Preseason is a liar. Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks certainly hope so. Their preseason was full of penalties (35 for 290 yards in 3 games), and empty in the win column for the first time since Macdonald took over in Seattle. The decision to rest starters throughout helped preserve some health. Time will tell if it creates a sluggish start. Macdonald’s postgame press conference sounded like someone trying to convince himself that what he witnessed in practice mattered more than what he has seen in the games. Preseason may be a liar, but every coach would gladly take quality play and happy victories over the dropped passes, porous run defense, ineffective run offense, operational issues, and paltry scoring, that Seattle put on film in these games. Games that count start in just over a week. The truth of this team will soon be on full display.
Resting starters provided ample opportunity for players lower on the depth chart to step forward and make their case for more playing time when the games count. Few took advantage of that opportunity. There were some flashes, but no player put together a preseason that should leave anyone begging for them to get on the field.
That is not to say everyone played poorly. The bar is very high to earn snaps on this team. Tyrice Knight showed what that looks like in the first game, and was given the rest of the preseason off. Nobody else reached that level.
Players who had good, if not great, preseasons included:
- Edge Jamie Sheriff
- Edge Connor O’Toole
- Guard Bryce Cabeldue
- WR Montorie Foster Jr.
- WR Emmanuel Henderson Jr.
- LB Chazz Surratt
- S D’Anthony Bell
- CB Nehemiah Pritchett
- CB Michael Dansby
- TE Elijah Arroyo
Jalen Milroe may have worked his name onto that list with a quality performance against the Chiefs, just days removed from a disappointing game against the Titans. The player that just about every Seahawks fan and analyst decided was hopeless, threw a touchdown, did not turn the ball over, and had a 101.9 rating while leading the team to what should have been a game-winning drive.
His decision making was better. He needs to get even faster through his progressions, but this was undeniable progress. Some of the throws he made were impressive, especially the ones when he had pressure in his face and still delivered. Drops and penalties cost him what could have been a great performance.
Going from the college system he ran to this under center, play-action, pro-style offense is going to take time. If the team needed him to be ready right now, it would have been a foolish pick. They don’t. He remains a lottery ticket with a couple of matching numbers and a few spaces still to scratch off before tossing the ticket in the trash.
Henderson Jr. was the splashiest player in this one, especially for fans who have not been able to see him in practice. He has a nice collection of tools, including terrific speed and functional athleticism. Plenty of straight line runners do not have the body control to go up and makes plays in the air, or avoid tacklers after the catch. Henderson Jr. has all of that and some sneaky physicality to his game as well. He has been on the bubble for my roster projections throughout the preseason, and he certainly put his best foot forward in this one.
Pritchett had one of his better games. He had multiple pass breakups and was sticky in coverage all night. It feels like his prior history with the team and his solid play through preseason has pushed him ahead of Noah Igbinoghene.
Complicating matters was the new face of Trevon Diggs, who got his first snaps as a Seahawk and walked away with an interception. Don’t be surprised if Diggs pushes his way into the lineup as soon as week one. Whether that says more about the state of the Seahawks cornerback depth or the resurgent talent of Diggs will be clear soon enough.
There has to be at least a little indigestion in the VMAC about where things stand with the team. On one hand, you look at all the players who helped you win a Super Bowl last year that will run through the tunnel and feel confident about the quality of this team. On the other hand, the only time you saw those players face quality opposing competition was in a joint practice against the lowly Titans, and the results were mixed at best. You also still have questions about the availability of Nick Emmanwori, Zach Charbonnet, Tory Horton Jr., Emmanuel Wilson, and possibly a few more. Your rookie class might be essentially one player, who was a backup in college that you are not counting on to be a starter.
This is not doom and gloom. Seattle has a roster full of talent and coaching staff built to optimize any player they work with. It is a reality check that not everything has gone exactly as one might have hoped to this point.
Every player who outperforms expectations provides a little more buffer through the rigors of a season. Every player who you lose to injury or who fails to meet their potential leaves a little less room for error. Few people knew Ty Okada or Drake Thomas or Josh Jobe would play such large roles in the 2025 season a week before the first game. That might be Diggs or Terrion Arnold or Julian Neal or Bryce Cabeldue this year. Whoever it is, has concealed themselves well to this point.
The truth is the Seahawks would have been 2-1 in the preseason if Jason Myers made his extra points and field goals. This is not about the record as much as the quality and crispness of play.
Best case scenario is that the Seahawks are a worse roster from 71-91 than they were a year ago, but stronger from 1-70. That feels plausible with how much of the sloppy play has come from players who will not be on the roster or the practice squad.
Week one is a trust fall every season. Even the best teams in franchise history have struggled in week one. Two of the four teams that made the Super Bowl lost in week one, and another barely survived a game in Carolina. The one Super Bowl team that thrived in the first game was the 2014 squad, coming off a championship the year before. They walloped the Green Bay Packers 36-16. Of course, they did lose the next week to the Chargers and started the season 3-3, so trying to predict any of this is silly.
What Seahawks fans can feel confident in is their head coach holding the bar high and grinding every day to help the team clear it. The players in the locker room know what it takes. Their desired destination remains the same even if they walk a different path to get there.