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My thoughts on the possibility of the Seahawks trading with the Colts for Quenton Nelson or Jonathan Taylor

October 19, 2026 /

Last week my X timeline was full of people sharing one of my old tweets from six years ago. It was a video of Jonathan Taylor practically begging the Seahawks to draft him.

Some fans had decided he was the missing the link. The thing that could get Seattle’s offense back on track.

There was only one problem.

There was next to no chance the Colts would trade him.

Taylor was too important. General Manager Chris Ballard and Head Coach Shane Steichen were on the hottest of hot seats. Trading away their top players would be akin to writing their own resignation letters.

The only way such a deal could become even remotely possible was if one or both were fired. Today, Ballard was removed from his position.

Now, all bets are off. Anything could happen.

Front office executive Ed Dodds has been placed in temporary charge. He will likely view this as an audition. In order to impress he will need to do what the owner wants. The chances are Carlie Irsay-Gordon will want her staff to set up for an off-season rebuild.

The Colts have no first round pick because of the ill-advised Sauce Gardner trade. At the moment, that would be the #10 overall pick.

They need more stock. Now would be a good time to add picks and plan for the future. Their roster is currently nowhere near good enough to seriously contend.

Aside from Taylor, they have two key players on expiring contracts — guard Quenton Nelson and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. They turn 31 and 33 respectively next year. Paying them a big new contract each when the team is facing a rebuild is a questionable call. Both could present a good return, with teams seeking quality rental additions.

Buckner is an unlikely target for the Seahawks but what about the other two?

Nelson is the premier guard in the league and has the top zone-blocking grade in the NFL this season (92.0). Seattle’s offensive line has struggled badly this year and he would provide an enormous upgrade.

He would need to play left guard, so that would mean moving Grey Zabel. That feels less controversial given how poorly Zabel has played so far. He could move over to right guard or even possibly try right tackle. He started as a left tackle in college and Abe Lucas has struggled badly in recent games.

This would be a very similar move to the acquisition of Leonard Williams three years ago:

— Williams joined the Seahawks when he was 29. Nelson is 30.

— Williams was a former #6 overall pick (2015) and so is Nelson (2018).

— Williams was on an expiring contract, as is Nelson.

— Williams was on a team seeking to generate more draft stock as part of a rebuild and the Colts may now be in the same place.

The Seahawks paid a high price to ‘rent’ Williams for the rest of the season (second and fifth round picks). It was a gamble. Had they not re-signed him in the off-season, it would’ve been a costly move for about 10 games of football.

Luckily, the team impressed upon Williams and rekindled his love for the game. He duly signed an extension, became a crucial player on the team, won a Super Bowl and has since signed another contract.

In order to trade for Nelson you’d be looking at a very similar set of circumstances. My guess is the price would be more or less the same — a second round pick. The Seahawks possibly have an unlikely ace up their sleeve though.

Anthony Bradford could be part of the deal. Although he’s often been a figure of complaint in Seattle, he would give Indianapolis an automatic replacement for Nelson to enable them to finish the season. He’s also only 25, so there’s potential he could turn himself into a longer term fixture for the rebuilding Colts.

Very few other teams can present a player with Bradford’s age and experience as part of a trade. The other thing to note is — interior offensive linemen get paid, sometimes irrespective of talent. By all accounts Aaron Banks is not a particularly good NFL guard. However, the Green Bay Packers gave him $19.25m a year as a free agent when he left the San Francisco 49ers.

Including Bradford in a trade could be a deal breaker. You give the Colts a younger lineman who they may decide to keep. If not, however, and he departs in free agency, there’s every chance he could return a compensatory pick for Indianapolis — maybe even a good one.

If the Seahawks did acquire Nelson, they would need to approach things in the exact same way they did with Williams. They would need to play for time. Let him integrate into the franchise and impress upon him a future in Seattle.

There’d be a gamble that he wouldn’t enjoy it as much as Williams, who is from the West Coast (Nelson is from New Jersey). It’d be slightly chastening if he left but there would at least be a significant comp pick coming Seattle’s way in 2028 if he moved on.

The interior O-line market has ballooned recently, with Tyler Linderbaum re-setting the market. However, it’s worth noting that the likes of Linderbaum, Peter Skoronski, Tyler Smith and Trey Smith all agreed massive extensions as part of their second contracts. As with Williams, Nelson is an older player. Williams didn’t reset any markets when he re-signed, and I’m not sure Nelson would either. He’d be in the mix — $25-26m a year seems perfectly plausible — but you could argue he’d be worth it.

Would the Seahawks pay it? I’d argue if they’re prepared to pay Rashid Shaheed $17m a year the answer would be a resounding ‘yes’.

For what it’s worth the franchise tag amount for an offensive lineman this year was $25.7m.

Such a trade does make a high degree of sense. It doesn’t have to be an all-in move for the here-and-now. After all, the Seahawks didn’t even make the playoffs for the first two years of Williams’ time in Seattle and that trade has been a roaring success. I’ve been quite emphatic that I don’t have much faith in Brian Fleury turning around the offense — but this doesn’t have to be a 2026 or bust trade.

Securing Nelson for the next 3-5 years would be a significant talent addition to the roster and the kind of ‘go for it’ move that would help keep this team near the top for the next few years.

It would be difficult to part with a key second round pick within a loaded 2027 draft class. I currently have 60 players on my horizontal board graded between the early first round and late second/early third. That’s a lot more than usual — and I’ll be adding about another 150-180 players before April.

Regardless, this is such a rare opportunity if indeed Nelson is available. It’s almost like the 49ers getting Trent Williams. It has to be seriously considered because of the quality of the player. He has the talent to match Williams’ impact and nobody regrets that trade.

