The 2026 NFL off-season is going to be different. A very weak draft class is going to shift a lot of attention to the trade market. There’s a good chance a decent chunk of teams will use their main off-season asset (first round pick) to acquire veteran talent, because the value will be so poor in the draft.

Yet the question I’ve kept coming back to is — how easy will it be to make deals if the selling teams also know they’re acquiring stock in a bad draft?

That’s why asking prices might include 2027 stock, as we saw in the Quinnen Williams trade. The Jets took Dallas’ second round pick in 2026 but one of their first round selections in 2027.

We might see other deals like this in the coming months. There’s also another reason why teams might acquire 2026 stock — in order to make deals themselves.

Here’s an example for you. There’s a growing weirdness surrounding the Baltimore Ravens. There’s developing chatter that maybe Lamar Jackson might want/need a fresh start — and that perhaps the Ravens would be right to embrace that too.

A Ravens beat reporter called Mike Preston recently wrote about the relationship between team and quarterback and it wasn’t complimentary. At all.

Within the piece he speculated that Jackson might be open-minded about a trade to Miami or Las Vegas. The Dolphins have a major financial stumbling block in their way in the form of Tua Tagovailoa’s contract, in relation to acquiring another expensive veteran QB. They’re already $32m in the red for cap space next year before cutting Tagovailoa — which would come, if designated as a post-June 1st cut, with an extra $11m cap-hit given the tens of millions it’d cost in dead money.

There’s no such issue for the Raiders. They have the second most cap space available per Over The Cap’s projection.

If the Ravens were open to trading Jackson, it would be a costly deal. Russell Wilson-esque. The Raiders are the kind of franchise that is inclined to go big-name hunting rather than rebuild over the time. Some fans would argue they’ve been “rebuilding” for years. Adding a player of Jackson’s reputation might be seen as the shot in the arm the franchise needs, especially in their division.

Increasingly I think the Raiders will finally be open to trading Maxx Crosby in the off-season and I would fully expect the Seahawks to be one of the teams near the front of the queue. He’s a perfect fit schematically, in terms of playing style and his mentality. They’ve tried to trade for him before and I think they’ll try again.

If the Raiders dealt him they would save another $30m in cap space. They would have extra stock to dangle in the face of the Ravens. They’d have the money to bring in Jackson’s salary (his base salary is $51.25m for the next two seasons) and then add some other free agents around him.

There’s a lot of moving parts here, I appreciate that. But I think there’s a good chance Crosby is dealt. There’s a growing chance Jackson will be too. And the fit of the Raiders adding stock and then using it to get Jackson feels plausible.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Seahawks were very much involved in the Crosby sweepstakes.

And if it isn’t him, I also wouldn’t be surprised if they have a list of trade targets, rather than tackle the poor value they’d get picking at the end of each round in this upcoming draft.

The one thing to remember is — any player they add is unlikely going to be someone coming in and immediately getting a big new contract. That’s not how the Seahawks go about things for starters. Secondly, there’s only so much ‘cash’ to go around on big signings. The chances are they will give big extensions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon next year, plus also Charles Cross. They’ll also want to keep Rashid Shaheed.

That’s why Crosby makes sense — because he signed a very tradable contract earlier this year, he’s locked up until 2029. The fact it’ll only cost Vegas $5m in dead money suggests the deal was set up with a ‘play-it-by-ear’ approach.

I do think there’s a very realistic chance Crosby will be a key future target for the Seahawks.

On that note, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and say thank you for your continued support of this blog and the work I do elsewhere. It’s now 17 years since I started SDB and it’s become such a big part of my life, thanks to those of you who stick with it and keep things ticking along. Have a great day tomorrow and see you on the other side.

The trolls are back in the YouTube comments so if you can, hit the like button and leave your own comment, it’s all really appreciated!

Brian and I discussed a number of Seahawks topics today in the aftermath of Seattle’s win over the Rams. Check it out…

On Wednesday I wrote a piece explaining why I was intrigued to see the Seahawks play without Charles Cross.

The point I was making is — I don’t think Charles Cross is as good as some people think. I don’t think he’s developed much in four years in Seattle and I’m hesitant to make him a $30m left tackle (which I assume is the price-range he will want if contract talks happen in the off-season).

There’s supporting evidence to this theory as I highlighted in the article. He wasn’t included in ESPN’s top-10 pre-season offensive tackles, per polling of league execs, scouts and coaches. He wasn’t even in the six subsequent honourable mentions.

