Coming into this season, many fans and football enthusiasts thought the Seattle Seahawks would struggle. An offensive rebuild was seemingly underway, with QB Geno Smith and WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett leaving for other teams. The Hawks front office responded by signing injury-prone WR Cooper Kupp and an unproven QB in Sam Darnold. In the draft, the Seahawks selected Grey Zabel, a guard out of North Dakota State. They continued making good picks, taking safety Nick Emmanwori and tight end Elijah Arroyo in the second round. On the defensive side, the Seahawks kept the core the same with players like Leonard Williams, Devin Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Julian Love, and Ernest Jones IV. The common projection for the Seahawks coming into the year was that they would struggle offensively but have a strong defense.

Through the first 9 weeks of the season, the offense has proven the critics wrong. Standout WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL in passing yards and is widely considered the best pass catcher in the league. QB Sam Darnold has proven to be a consistent and solid player, currently having the 2nd-highest Quarterback Rating in the NFL. The running game with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet has struggled, but it has not been needed so far this year. On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks have exceeded expectations that were already set high. Even with a barrage of injuries, the defense is only averaging 18.8 points against. Role players like Ty Okada, Coby Bryant, Josh Jobe, and Drake Thomas have been contributing to the star defense when opportunities arise.

The Seahawks are currently at 6-2, with tough teams still to come. Seattle still has to play the Los Angeles Rams twice, the Indianapolis Colts once, and the 49ers once. Even with tough opponents still to come, the Seahawks are now noticed by the nation as a team that has a chance to win it all this season.