2026 Free Agency

[HaroldSeattle]

I think a lot will depend on when Charbs will be back. If they think he can be back early in the season then they are likely not going to invest as much at RB.

Charb didn't have his surgery until February so probably not back early in the season. I'm with you though and rather they sign Harris and just try to get by at RB until 2027 draft.

 

[MrS]

RB was incredibly important in winning the SB, there's no way they stand pat with a bunch of JAGs they will draft one relatively high

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

RB was incredibly important in winning the SB, there's no way they stand pat with a bunch of JAGs they will draft one relatively high

Eh, Walker did well against the Pats but would another RB have decent success as well? Hard to say. Walker was good against the 9ers but any one of us would've been effective against their completely injured defense and Shaheed put the game away on the first play of the game anyway lol. That offense and "I take forever to throw the ball" Purdy wasn't going to score more than 3 legit points on us. The Rams was 100% and entirely Darnold, all there is to it.

Also, our OLINE should be better next year in that Zabel is no longer a rookie. Lucas had a full year back. And they'll all have an offseason of a regular season plus another offseason of heavy zone rushing attack offense which is not changing at all on their resume. The criticism of Walker is he wasn't a great fit for what we wanted to do in the run game.

I could see them looking at runningbacks anyway, but if they went in with Holani, Harris, and WIlson assuming ALL 3 were healthy - I'd be okay with it.

 

[MrS]

Eh, Walker did well against the Pats but would another RB have decent success as well? Hard to say. Walker was good against the 9ers but any one of us would've been effective against their completely injured defense and Shaheed put the game away on the first play of the game anyway lol. That offense and "I take forever to throw the ball" Purdy wasn't going to score more than 3 legit points on us. The Rams was 100% and entirely Darnold, all there is to it.

Also, our OLINE should be better next year in that Zabel is no longer a rookie. Lucas had a full year back. And they'll all have an offseason of a regular season plus another offseason of heavy zone rushing attack offense which is not changing at all on their resume. The criticism of Walker is he wasn't a great fit for what we wanted to do in the run game.

I could see them looking at runningbacks anyway, but if they went in with Holani, Harris, and WIlson assuming ALL 3 were healthy - I'd be okay with it.

Randos at RB is not going to cut it, this offense needs an elite RB which walker is. If they don't at least try to find a replacement the run game is going to take a big step backwards

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Randos at RB is not going to cut it, this offense needs an elite RB which walker is. If they don't at least try to find a replacement the run game is going to take a big step backwards

Well I dunno I would call Harris a rando (IF we sign him), lol. Wilson/Holani you could argue that. Fact of the matter is, it's not a great RB class - so are you kind of stuck waiting until 2027?

The flip side is does Seattle for the first time in over a decade just continue to fortify the line and grab someone like Pregnon with an early 2nd or just the 32nd? His testing is off the charts and he's kind of a quiet/get to work guy... he also has similar zone testing to Zabel. We already visited his PRO day. He's probably not slotted high in the 1st round because he's 25, but that's really not a worry given Cross is and IOL can play a long time.

There's the other side of this is we just build a behemoth OL and shove anyone back there lol. Wouldn't that be nice for a change? And then we don't have a cover the eyes moment on 3rd down with Bradford a 50/50 on completely whiffing on a block and a giant DT with no business pass rushing having a beeline path to Darnold.

 

[MrS]

Harris is washed and he was never that good anyways

 

[Anointed One]

Randos at RB is not going to cut it, this offense needs an elite RB which walker is. If they don't at least try to find a replacement the run game is going to take a big step backwards

We don't need an, "elite" RB... Past 10 Superbowls there hasn't been many elite RBs... Elite QBs, WR's, Defenses? Yes...

 

[MrS]

We don't need an, "elite" RB... Past 10 Superbowls there hasn't been many elite RBs... Elite QBs, WR's, Defenses? Yes...

View attachment 425081

not every team does, but this offense does need an elite RB. at a minimum they need someone with potential, right now they dont have that guy.

 

[Screamin12th]

Yeah the Seahawks are a run first team that leans heavy into PA passes, that is this teams identity so not having talent at the RB position isnt a way to have success. We have seen JS just try and "Plug" people in and say its good only to have to trade for someone midseason.

you don't want Sam throwing the ball a ton in the season. Thats not who he is and will lead to WAY WAY to many turnovers.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

not every team does, but this offense does need an elite RB. at a minimum they need someone with potential, right now they dont have that guy.

Eh dunno about that. Not many teams have an elite runningback and while it can put a team over the edge, a lot of other pieces are there first.

K9 wasn't an elite runningback either. He was and is GOOD, and that's about it. Maybe he becomes elite with KC and Mahomes, but he wasn't ELITE with Seattle. He had some elite games, but that was it.

 

[MrS]

Eh dunno about that. Not many teams have an elite runningback and while it can put a team over the edge, a lot of other pieces are there first.

K9 wasn't an elite runningback either. He was and is GOOD, and that's about it. Maybe he becomes elite with KC and Mahomes, but he wasn't ELITE with Seattle. He had some elite games, but that was it.

it seems he finally put it together mentally and had an elite playoff run

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

it seems he finally put it together mentally and had an elite playoff run

He did well against San Fran who had no gas left in the tank and all of their stars on defense injured... did nothing of note against the Rams, and then was the best player on the field on offense in a game where the defenses dominated and the QB was told "overthrow everything to our guys. No risk of turnovers allowed."

