Seahawks Offense Regressed Without Raiders' Pete Carroll

New head coach Mike Macdonald's decision to hire Ryan Grubb as offensive coordinator was a failure, being forced to hire Klint Kubiak less than one year later as Geno Smith was fed up and wanted to play with Carroll again. In a recent piece by ESPN's Bill Barnwell, he lists/ ranks each team based on their NFL WR, TE, RB groups, with Seattle seeing their lowest ranking in years.

In 2025, Barnwell ranked Seattle at 19th after they were ranked eighth in 2024 and fourth in 2023.

"A significant overhaul means the Seahawks drop in these rankings," wrote Barnwell. "Even while acknowledging that DK Metcalf's 2020 season looks like an outlier and Tyler Lockett's decline has become apparent, Seattle might have downgraded at both spots (while getting cheaper) by replacing them with Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling."

"Like Metcalf, Kupp is several years removed from what looks like an outlier year-plus as an elite receiver. He was the league's best receiver when helping push the Rams to a Super Bowl in the 2021 season, and he stayed at that level during the first half of 2022. He hasn't been the same since suffering an ankle injury and missing the rest of 2022, however."

Kupp, a native of Yakima, Washington, returns to the Pacific Northwest after his last three seasons with the Rams, following his triple crown year in 2021, which was marred by injuries, and his replacement (Las Vegas native Puka Nacua) becoming one of the best receivers in the NFL.

I wouldn't call 2024 an outlier year for Kupp considering he was afflicted with many of the same issues in 2023.

However, the bigger question is how does Kupp help replace Tyler Lockett when they're the same player at this point in their careers, while both men are getting eclipsed by younger talent?

"The emergence of Puka Nacua in Los Angeles might have taken targets away from the former Offensive Player of the Year, but Kupp has averaged 2.2 yards per route run without Nacua on the field and 2.0 YPRR in total over the past two seasons. Those are solid numbers, but they're a ways away from the 2.9 yards per route run he averaged in 2021-22. Factoring in Kupp's age (32) and the reality that he has missed eight games over the past two seasons with injuries, he projects more like a solid No. 2 receiver than one with elite upside."

Kupp may enjoy a new role with the passing offense expected to be run through Jaxon Smith-Njigba but considering their quarterback is Sam Darnold, just like with Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, Smith Nijigba will get a vast majority of the targets.

Say what you want about Carroll but the ball got distributed all around when he was back in the Pacific Northwest

"Valdes-Scantling was good in a small sample for the Saints last season, but the 30-year-old was cut by the Bills and joined New Orleans for free. The passing game should run through Jaxon Smith-Njigba, whose 2024 breakout helped keep the Seahawks from falling further. He averaged nearly 83 receiving yards per game from Week 9 onward, a 1,402-yard pace over a full season."

Another question is how does Valdes-Scantling help make up for the departure of Metcalf?

"We're still waiting for the breakout from other Seahawks. Noah Fant continues to be a high-floor, low-ceiling tight end, combining catch rates north of 74% with a lack of consistent big-play ability or any sort of threat in the red zone. He has one score over the past two seasons. Kenneth Walker III has the fourth-worst success rate (37%) and is tied for third-last in first downs over expectation among running backs with at least 500 carries in the past three seasons. It's one thing to combine that profile with spectacular big plays, as Walker did in 2022, but after breaking off three 60-plus yard runs as a rookie, he hasn't posted one since."

Walker was a 1,000 yard running back under Carroll, being selected to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2022. He was injury-riddled and awful last season under new leadership.

Carroll had a standard for his offense and now they've fallen double-digit spots in his absence,.

Raiders fans should be happy because when Carroll has a vision, he succeeds. It happened with the Patriots, Seahawks, and USC Trojans. The Seahawks are what happens when a team deviates from the vision.

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