I don’t think his play has improved much since that poll, if at all. He’s only graded as PFF’s 26th best tackle for 2025.

I haven’t been arguing that he should be replaced. I just don’t think enough of a conversation is had about his play and his worthiness for a big extension next off-season (especially with two years of club control remaining in Seattle’s back pocket).

I’m surprised nobody else seems to talk about it. There’s a conventional wisdom, locally and nationally, that Cross is an excellent player. Albert Breer, for example, has repeatedly called Cross a ‘franchise left tackle’ this week. Nearly all the talk going into the game was about the loss of Cross being a massive blow.

I thought this game was a great test of the two theories.

If Josh Jones performed very poorly in relief, it would highlight that even if Cross isn’t necessarily an elite player at his position, he was still markedly better than the next player on the depth chart. That could arguably warrant a significant investment because left tackle isn’t a position to take lightly.

If Jones basically played at the same level as Cross, or better, what then? Does it perhaps suggest we should have a bigger conversation about Cross? Spend more time analysing the player we see in 2025, compared to the one who entered the league in 2022? Should it really be such an assumption he gets a big new contract in 2026? Especially when many assumed he would’ve already been rewarded this year?

Jones gave up zero sacks, two pressures and two hurries against the Rams. Cross has only given up two sacks in 14 games this season. He’s averaged 1.3 hurries per game and 1.7 pressures. So it’s somewhat similar.

Jones’ PFF grade for the game was a 75.9. Cross hasn’t had a grade that high since week one against the 49ers.

His run-blocking grade was a 70.4 — four of Cross’ 14 games have had a higher grade this season and his overall run-blocking grade for the year is a 66.7.

Regulars know I detest PFF grades and I think for good reason — they are clearly nonsense in many cases, such as Byron Murphy getting a 48.8 grade against the Colts only for Mike Macdonald to say in the aftermath that he single-handedly won Seattle the game.

However, I think this is slightly different — because I’m comparing two players graded in the same system. So even if by and large PFF grades are ridiculous and untrustworthy, I can still look at how they’re assessing these two players.

Based on the data here, not just the grading, there was no big drop-off.

This is just one game. For the purpose of this subject, I’m eager to see more from Jones. Not because I want to see him replace Cross permanently — and not because I want to get rid of Cross or make some point about him being no good. I don’t think any of those things.

I’m just surprised at the lack of discussion around his development, which I think has been underwhelming. I believe we’re still waiting for him to show he’s taken a step forward as a player. I think there’s an assumption on his performance level which is inaccurate. It’s one reason, I think, why he wasn’t extended in 2025 yet I think it’s fairly certain Jaxon Smith-Njigba will get a new deal next summer.

If Jones plays as well against the Panthers and possibly 49ers, to provide a three-game example, it might suggest Cross is closer to his talent level than say Andrew Thomas of the Giants. I remain unconvinced that he’s as good as many others do after watching his replacement basically produce the same performance.

On the 18th January, 2015, the Seahawks played a game of football. They were losing, badly, in a let-down performance. All hope was lost going into the fourth quarter. There was no chance, it was done. The quarterback was turning the ball over and nothing was working.

Then weird stuff started happening, including a flukey, miracle two-point conversion and some special teams magic. Fans went from resignation that their team were going to lose, to suddenly thinking they had half a chance.

The game went into overtime. The quarterback, who’d had a bad day, had a shot at redemption. Big plays, including one to finish it off. A walk-off score. The Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers and went to the Super Bowl.

This game against the Rams was very different in a number of ways but so similar at the same time. The hopelessness when Sam Darnold threw his second interception. The fourth-quarter magic, including the crazy two-pointer (Zach Charbonnet) and the big special teams play (Rasheed Shahid). The game going into overtime. The quarterback, Darnold, having a redemption moment.

Plus the feeling you’ve just watched something you’ll never see again.

Don’t get me wrong — there are plenty of question marks to come out of this game. The defense was diced up and gave up 581 yards. The offense has its own issues — including the quarterback’s play, the O-line and the play-calling.

Today though, we can afford to push all of that to one side. Somehow the Seahawks pulled off the improbable. How did they win this game? Through sheer grit and determination. A will to win that should fill any fan with pride.

Against the odds, they control their own destiny for the #1 seed in the NFC.

Incredible.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

Now comes the true test.

This game has been marked on the calendar as a big matchup before the season started, and the anticipation has only grown since.  A close loss in Week Eleven in which the Seahawks won in every facet of the stat sheet except the most important one has only fueled the rivalry.