Elite playoff run? Eh, sure.. fine. If not elite it's borderline elite. That said, that doesn't instantly morph him into an elite runningback. And I'll say the reason he had that gas left in the tank to do that was because of splitting carries with Charbs all year.

I still don't think K9 is an elite runningback. An elite runningback is also a massive threat in the receiving game and can play 3rd down with above average blocking - which we all know K9 can't do.

 

[MrS]

He did well against San Fran who had no gas left in the tank and all of their stars on defense injured... did nothing of note against the Rams, and then was the best player on the field on offense in a game where the defenses dominated and the QB was told "overthrow everything to our guys. No risk of turnovers allowed."

Elite playoff run? Eh, sure.. fine. If not elite it's borderline elite. That said, that doesn't instantly morph him into an elite runningback. And I'll say the reason he had that gas left in the tank to do that was because of splitting carries with Charbs all year.

I still don't think K9 is an elite runningback. An elite runningback is also a massive threat in the receiving game and can play 3rd down with above average blocking - which we all know K9 can't do.

At the very least we need a guy that can do what walker does, hit home runs, be elusive, score TDs when it looks like the play is dead.
We don't have anyone like that right now

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

At the very least we need a guy that can do what walker does, hit home runs, be elusive, score TDs when it looks like the play is dead.
We don't have anyone like that right now

Eh, Walker didn't really score the TDs (outside of San Fran's beat up/worn out team), that was Charbs.

I agree Walker is a different kind of threat due to his elusiveness but he has other flaws in his game. Either way, there was nobody really like that in free agency nor is there anyone like that in the draft. Love is, but Love is going prob. top 5 and is projected to be an actual elite runningback - which Walker never was.

I also don't think Seattle is looking for that homerun threat RB that will average will get -2 to 2 yards and then bust one for 10+ yards to even it out. Sounds like they want a more consistent 3-4 YPC 'on every run' kind of guy, which makes sense given their offense and QB.

All said, I agree we still need to address RB because Harris hasn't signed and Charbs' surgery was later than expected... so going in with Holani (always injured) and Wilson sounds like a recipe for disaster. That said, I really don't want to blow the 32nd on a RB if the BPA is OL/DL, which goes back to the comments on hedging. IF we have to go in with Wilson/Holani/Harris (or something) because we took OL/DL with our early picks - so be it... because it's just more of an impact. Now end of day do I think Schneider would pull the trigger on Price at 32? Absolutely. Would I bet upset with it? Nope.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

IF we have to go in with Wilson/Holani/Harris (or something) because we took OL/DL with our early picks - so be it.

I agree with this. I rather not use the 32nd pick on Price. If they do use that pick on Price I'll hope for the best.

 

[JMR]

I think we should recognize the difference in the value of the running game vs the value of an individual ball carrier. It's vital for our style of play and/or team identity to be able to control the game on the ground, but that doesn't mean we have to place inordinate value or importance on a single player. The running game is a collective effort, and it's not incredibly difficult to find a capable RB.

 

[Anointed One]

I think we should recognize the difference in the value of the running game vs the value of an individual ball carrier. It's vital for our style of play and/or team identity to be able to control the game on the ground, but that doesn't mean we have to place inordinate value or importance on a single player. The running game is a collective effort, and it's not incredibly difficult to find a capable RB.

Especially when you have a solid OL in tact... When's the last time we could say that?

 

[JMR]

Especially when you have a solid OL in tact... When's the last time we could say that?

Exactly. Because the "running game" or being able to run the ball effectively is about a lot more than just a RB.

 

[Screamin12th]

Fowler signing to replace Mafe's snaps...... meh

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/48684397/source-seahawks-sign-veteran-edge-rusher-dante-fowler-jr

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

We can talk about Walker's play-off run until we are blue in the face but the bottom line is that the Chiefs grossly overpaid for him based off that alone and I would have been pissed at JS if we had paid him that much. I like K9 but tbh, Price will likely be every bit as good and possibly even better overall. I don't need RBs that take the ball to the house for 70 yards as much as someone who can keep the team ahead of the sticks and move the chains when needed and keep the opposing defenses just honest enough to allow the PA to work. Charbs was better at that than Walker which is why he was getting more snaps during the season before he got hurt. Also, K9 really only had one of those big explosive house calls during the regular season and it was on the first drive of the 2nd half vs. the Rams in the week 16 TNF thriller. So it's not like his rookie year when he was fooling teams. This notion that he's a home run guy has been somewhat overplayed. Had an excellent SB so good for him but beyond that, the back half of last season was more about the Oline getting more cohesive in the zone blocking scheme and Darnold scaling back the risky stuff to protect the ball after the week 11 fiasco.
The run game got going because teams stopped stacking the box and played coverage because of JSN as much as it was just Walker becoming elite, which he isn't, imo. Price will likely be the starter and get 15 or so carries/ game and Wilson and Holani can spell him just fine until November when Charbs is back to full speed. I very much expect the run game to be working at a high clip by the stretch run and into the play-offs like it did this past season. Barring injuries, of course.
Just watch the Raiders, Falcons and Cardinals continue to fail if you think elite RBs are any kind of answer. Saquon is elite but when Philly's Oline stopped being so dominant, he became irrelevant. CMC is more of a receiving threat than a RB these days and he is getting close to the end of the line. SF still hasn't had a SB title in 30+. Cardinals actually had a decent run game before Connor got hurt and he isn't elite but I'm not expecting them to get all that much more from Love, tbh. It's still the Cardinals and they are still at the bottom of the division.