Jun 11, 2025; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins (97) takes part in drills during mini-camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Seahawks insider says defense 'far ahead' of new-look offense at minicamp

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Connor Benintendi | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Seattle Seahawks' defense is entering Year 2 under head coach Mike Macdonald with almost every starter returning from last season. The offense is working through its first practices with a new quarterback, wide receiver corps, offensive line (in some places), scheme and play caller.

With voluntary organized team activities and mandatory minicamp complete, it's no surprise the defense is indeed "far ahead" of the offense, according to The Tacoma News Tribune's Gregg Bell. "Sam Darnold, Klint Kubiak have some work to do," Bell added.

It's going to take time for all the new pieces to mesh together and for the offense to get comfortable with the language of Kubiak's offense. The Seahawks also hit the reset button offensively in 2024 under Ryan Grubb, but they didn't have nearly as many new pieces. Wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett were still on the roster, and Geno Smith was entering his third season as the team's starter. Now, there are a lot more moving parts.

#Seahawks end minicamp.

Heading into training camp starting July 23 the starting defense is far ahead of the offense, as it should be. The D is this team’s obvious strength.

Sam Darnold, Klint Kubiak have some work to do.

⁦@thenewstribune⁩ pic.twitter.com/rNS6XHnyxq
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) June 11, 2025

As a result, the offense has struggled to put the ball in the end zone against a defense that has already had a whole season to build with Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde.

"Darnold and those running new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s all-new scheme had about a dozen tries to score from the 5-yard line in seven-on-seven, red-zone scrimmages during minicamp Tuesday and Wednesday," Bell wrote in his takeaways from the most recent practice. "The starting defense denied them from scoring all but one time."

The Seahawks now have an extended break before training camp begins on July 23. That will be where the real tuning work happens ahead of the 2025 season. Until then, players have plenty of time to get acquainted with the playbook on their own time, even if they can't directly work with the coaches.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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