And now, with a clear path to both a division title and the #1 seed on the line, we once again see these two colliding.  We should expect nothing less than another memorable matchup.

The Rams are perhaps the NFL’s best team at the moment.  In the last two weeks, they have scored over 40 points and gained over 500 yards of offense in their wins.

Their Week Thirteen loss to Carolina only underscores their prowess.  Carolina needed the following to beat the Rams:

• Three Ram turnovers, including a Matt Stafford pick-6 and two others in Carolina’s Red Zone
• Two daring fourth-down touchdown throws by Bryce Young
• Having possession of the football in 21 of the game’s last 30 minutes

Likely the Rams felt like the Seahawks did after Week Eleven.  We played very, very well.  A couple things go our way and we walk away with a win.

A few things have changed since that game:

The Seahawks have flipped the arrow on the turnover margin, with an excellent +6 number, while the Rams have trended the other way at -1.  Matt Stafford has thrown three interceptions, two of them the familiar variety of poor decision that he has avoided this year.

Seattle’s defense has gotten even better, conceding only 237 yards and 12.25 points per game, while the Rams defense trended down a bit, conceding 338 yards and two touchdown passes to Jared Goff and 164 yards on the ground to Carolina.

Their offense has more than made up the difference, averaging a stellar 37 points and 440 yards per game, while the Seahawks had sputtering halves against Atlanta and Minnesota and could not score a touchdown against the Colts.

On the personnel front, Jarran Reed and Julian Love are back after missing Week Eleven, while Charles Cross will miss the game after an injury Sunday.  The Rams will likely sit Davante Adams with an injury.

Blake Corum is suddenly red-hot with four touchdowns and a crazy 9.3 yards per rush, featuring nine explosive runs.  Old friend Colby Parkinson had a two-touchdown game last week along with five catches for 75 yards.

For the Seahawks, Rashid Shaheed is much more comfortable in the offense.  Byron Murphy and DeMarcus Lawrence have emerged as forces on the Defensive Line to complement Leonard Williams, and Nick Emmanwori’s confidence and role is growing by the week.

Some Game Thoughts

— The Seahawks held Matt Stafford to his worst game of the year in their last matchup.  They will need that and a bit more for this game.  Someone has to make a play that will tilt the game.  In the loss to the Panthers, that someone was Derrick Brown.  He was directly responsible for two turnovers, batting a pass that was intercepted and then strip-sacking Stafford with two minutes to play.

— We talked about the need for poise leading up to the last matchup and unfortunately, that was the key issue in the Seahawks’ loss.  It is no less important this week.  Sam Darnold has a chance to put that performance behind him.  A spectacular game would be fantastic.  But a solidly competent, smart game where he plays within himself and trusts his defense at times to get him the ball back might be just what the doctor ordered.

— The two fourth down touchdowns the Panthers scored?  Emmanuel Forbes was defending on both.  The Seahawks had four completions for 51 yards against him in Week Eleven.  We also pointed out that Nathan Landman is vulnerable in coverage and the Seahawks attacked him three times for 33 yards.  AJ Barner had career-highs in eleven targets and ten catches to log 70 yards against this defense.  Keep going to that well.

— Ken Walker had a quietly effective game on the ground and added three catches for 44 yards in the passing game.  A repeat of that performance would go a long way toward balancing their attack in this one.

— This is the kind of effort the Seahawks need on defense today.

Charles Cross has been ruled out for the Rams game with an injury.

However, rather than be concerned, I’m intrigued to see what a Cross-less Seahawks look like.

There’s an assumption that Cross will be given a hefty extension next off-season. The chances are the new deal would top the $28.5m a year Rashawn Slater earns with the Chargers.

I’m not against the Seahawks extending their young left tackle. I appreciate fully it’s a difficult position to solve.

I don’t think, however, there’s enough of a conversation about how good Cross actually is. It feels like one big assumption that he’s one of the top players at his position. I’m not so sure. And if he isn’t one of the very best tackles in the NFL, what’s the rush to make him the highest paid?

Last summer Jeremy Fowler polled league executives, coaches and scouts to put together a ranking list for each position in the NFL. Cross wasn’t included in the top-10 tackles. He wasn’t even included in the six listed honourable mentions.

He is currently ESPN’s 11th ranked tackle in pass-block win percentage.

PFF has him graded as the 26th best tackle in football this year. In terms of pass-blocking he’s their 38th ranked offensive lineman. He’s their 53rd ranked run-blocking tackle.

How good is he, then?