What about Jonathan Taylor?

This will be harder. Unlike Nelson he is not on an expiring contract. He’s also still 27 and won’t turn 28 until January. The Colts might ask for a first round pick. The price won’t go lower than a second and would likely include additional picks.

I’ve always been a fan of Taylor — he was a big-time blog favourite before the 2020 draft. He could easily super-charge Seattle’s running back position. With Zach Charbonnet out of contract after this season, he could also be seen as someone who could lead the backfield not just this year — but over the next few years too.

It would feel slightly demoralising though paying so much to acquire him, on top of the first round pick you’ve already spent on Jadarian Price, to fill the Ken Walker void. They can’t be too prideful to be inactive to the detriment of the team — but it would be galling to witness so much resource spent when they had Walker on their roster and created a scenario over the last 18 months where he expected to leave, possibly wanted to leave, the team were comfortable with him leaving — then had to rush around trying to rectify what increasingly looks like a big gaffe.

Still — Taylor is very good. The Seahawks have achieved greatness twice under John Schneider in part due to their ability to acquire very good veteran players.

I’m not against Taylor or Nelson being added because they can be part of your future, not just a desperate attempt to save this season.

The price, as always, has to be right. I think it might be easier to find common ground on Nelson.

I think they will call. Ed Dodds previously worked for Schneider so they have a relationship. This is the time of year where the Seahawks go shopping. They probably won’t be sitting on their hands while in the midst of a 1-3 run.

Remember — when they were last on a run like this, they moved out Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker, trading for Ernest Jones.

Instant reaction: Disastrous, shambolic Seahawks have a crisis on their hands

October 15, 2026 /

There has to be some accountability after that.

Another game with multiple turnovers (three). Another game where the quarterback looks constantly rattled and throws two lousy interceptions. Another game where the offensive line appears to have completely regressed — to a man — with no exceptions. Another game where you can’t run the ball properly.

The Seahawks just blew another one. The Broncos had only 168 yards of total offense. They didn’t do anything after half-time. They were missing two defensive starters. You had no business losing this game — and wouldn’t have done with a barely competent offense.

It was an absolute shambles. Unacceptable.

It’s the same situation with the other two losses this season. Completely blowing opportunities through constant mistakes and what appears to be a broken offense.

It can’t continue.

The problems have extended to four games — a quarter of the season. You can’t just keep hoping things will work out at this stage. If you’re serious about turning this season around, you’ve got to do something.

The most minor change would be benching someone like Abe Lucas — who does not look right at all. The more headline-grabbing moves would be at quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Sam Darnold is playing horrible football at the moment. Losing football. He is looking like the Jets version of himself. If this carries on for much longer, we’ll be forced to talk about draft eligible quarterbacks and veteran options in the off-season.

Do they have to consider sitting him? They could finesse the decision by saying he rushed back to soon and they’re giving him some time to get right. That would leave the door open to return if Drew Lock struggles in relief. Right now, Darnold is costing the Seahawks games. You can’t have a quarterback who costs you games.

Brian Fleury, sadly, is starting to look out of his depth. How can the person running an offense that is bad in every way escape scrutiny? If it wasn’t for Jaxon Smith-Njigba where would they be? Would they ever score any points?

He doesn’t appear to have answers to problems. On his watch the O-line and quarterback have sunk to depths we’d never think imaginable. Is it possible he’s just not up to the job? Do you have to turn to an internal candidate — Justin Outten or Jake Peetz — to take control?

It feels like something needs to happen. If they just continue as they are and keep losing (it’s the Chiefs and Bears next) it could get ugly and they’d run the serious risk of this being a lost season.

It might be anyway, at least in the context of contention. It feels like blind faith to imagine Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price will fix the offense when they return. They haven’t done a good enough job replacing key players. They needed to sign a better running back to replace Ken Walker and they needed to sign a better pass-rusher to replace Boye Mafe. Their off-season, on reflection, was too passive.

Curtis Allen’s Watch Points (Week Six vs Denver)

October 15, 2026 /

This is a guest post by Curtis Allen…

Last year the Broncos and Seahawks were both 14-3 and had deep playoff runs.  Denver was a Bo Nix ankle injury away from meeting the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

Now both teams are 3-2 and facing the tough reality that one of them will walk out of the stadium with their third loss of the year in only Week Six.

The similarities do not stop there.  Both teams have had troubling issues with their Quarterbacks, a run game that is not up to their standard and a defense that is very good, but a bit overburdened by the offense not functioning well.

Playing football in a short week might benefit both teams to escape the echo chamber a little.

For all our frustrations with the Seahawks, their two losses have been by a cumulative total of five points.  Flip a couple of awful plays and they are 5-0, although not without obvious challenges that need to be addressed.

And those challenges are not going to be solved in a short game week against a tough opponent.

If the Seahawks play the way they have usually played this season minus those intensely critical mistakes, they should come through this game with a win.

It is an intense oversimplification, I know.  But that is where we are.  There are strong elements to this team and they are too talented and well-coached not to be competitive in every game they play.

They must trust their Running Backs to handle the ball in this game.  They must trust Sam Darnold to make his reads, feel pressure and throw passes into tight windows if he must.

The only way out is through.

That is the biggest Watch Point of them all – the Seahawks must play the game they are constructed to play.

Without catastrophic mistakes.

Attack the Defense in the Run Game

Last year, the Broncos were the #3 rushing defense in the NFL, allowing only 3.9 yards per rush (Seahawks #1 at 3.7).

This year?  They are allowing an ugly 4.7 yards per rush, good for #25 overall.

