of ‘24: 28 rec, 421 yards, 2 TD, 107.42 Passer Rating when targeted, 13 first downs converted

Verdict: comparable, but slight upgrade. Smith-Njigba is not necessarily more explosive than Metcalf, although his numbers at the moment indicate that this season. He is, unquestionably, far more sure-handed, which is what results in things like double the amount of first downs. Metcalf had very good stretches in Seattle. JSN is having a...