If Jones is able to come in and play at the levels portrayed above and basically pick up the slack, what then?

I’m not arguing that such a scenario should see Cross run out of town and replaced. I just think there hasn’t been enough of a conversation about how well he’s playing or the state of his development in four seasons in Seattle.

I didn’t grade him as a top-10 pick before the 2022 draft. That wasn’t a hot-take. Daniel Jeremiah had him at #22 in his final top-150 players.

His base and core power always bothered me, as did his non-typical frame. I thought he needed to get stronger. Although his footwork was quick and sharp and effectively his calling card, he would lunge to the outside. You didn’t see him often mirror, engage and finish in the air-raid offense. There was a lot of projection as to whether he could do that consistently well.

We see the same issues exist today. It feels like every year we’re waiting for him to take the next step and it hasn’t happened.

I’m not a fan of paying non-elite players top-end salaries when you’re operating under a hard cap. If there’s a deal to be done without re-setting the market, great. The way people talk about Cross though, it just seems like he has a reputation way beyond his performance level. There’s this grand assumption, locally and nationally, that he’s a top player. I think he’s a decent player. He is not great.

His cap-hit next year is $17.56m on the fifth year option per Over the Cap. Their projection for the offensive lineman franchise tag in 2026 is $27.18m. With two further years of club control, do you need to commit to Cross next off-season?

Many people expected him to be paid last summer. It didn’t happen. I argued it shouldn’t happen at the time because I thought he needed to reach a new level of performance to justify it. Simply put, I don’t think he’s done it.

For that reason, I’d be inclined to play this by ear. If there’s a more reasonable number to be found, fair enough. But this shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion that he’ll top Slater’s deal with the Chargers.

I will say though — you often hear how impossible it is to find good offensive tackles without picking in the top-10 of the draft. Let’s look at the ten players ranked ahead of Cross in ESPN’s pass-block win-rate:

#1 Roger Rosengarten — 62nd pick in 2024
#2 Dion Dawkins — 63rd pick in 2017
#3 Tristan Wirfs — 13th pick in 2020
#4 Zach Tom — 140th pick in 2022
#5 Andrew Thomas — 4th pick in 2020
#6 Ronnie Stanley — 6th pick in 2016
#7 Darnell Wright — 10th pick in 2023
#8 Jawaan Taylor — 35th pick in 2019
#9 Garett Bolles — 20th pick in 2017
#10 Rasheed Walker — 249th pick in 2022

The average draft position of these 10 players is 60th overall. If you take out the two most extreme examples — Andrew Thomas (#4) and Rasheed Walker (#249) the average still settles at #44 overall.

The rest of the top-20 also includes Warren McCledon (174th overall), Spencer Brown (93rd overall), Terence Steele (undrafted), Luke Goedeke (57th overall), Brian O’Neill (62nd overall), Jaylon Moore (155th overall) and, predictably, Trent Williams (dealt to the 49ers for a 5th round pick and a future third rounder).

I’m not suggesting it’s a walk in the park to find good pass-protecting tackles. I just think it’s important to note that the concept of these players being impossible to discover, or that they require premium draft stock to acquire, isn’t strictly true.

A bigger conversation about Cross’ play is required. It’s as if nobody really talks about it. I think it’s convenient not to talk about it because the alternative (having to consider other left tackles) is an uncomfortable thought. Plus, his draft status as a top-10 pick has possibly created a misplaced aura over his play (that has arguably been the case with Witherspoon at times too).

Elite contracts should be for the best players. They shouldn’t be given out simply to avoid having to consider alternatives at some point in the future.

I’m interested to see what happens on Thursday. It might mean paying Cross to avoid a Jones-type future develops into a bigger narrative. It might simply mean Jones isn’t good enough. If he basically does the same job Cross has been doing, that should also be the catalyst for a broader discussion on this topic.

Check out this week’s Seattle’s Sports piece — and if you can, help out in the YouTube comments section (the trolls are back, for whatever reason).

The Seahawks’ running game isn’t very good.

We’re now half-way through December and the chances of this being fixed feel remote. Whether it’s the blocking, the scheme, the play-calling or the performance of the running backs — they’ve not been able to get this going.

It might be the only thing that hasn’t come off for the Seahawks in 2025. Yet because it was such a focal point after last season’s disastrous offensive effort, it’ll probably be a cause for concern in the off-season. Perhaps, even the priority.

If this staff remain together as is, I think you’re unlikely to see significant scheme tweaks. This is very much a zone-scheme staff.