The Bronco defense has given up more 10+ yard runs than every other team in the NFL except one.  They are getting regularly gashed.

How are teams doing it?

Well, for one, Quarterbacks are getting opportunities to run.  They count for six of those explosive runs.  Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Brock Purdy and even Matthew Stafford have explosives.

I do think a well-chosen run will do Sam Darnold some good.  He has been trying to stick it out in the pocket and maneuver around to buy time quite a lot so far this season.

If he sees a lane and can assure himself a first down, he needs to take it.  It will build up the confidence of the offense and give the Bronco defense another factor to think about, particularly at key moments in the game.

Otherwise, the explosive runs are coming in all different shapes and sizes.

Look at this one from San Francisco in Week 4:

It is pure scheme execution and Deebo Samuel making a second-level defender miss.  A well-executed play of this nature is within the Seahawks’ grasp.

A simple run that is well-blocked but elevates to an explosive due to very poor tackling on the Broncos’ part.

Note Kris Abrams-Draine going for the strip instead of the tackle at about the 34-yard line.  (side note: I do wonder if the fumbling issues the Seahawks experienced may tempt the Broncos into a similar mistake).

Kyren Williams being slightly patient for 30 yards.

Kenneth Walker redirecting on fourth down for 60.

Bhayshul Tuten on a counter-direction toss about 1:00 in.

There are many ways to make good runs happen.

The Seahawks need to commit to it and run these plays with confidence and execute well.

The Broncos are without two of their best defenders tonight in Patrick Surtain and Talanoa Hufanga.  Riley Moss is Questionable.

There is an obvious expectation that Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and Tory Horton will heavily feature in the offense to exploit this vulnerability.  And that may be true.  It will help Sam Darnold tremendously to have these players available as short-field options to keep the Bronco pass rush at bay.

But a balanced offense that features some concepts that we examined here should not only prove successful but keep the defense fresh – more important on a short week and in oxygen-deprived Denver.

Keep Bo Nix Playing Like He Has

Right now, the Bronco offense is not working very well.  They are bottom-10 in several categories.  Overall yards, rushing yards, passing yards, scoring….

You get the idea.  It is not a major shock that Sean Peyton has taken playcalling duties back from Davis Webb.

The first thing Peyton did was rebalance the offense.  He had a near-equal split of run and pass plays Sunday in the win against the Chargers.

Still, they only sputtered to 3.6 yards per carry.

There are a few things going on here.

J.K. Dobbins does not look like himself after missing half of last year with a Lisfranc injury.  He is considerably down from his 5.0 yard per carry average last year.

Also, Bo Nix is also having a down year running the ball.  He picked up as many rushing First Downs as Lamar Jackson did last year — and only five Quarterbacks ran the ball more often than Nix did.

This year he has dialed the runs way back.  Likely he is still protecting his injured ankle and not pushing defenses.

It is hurting the offense dramatically.  It might be why they felt justified in going out and trading for Jaylen Waddle.  Maybe taking some of the offensive burden off Nix would mitigate the change of him staying in the pocket more frequently.

So far, it has not worked.  Nix is on track for a career-worst season passing the ball.

He is one of the NFL’s least-accurate passers with a 59.9% completion rate.  His Air Yards per throw is down almost 28% and usually shorter throws mean better accuracy.  It is worse.

He is under the highest amount of pressure he has faced in his career (21.1%) and he is easily rattled (Nix has 15 Throwaways through 5 games.  In his rookie season he had 18 in 17(!) games).

What is happening?  The missing threat of running, the lack of support in the run game and the new playcaller have all worked against him to create a poor and disappointing season.

Quarterback analysts are noting his lack of good mechanics, hesitancy in the pocket and his inability to adjust to what defenses do post-snap.

Nix has shown a real hesitance to throw over the middle of the field this year.  His target charts are a barren wasteland.

He is making short throws to the flat much more, only occasionally letting it fly (as an aside, what kind of angle is Antonio Johnson taking on that throw?).

As you can see Nix is using his feet and can make throws while on the move.  He is not hobbling, just not using his feet to gain yards on the ground very much.

Jaylen Waddle will be dangerous though.  He makes his Quarterback look very good on occasion, making plays that can turn the offense around and give them a spark.  His game so far (other than against Jacksonville) though has been lacking.

Putting pressure on Nix with post-snap adjustments, some timely blitzes from players such as Tyrice Knight and Ernest Jones can really be effective if timed up correctly.

2027 NFL Draft Horizontal board & notes from week six of the college football season

October 14, 2026 /

I’ve taken the decision to publish an earlier-than-usual horizontal board this week (see above). This is in part because a.) I wanted something to distract us from the 49ers game and b.) I think there’s so much duff information being put out by draft media over the last few months, I want to lay down some firm thoughts on where I see players fitting into this class.

Let me stress, this is a very early board. I typically wouldn’t publish this until late November at the earliest. I’m just a bit bored of reading what I think are some pretty out-there draft takes and the only thing I’m giving you are 4-5000 word articles where a lot of you might prefer something a bit easier to digest.

There are grades on the board that I will adjust. There are also players I simply haven’t studied enough to include yet. So if you see a name missing, that’ll be why.

There are 117 names on the board currently. I’ve done more work on this class to this point than I’ve done on any previous class. That speaks, I think, to how interesting and intriguing it is — especially at the top end. I’m excited to scout these players — a massive difference compared to last year’s hugely underwhelming class.

I currently have 18 players graded as blue-chippers or clear first rounders. I have seven players after that in a range I consider ‘would be prepared to take in round one’. I would imagine that by the time the combine has concluded, I could easily have +20 legit first round graded prospects — something I’ve never had before. I also currently have 60 players I’d be happy to take before the end of round two. Again, that is far more than usual.

Take a look at the board. We’ll discuss it in more detail next week during the ‘mini-bye’ between Thursday Night Football and the Chiefs game.

Meanwhile, here are my latest draft notes from week six of college football…

UCLA vs Oregon

I felt coming into the summer there was no more overrated team than Oregon. Their depth was weaker than people realised, with a number of highly touted big name players who weren’t anywhere near as good as some people were suggesting.

That’s not to say they don’t have talent. Tight end Jamari Johnson is an interesting prospect, as is receiver Evan Stewart. They can both be very productive players in the NFL. However, in this game against UCLA they had no chance to make an impact. Oregon’s passing game was a disaster — with Dylan Raiola proving to be out of his depth (on this afternoon at least) before eventually finding himself on the bench. Dante Moore, who reminds me mostly of Josh Freeman as a prospect, remains out with the head injury he suffered against USC (and I hope he isn’t fast-tracked back into the line-up after this mess of a performance).

It was a good opportunity to watch Oregon’s defensive linemen though, in a bit of a slugfest matchup against an upstart unbeaten Bruins team. I’ve watched the tape (all-22) twice through and only came away more convinced by my low ratings for Oregon’s defenders.

Defensive tackle A’Mauri Washington is an athlete not a football player and it’s preposterous that he’s been ranked and graded as a potential first rounder. This is purely down to his athletic profile, which admittedly is rare. He’s 6-3 and 330lbs, can supposedly jump a 36-inch vertical and run nearly 21mph on the GPS. As Mazi Smith has shown though, what use is any of this if you can’t get the fundamentals right?

His run defense is nowhere near good enough for a man of his size and profile. His first step often seems to be sideways — why are you not moving forwards and taking on blockers, bullying them, dominating with your physical talent? He shouldn’t be trying to evade contact so often. Be the enforcer.

Perhaps it’s because he’s too easily manhandled by opposing interior linemen, as we saw again on Saturday. He exposes his chest and just leaves a nice big target for a jolting punch. He doesn’t use his own hands well enough and too often puts his head down to drive contact. He doesn’t do a good enough job disengaging and his first contact is rarely forceful enough.

When he plays on the outside shoulder he can use his quickness to penetrate and when he gets it right his bull-rush can be thunderous. It’s very easy to pick out five highlight plays over the last two years and say, ‘wow look at that’. But he’s nowhere near consistent enough — which is why he only had two sacks in 2025 and by October 14th hasn’t had one in 2026.

There are simply too many games where you barely notice he’s playing. He’s a player who really needs his entire game reconstructing to make the most of his tools. But you can’t gamble on that early in the draft, not within a deep looking class.

When we get to the combine or his pro-day no doubt everyone with marvel at his testing. Unless his tape improves though, it’ll be a mirage.

Bear Alexander plays next to him — another prospect who doesn’t justify the early round talk. He’s been a college football mercenary —- going from Georgia to USC and now Oregon. He’s listed at 6-3 and around 315lbs.

I think he’s just a very basic, average defensive tackle. He doesn’t show any real twitch as a pass rusher. He’s not a consistent gap shooter with great get-off. He can be too easily pushed backwards by guards, displacing him in the run game. He doesn’t have enough speed to be effective on stunts or trouble the outside shoulder to penetrate. His hand-use isn’t consistent enough and he doesn’t deliver a jolting blast to the chest to disrupt linemen.

Alexander seems to rely on absorbing initial contact then side-stepping blockers to fill gaps. As with Washington, I would rather him be the aggressor. Drive people backwards. A basic requirement at this position is your ability to effect the pocket by just driving blockers backwards and forcing the quarterback off his spot. Neither does this anywhere near enough.

He’s not quick or dynamic enough to be a finesse rusher to make up for it. He feels like the type of player who is two for a penny most years in the draft. I highly doubt he will impress at the combine, unlike his team-mate. He only has 6.5 sacks in five years of college football.

Off the edge you have another big name player in Matayo Uiagalelei. He’s listed at 6-5 and around 265lbs.

The first thing you notice is he lacks any kind of quick-twitch off the edge. You are not getting a bend-and-straighten specialist with amazing ankle flexion. But OK — he’s 265lbs and on the bigger side. He’s not Brian Burns. Maybe he’s a warrior against the run?

I expected violence and got ‘meh’. He feels hesitant, like he’s trying too hard to read everything then react. He also missed 21 tackles in 2024 and 2025. They move him around sometimes but he looks out of place when he moves inside — like a deer in the headlights. I expected a big, strong, powerful end and just came away underwhelmed. There’s nothing special here.

He doesn’t possess great straight-line pursuit speed. His pass-rush plan seems very limited. He gets stuck on blocks and lacks a potent counter. He just appears to be a very average player in all honesty. I didn’t see anything worthy of a high pick, whether on a skill, physical or technical level. The only thing I noted as a key positive is how he stands his ground well vs angled blocks.

Across from him is Teitum Tuioti. He’s a large looking EDGE listed at 6-3 and 263lbs with a thick frame. He’s really heavy on his feet feet and certainly not a ‘quick twitch’ pass rusher. He’s a get-your-head-down-and-run-forwards type at full tilt. He tries to barge his way through a line — pin balling off blockers, hoping to find a route through. For me it’s borderline whether he’ll be drafted.

UCLA tight end Brayden Loftin had 1v1 wins against Tuioti blocking. I really like Loftin but if he’s able to defend the edge against you, it’s not a good sign for your pro-prospects as a pass-rusher.