They could look to make changes to the O-line. There are decent zone-blocking linemen eligible for the draft. They could look to free agency.

I also think we could see them move for a different type of running back.

In recent times we’ve seen a little bit of a shift in trend at the position which hasn’t really been talked about that much.

Although the conventionally sized 5-10, 225lbs Jonathan Taylor is leading the NFL with 1443 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, a different type of player is also succeeding.

James Cook, Jahmyr Gibbs, De’Von Achane and Kyren Williams are all under 205lbs and two (Cook and Achane) are sub-200lbs. TreVeyon Henderson, who has emerged as a major threat for the Patriots, is 5-10 and 208lbs.

They succeed with suddenness, burst and a slippery ability to navigate through traffic. Once in the open field they can turn good plays into great plays. They’re also dynamic pass-catchers out of the backfield. Gibbs and Achane are in the top-four for receiving yards among runners.

It’s worth noting that this is a trend that might trace back to Christian McCaffrey. He was 202lbs at his combine. He’s since bulked up to a more robust 210lbs as he prepares to turn 30 next year. Yet he too came into the league as this type of smaller, shiftier back who is comfortable as a pass-catcher.

Typically the Seahawks have gone after a prototypical profile. Ken Walker was 5-9 and 211lbs at his combine, while Zach Charbonnet was 6-0 and 214lbs. Over the years we’ve been able to successfully project draft targets for the Seahawks at the position mainly by looking at just their height/size and explosive traits.

Could they look for a different type of player next year?

It stands to reason that someone with great acceleration would help on those outside zone runs. The big thing about the new-age running backs (if you want to go as far as to call them that) is they’re also tough despite being undersized. Cook is third in the NFL for yards after contact (830) with Achane (792) fifth.

In comparison, Ken Walker is only 20th.

If you look at yards after contact per attempt, Achane actually leads the NFL (4.10). Here are the other significant numbers and rankings:

Achane — 1st — 4.10
Henderson — 4th — 3.61
Charbonnet — 10th — 3.31
Williams — 20th — 3.10
Gibbs — 23rd — 3.08
Cook — 24th — 3.06
Walker — 32nd — 2.95

I can imagine a situation next off-season where Walker is allowed to walk as a free agent with the intention of pairing Charbonnet with a more electric runner — essentially an attempt to create their own version of Detroit’s two-pronged attack with Gibbs and David Montgomery.

The Seahawks were linked to interest in Achance before the trade deadline. If that talk was legit, it suggests they’re already mindful of wanting something different. Perhaps this could be something they look at again in the off-season?

It’s believed Miami’s asking price for Achane pre-deadline was a second round pick. A lot of fans would balk at the idea of making that deal for a running back — especially given the significant second round investments made in Walker and Charbonnet without any great return.

Let’s put it this way though. Are the Seahawks not close to being something of a complete team if they can genuinely fix their running game? What else is there to solve?

You could probably do a lot worse for a second round investment than adding a player who is top-five for receiving yards among runners, top for yards after contact per attempt and fourth for total rushing yards despite playing on a pretty mediocre Miami team and having played a game fewer than his peers.

I do think the Seahawks will be minded to be aggressive next off-season. As I’ve been talking about for a few months now, this is looking like the worst draft class I’ve covered since starting the blog in 2008. I think the league broadly recognises this too. For contending teams wanting to push forwards next off-season, the best bet to do that could be on the trade market.

The main focus of my ‘thinking out loud’ session on this topic has been to wonder if they’d go back in for Maxx Crosby, given the Raiders appear to be closer to embracing a much-needed proper rebuild.

However, that would be a very expensive and competitive deal to complete. It might not be possible to pull even if there’s a desire to get something done. You’re not going to put all of your eggs in one basket. If a Crosby type mega-trade isn’t an option, Achane could be a very reasonable alternative target.

He’s only 24-years-old and won’t turn 25 until next October. He would be in a contract year in 2026. However, the franchise tag would offer some immediate security. It’s projected to be around $14.1m for next year.

Ideally you would just draft your own version but the only prospect I’ve seen so far who truly matches this ‘type’ is Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah love. He won’t be available to the Seahawks — I think people will be surprised by how early he goes next April.

You could look at someone like Rico Dowdle who’s a free agent. Yet if you want to acquire that true X-factor player to supercharge your running game — Achane would be the one to target.

If they added a significant piece to the interior O-line and traded for him, would that give the Seahawks the best chance to fix their running game? Possibly. And that could be the finishing touch that is needed for this very balanced team, if indeed it is needed after this season ends.