Tuioti shows stiffness in his movements and is never going to bend-and-straighten off the edge. It’s hard to see how he wins in the NFL — he’s just a bit of a plodder for Oregon. He has no real burst off the snap or any real pass rush plan. I won’t dispute his effort and hustle and he’ll give 100% — but he’s not a difference maker.

Finally there’s linebacker Devon Jackson. He’s 6-2 and 242lbs and has remarkably been timed running 24mph on the GPS. He can also reportedly jump a 40-inch vertical so he’s a special athlete. People will remember his big plays against Oklahoma State — chasing down Drew Mestermaker on his 75-yard run, forcing him out of bounds near the goal-line and saving his team four points (OkSt had to settle for a field goal after being stopped). He also ran a tipped pass back 96-yards in the same game for a pick-six.

His long speed is clearly better than his burst and short-area agility. He can be slow to react and run to the ball. He needs to do a better job shedding blocks and playing with more violence once engaged. His change of direction is laboured and he doesn’t come downhill to set a tone. He can be hesitant trying to read the play and he’s too easily blocked, then too content to sit on blocks.

When linemen reach up to the second level he gets taken for a ride. His pursuit speed when he has a clean run and a clear view of the ball-carrier is very good, which is to be expected with his profile.

The physical potential is there but he doesn’t play a glass-chewing brand of football. He’ll be drafted in the middle rounds for his profile and maybe you can tap into his rare combination of size and speed — but for me he and Washington both need their stock capped for having upside yet the tape needs to be a lot better.

What about the Bruins? Although UCLA is rejuvenated and winning, Nico Iamaleava hadn’t been playing at a level to really supercharge his stock. Now he’s expected to miss the rest of the college season due to an injury suffered in this game. He did deliver one wonderful layered throw to the right sideline with about 6:10 remaining in the first half against Oregon. He followed it up though with a stinking interception with 1:17 left in the half. I suspect he will now be forced to return to college next year to see if he can finally deliver on his significant talent.

I mentioned tight end Brayden Loftin. He is really, really good at blocking on key run plays. Given the way Seattle likes to play the game, he’s a name to remember.

Georgia vs Alabama was a strong NFL showcase (as expected)

This was a game loaded with future pro-players and potential high draft picks. Once again, Georgia linebacker Chris Cole stood out.

He had an early, patented stalk-and-chase that almost forced Alabama off the field (the quarterback just scrambled for a first down, getting there by inches on review). Shortly after he faked a drop in coverage, read the play and pursued the running back to drop him for a TFL. He had a delayed rush with 9:29 left in the third quarter, ran from deep, got around the right tackle and made the sack. He was so quick in his closing burst. On the same drive he almost had another sack, again with a delayed rush. It looked like he was spying but Keelon Russell shook him off to extend the play. However, most quarterbacks will get dropped there. On the same drive he played the edge and got his hands up to deflect a pass on third down to force a field goal attempt.

Cole just does everything — chase and pursuit, dropping into coverage, running to cover the flat, rushing the edge, attacking the interior of the LOS, filling in the run game. He is the definitive modern NFL player — capable of wearing so many different hats with excellent physical talent that is so rare within the league.

There is some perspective required. At the moment his reps off the edge lack refinement. You can tell it’s new to him. He doesn’t really have any plan, or any ability to set-up blockers. He doesn’t have a go-to move and really just tries to out-athlete tackles off the edge. If he’s going to take reps there, he’ll need coaching and time to make this a dangerous aspect of his pro-game.

Even so — he has the speed and length to work into an effective chess-piece who can deliver some pass-rush opportunities. Even if that doesn’t work into something he does a lot in the NFL, I can’t remember watching a player with his pursuit speed and size. It must be terrifying for opponents and he has the makings of a really exciting linebacker if nothing else.

I’m still very much of the belief that Alabama’s Ryan Coleman-Williams is the clear WR2 in this draft. In this game he took a dump-off behind the line of scrimmage, made a defender miss before leaping with his fantastic explosive power to launch himself over the line to gain for a first down. This is what a 43-inch vertical looks like on a football field. It was a special example of physical talent.

Later in the game he landed awkwardly after an attempted red zone catch with seconds left in the first half. He was already wearing a knee brace going into the game and limped off the field. He came back out for the second half but did not look healthy. On the plus side, this was another drop-free game. If that was his big issue from last season, it hasn’t been a problem this year. So how long will it be before people start acknowledging just how talented he is? His potential is through the roof.

Josh Ford the popular Alabama tight end played the game with a broken arm and was getting stuck right in as a blocker. It was very impressive. You can win with guys like this. He’s only a junior but for future blocking-TE’s fitting the Seahawks’ preferred brand of football, this might be a name to remember.

Georgia safety KJ Bolden saved a touchdown by chasing down a long run by the running back. He took a good angle on the recovery, showing ample speed. He also levelled an opponent early in the game. Bolden consistently plays tough and physical. He flies downfield when he diagnoses what’s happening. Georgia were content leaving him in single-high coverage for sections of this game. When he runs downfield he’s adept at positioning himself well to take away receivers running routes in behind him, then sprinting to the ball-carrier when it’s inevitably checked down.

I don’t think he’s going to be a big playmaker at the next level. He’s not an interception machine, eraser type coverage safety. He has a good blend of size, toughness, want-to, speed and versatility to be a regular starter at the next level. His position isn’t typically valued in the draft these days but he could and should be a top-42 pick.

Alabama’s safety Bray Hubbard had a really instinctive play on an interception. He read the RPO, reached an arm out to deflect the pass into the air and then caught the deflection himself. Hubbard has stiffness running in space and although he’s considered a good athlete, he’s always going to be better working in short areas. He also didn’t make a key tackle late in the game on a big run. I see him as more of a mid-round type.

Alabama’s versatile defensive lineman Devan Thompkins had a good play where he split the tight end and right tackle with quickness to slip through the line and force a running play TFL. He played the run well in this game, which was good to see. He’s flashed plenty as a pass-rusher already this year. Testing will determine the level of his upside but he’s done a good job for his size playing both defensive end and the interior.

Outside linebacker Yhonzae Pierre had a sack but he was completely unblocked and had a free run to the quarterback. I didn’t feel Pierre as a pass-rusher in this game but he played the run in his usual style. He does feel very much like a Seahawks OLB. He’s got the size, looks the part and he plays the run well. He’s just not the most blistering sack-specialist or difference maker off the edge. I can imagine the Seahawks having interest in him though.

There were two potential first round cornerbacks on the field. Alabama’s Zabien Brown did a good job coming up to the line to play the run, with one really good run-blitz. He gave up three receptions on four targets but limited the damage to 26 yards.

Georgia’s Ellis Robinson IV wasn’t really tested and gave up one six-yard reception on three targets. He had a really good open field tackle on the quarterback after he broke contain. He was often matched up with Coleman-Williams and did an excellent job in mirror coverage, playing up in his grill and not being beat off the snap. When RCW drove downfield he often stuck with him, comfortably enough to round off on the inevitable comeback when separation wasn’t achieved. When he played off-coverage they’d often run the ball instead — it would’ve been nice to see his closing speed on such a dynamic target like RCW. His backpedal and transition was smooth when having to drop and then change direction on the post. He has an excellent chance to be the second cornerback drafted.

I’ve seen a few people mention Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton in the comments. I think he’s one of the most underrated players in college football. He’s extremely effective as a passer and scrambler and for a loaded team like Georgia, he’s very capable of producing enough plays per game to put points on the board and complement the defense.

In terms of the draft, he doesn’t have the size or the physical tools (despite being a strong runner) to imagine he’ll be a high pick or necessarily a starter at any point. I think he’s the kind of player who might get taken in round four or five, especially if he can go on and win a National Championship, and he’ll have a chance to see if he can make things stick in the league.

Other notes from Saturday

— I think Ole Miss receiver Deuce Alexander is a top-25 talent in this class at the moment. He had another excellent touchdown against Vanderbilt on Saturday. It was a 39-yard score —- the safety is terrified of his deep speed and he knows it so he fakes to run downfield then breaks off to go across the field. He catches the football at the left hash 20-yards downfield, turns the final defender and then just leaves him for dead — racing the final 20 yards to the end zone. He then makes one final defender miss at the goal-line to score. On another ball thrown to the outside, he side-steps the covering defender with ease, cuts past another defender and accelerated for a first down. It’s a top level play showing off his special quickness and suddenness. Players with his speed and dynamism are always enticing.

— South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart had a tremendous sack with four minutes left in the first quarter vs Florida, marking his return to the field. It was on a third down and forced a punt. Clearly he’s quite immature but his ability to dip and bend with his length and quickness, plus the physicality he’s shown against the run when he’s been on the field, make him arguably the third or fourth best draft eligible player. Maybe even the second best, frankly. The suspension by his team was more a necessary teaching point rather than a long-term assessment of his draft status. I’m telling you — he will go in the top-eight picks next April and could easily go in the top-five. This isn’t a Jalen Carter character flag problem. This is a player who seems to have generated some entitlement, needs to grow up a bit and perhaps has had a hard time dealing with how poor South Carolina have been this season. You simply don’t see many players like this coming into the NFL and he will be coveted.

— Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestermaker continues to really impress. I think he’d be better off continuing to play football in college, adding needed experience, rather than thinking of turning pro in 2027. There are a few quarterbacks in the same boat. Yet there’s no doubt he’s playing at a standard way beyond a lot of the other over-hyped college QB’s. One play stood out to me. It was 4th and 5 with seven mins left in the first quarter. Mestermaker stood tall in the pocket, took a massive hit and still delivered an on-time, accurate pass for a key first down. He consistently plays well under pressure, appearing poised and accurate. It might not be that exciting but he has a Daniel Jones feel to him in my opinion. Perhaps he has a little bit more upside in his arm but that’s who I thought of. Jones, and therefore Mestermaker, aren’t going to revolutionise the NFL. But they both might end up being appreciated starters.

— I continue to be impressed with USC quarterback Jayden Maiava. Every week there is clear evidence of him going through progressions (unlike most college quarterbacks). He also makes big plays consistently on third down. Away at Penn State he delivered a big first quarter conversion on a 3rd and 4 on the way to a score. He also had an incredible 3rd and 7 conversion with 4:37 left in the first half. He scrambled to his right to extend the play then threw on the run, delivering a pass between two defenders that travelled 50 yards in the air right on the money to the receiver. It’s a top, top level throw. I’ve questioned his physical upside at times but that was a play to suggest it might not be much of a concern after all. He had another touchdown on 3rd and goal at the 10 yard line. It was a congested red zone but he made two clear progressions. He was well protected and executed to score a touchdown to put USC eight points ahead. Increasingly I would say if you need a quarterback — draft another position early then go after Maiava on day two.

— Arch Manning made some nice plays for Texas in their loss to Oklahoma. He also threw two hopeless interceptions late in the game, including a back-breaking pick-six and another interception when driving to try and win the game (ultimately handing that opportunity to Oklahoma instead — and they took it). I’ll say it for the 47th time in the last month — he’s a first name pick only because of the name on the back of his jersey. He is not playing anywhere close to that level. Draft media, who’ve consistently had him in the top-five of mocks and big boards, seemingly are giving up the ghost and are coming to terms with reality. At this stage it seems almost certain he won’t declare and will return for another season in college in 2027. I’m not sure it’ll make much difference. I don’t think he’s a NFL starter. He’s just too hesitant, he doesn’t see the field well enough and his accuracy is way too inconsistent. Too many people have been fooled by his second name.

— LaNorris Sellers was a lot better against slumping Florida on Saturday, who got whipped in the trenches for the second straight game. He was far more competent as a passer and really used his mobility and speed to great effect. This is how Sellers has to play. If he can put together six weeks of this form, he might save his Head Coach and re-establish any hope of being in the 2027 draft, rather than facing the need to prolong his college career (probably with a new team). What he showed on Saturday was tantalising. Now let’s see more of it. If I had to guess, we’ll probably see him turn up in Miami next year to do what Cam Ward, Carson Beck and now Darian Mensah are doing.

— Two defensive linemen I’ve been talking up a lot — Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace at Kentucky and Emmanuel Oyebadejo at Florida — both flashed again at the weekend. Oyebadejo had another sack and that’s now five in five games in his first season in the SEC. He’s 6-7 and 300lbs and has incredible upside potential. He’s not the finished article and I’m sure he would admit that (he missed some tackles at the weekend) but the physical upside with his size, length and athleticism is top level. Humphrey-Grace had four hurries against LSU and has really stepped up to the plate for UK.

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The Seahawks need a good running game to get right — I’m just not sure one is available

October 12, 2026 /

The 2024 Philadelphia Eagles started 3-2, just as the Seahawks have done this year. Nick Sirianni flipped off his own fans during a week five game against Cleveland. His team were playing badly and showed no signs of the 14-3 Super Bowl Champion they would later become. Trouble was brewing in Philly.

In the first five games Jalen Hurts had a 6/4 touchdown-to-interception ratio — very similar to Sam Darnold’s current 7/5 tally.

How did they fix things? They turned to their running game.

They won their next 10 games. During this run, Saquon Barkley ran for 1523 yards at an average of 138.5 yards per game. In the first five games of the season, he managed only 96.4 yards per game.

In comparison, they only threw for 1984 yards during this stretch — 180.4 yards per game. That was a marked difference to the first five games, where they thew more and averaged 238.8 passing yards.

Hurts’ touchdown-to-interception ratio during the 10 wins was 12/1.

Philadelphia finished the season leading the league in rushes per game (36.7). Only two other teams, Baltimore (33.4) and Washington (31.3) averaged more than 31 rushes per game. This was a significant commitment.

The Eagles completely leaned into Barkley to fix their team. Suddenly they were far more balanced, settled and explosive. The pressure was taken away from the quarterback who could comfortably play the role of a point guard.

This feels like a lesson the Seahawks could learn from. If they could get their running game going, they too might be able to settle things down on offense. At the moment they’re averaging 3.8 yards per carry — putting them in the bottom third of the league.

Here’s the problem though — who can they turn to?

There’s no Saquon Barkley on the roster — a true superstar player who is a safe bet to make things happen and carry the load. Barkley won offensive player of the year in 2024 for righting the Eagles.

Seattle’s current lack of talent at running back is a major issue. You simply cannot turn to Emmanuel Wilson and George Holani and say — ‘we are asking you to help level out this team’. It’s a preposterous thought.

Neither player is anywhere near explosive or dynamic enough. Neither is going to draw extra attention to the line to create better coverage opportunities for the quarterback — and neither is going to still be able to make things happen when game-plans are created to stop the run.

So what do you do?

The Seahawks are already throwing more (147 passes) than their running backs are running (129 carries). They’re already funnelling their passing attack through Jaxon Smith-Njigba, their best player. And they’re struggling to get anyone else involved.

They need to try something different.

Zach Charbonnet returning to the field and swiftly getting back to his best, complemented by a returning Jadarian Price, might be enough to give the running game a sufficient shot in the arm. Can you rely on that though? What’s to say Charbonnet can quickly produce coming off a serious knee injury? Price’s NFL career is off to a rocky start — fumbles in consecutive games and now a stint on IR.

It’s also unclear when both will even be available. Even though Charbonnet is back practising in a limited capacity, he’s been virtually ruled out for Thursday night.

There’s so much to fix on the offense. The quarterback is playing badly, the running backs aren’t good enough, the offensive line is playing poorly and they’re turning the ball over. If you try and fix every individual problem, I think you’ll fail.

This is why you need a ‘go-to’ plan. If they could just lean on the run, commit to it, work on run-blocking improvement to go with the run system, dedicate energy and effort into making that aspect a success, you might create a safe-zone and buy yourself time to make the whole offense function at a far higher level.

But again, how can you do that with Wilson, Holani, Velus Jones and Robert Henry as your backfield? With nothing certain down the line with Charbonnet or Price?

This is why Charbonnet might be the most important non-JSN player on Seattle’s offensive roster. He’s the one with the experience and the explosive testing traits (37-inch vertical) to possibly provide the foundation to run. If he’s available after the Denver game — he might be your solution. Hopefully he is.

It still feels like a tall order to expect him to return and lead from the front as he works back into game shape.

Social media is awash with fans talking about trades today. My timeline is full of people sharing an old tweet I posted in 2020 showing Jonathan Taylor giving a ‘come and get me plea’ to the Seahawks before the draft.

I’d love nothing more than to acquire Taylor, a big-time blog favourite six years ago. He’s still only 27, he’s very capable of leading a rushing attack and he’s a mass-production star back.

And there’s surely no way the Colts would trade him.

Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen are fighting for their jobs. The owner has already put them on notice and the fans want change. Trading their best offensive player would equate to both individuals sending in their resignation letters.

He is surely untouchable while ever Ballard and Steichen remain in post. Now, if they were both fired, it might change things. In that scenario the Colts could be in the market to acquire extra stock. It would be a clear signal towards a reset and it might be appealing for Indianapolis to add picks, given they don’t have a 2027 first rounder due to the ill-advised Sauce Gardner trade.

Taylor’s contact is move-able. He would create $8.6m in cap space this year for the Colts, with $7.6m in dead cap space for 2026 and $10m for 2027. You can easily eat that for the right price.

Yet the right price would likely be astronomical. What would it take? A first round pick? A second round pick? It’s hard to imagine it’d be any less than that.

Using a high pick to basically say, ‘we got this wrong’ at the running back position would be a tough pill to swallow.

Saquon Barkley is the other name to be mentioned. Again, it would be a very attractive addition. He remains one of the best backs in the league with a rare physical skill-set. Yet unless people haven’t noticed — he’s currently injured. In fact he’s already suffered a stinger and a hamstring injury this season.

Howie Roseman isn’t going to give away a player like Barkley. He just managed to finagle a 2028 second rounder out of the Ravens for Cam Jurgens. I think that’d probably be the least you’d have to pay for Barkley too. Roseman is not a GM to mess with when it comes to trades.

Ultimately I think it’s most likely the Seahawks just persevere at the position and hope Charbonnet will respond to the bat signal being sent out post-Denver.

I’m not convinced, however, that’ll be enough. As I said — so much is wrong with the offense. It’s not like last year where the running game stuttered early on and the passing attack was electric, varied and exciting. Right now everything is struggling — quarterback, running backs, O-line, getting the non-JSN receivers and tight ends involved. It feels like a fractured unit and I don’t think they have a coordinator with the experience to ride the storm.

If they do make a bold, aggressive trade — I fear it’d be a repeat of the Jamal Adams desperation play with the possibility of it being a similar ‘bad move to compound previous bad moves’.

I’m not precious about draft picks, even as someone who spends an absurd amount of time studying the draft, and really rates the depth of the upcoming draft class. I love a value trade — and the Seahawks have found value aplenty in the trade market in recent years.

I just think it’s easy to forget that while we talk about Seattle having a treasure-trove of picks for 2027, they don’t have any additional first or second round picks. Most of their stock is set for day three. If you start being aggressive now, you run the risk of missing out on some good young players — in a class where we could see an unusually high number of first round grades.

It’s not even like running back is the only possible trade target. Seattle’s EDGE rushers currently have combined for three sacks in five games. Derick Hall has two, Uchenna Nwosu one and DeMarcus Lawrence zero. Dante Fowler barely features and he also has zero.

This is a key need for me. You need people who can make big plays off the edge. You can’t just rely on the interior pass rush — especially later in games when you’ve gone to battle for four quarters.

I reserve the right to review my opinion in a month’s time — but I also want to be honest about where I think things are with the Seahawks and what the outlook is for this year.

Right now, I think the 49ers virtually have one hand on the NFC West title. With a 5-0 record and an extremely favourable schedule, plus the fact they’re already winning every week with a lot of injuries, just as they did last season, they can basically go 7-5 the rest of the way and still have a great chance to win the division at 12-5. If they win two thirds of their remaining games — again, without a murderers row of opponents upcoming — you’d be looking at needing at least 13 wins, plus some tiebreaker fortune, to stop them.

Yesterday wasn’t just a significant symbolic win for the 49ers to get over the two pastings at the end of last season — they’ve also gained great control of the division.

I think the Seahawks have too much to do on offense to feel confident they can rapidly reach their peak level, in order to repeat last year’s long winning run. Therefore, for now at least, I am not in favour of chasing ‘jam today’ by being aggressive on the trade market.

We might have to just face facts — this might not be a Championship season. If it’s going to become one, it might have to be in an unconventional way (at least for this franchise). By that I mean a Wildcard run, becoming road warriors.

The only way I think you achieve that is for Brian Fleury to use all of his experience with Kyle Shanahan to make the running game a success — and that likely only happens if/when Charbonnet returns and is eventually supported by Price.

This might mean things get worse before they get better, especially with the Broncos, Chiefs and Bears up next. I think we’re going to end up in a situation where you try and use the Bears and/or Cardinals home games as a get-right moment — to try and build some momentum for the Raiders, 49ers and Cowboys run — where winning those games could breathe life into your season.

If there was a low-level trade available for a pass-rusher (I think, for example, it might be a lot cheaper to acquire a Khalil Mack or YaYa Diaby rather than a top runner) I would consider that — but not throwing high picks at a veteran running back. I would love to add a Taylor or Barkley but the price isn’t going to be reasonable.

I suspect there will be some blowback to what I’m saying here about the season outlook, with people feeling it’s too premature to call. When I spoke to Jason Puckett earlier today, he was very much in the ‘it’ll be fine’ camp. I think a season can reveal itself quicker than you think sometimes. I hope I’m wrong — but I don’t think a rookie playcaller, faced with the list of offensive issues in basically every facet, is going to be able to find quick solutions.

I expect a slow burn, with some further difficult moments to come in the short term, followed by an eventual recovery. This could make Seattle a dangerous looking Wildcard, with the usual cliches of the Seahawks being described as ‘a team nobody wants to face’ and reminders that ‘they know what it takes to win’. We’ll see if they can get to a Championship level when the time comes. It’s very possible.

For it to happen though, I genuinely believe it’ll have to be down to Charbonnet returning, providing solidity to the running game and helping calm things down — just as the Eagles were able to do two years ago.

We might have to wait a while for that to happen though.

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