The Jalen Milroe package, Cooper Kupp's fit and other questions as Seahawks begin OTAs
The Seattle Seahawks began the next phase of their offseason program on Tuesday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. They're scheduled to hold nine voluntary practices ahead of their three-day mandatory minicamp, which begins June 17. Three of the nine voluntary practices are open to the media next week (minicamp is open to the media as well).
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Ahead of those open sessions, let's dive into four questions the Seahawks likely need to answer before the regular season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
Head coach Mike Macdonald called Sam Darnold before selecting Jalen Milroe with the 92nd pick in the draft. Darnold, signed to a three-year, $100.5 million contract in March, is still Seattle's starting quarterback. Milroe wasn't drafted just to sit and watch as a rookie, though. The plan is for Milroe to earn a chance to play in Year 1. Macdonald has said Milroe will not be used in the same fashion as Taysom Hill, who was more of a tight end who did a little bit of everything (as Seattle saw firsthand in 2022). Milroe is a quarterback, Macdonald said, and will be used accordingly.
Milroe's role may become clearer as the Seahawks mix the rookies in with the veterans during organized team activities. A two-quarterback system with a specific package for the backup isn't uncommon, but it will take time to implement and fine-tune. San Francisco had what may prove to be a comparable setup in 2021 when Jimmy Garoppolo was QB1 and the team had a package for rookie Trey Lance. When both quarterbacks were healthy, Lance played a handful of snaps, mostly in red zone and short-yardage situations. Will Milroe's workload look the same? The 49ers had an already established offensive system with Garoppolo at the time, whereas Darnold and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak are building something fresh on a new team with a host of new faces at quarterback, wide receiver, offensive line and on the coaching staff.
Rookies learning the blueprint. pic.twitter.com/O81ueGLC8T
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) May 23, 2025
Seattle's starter at right guard last season was 2023 fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford, who beat out 2024 third-round pick Christian Haynes. Their offseason competition turned into an in-season battle that the staff pulled the plug on midway through the year. When Bradford suffered an injury in Week 11, Seattle turned to 2024 sixth-round pick Sataoa Laumea for the rest of the year. Bradford, Haynes and Laumea are still on the roster, and Seattle just used a sixth-round pick on Bryce Cabeldue, who lined up at right guard during rookie minicamp (first-round pick Grey Zabel will start at left guard).
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Kubiak and offensive line coach John Benton have plenty of options. Bradford had a difficult sophomore season in which he allowed seven sacks, committed a team-high nine penalties and surrendered a pressure rate of 7.8 percent, sixth highest among qualifying guards, according to TruMedia (minimum 200 pass-blocking snaps). But if Seattle's new coaching staff is as good as advertised, perhaps they can develop the 24-year-old Bradford, who is on his third offensive coordinator (and O-line coach) in as many seasons.
Laumea had some good moments in his six starts but also allowed the highest pressure rate among qualifying guards at 11 percent (all stats provided by TruMedia unless stated otherwise). Haynes was better statistically, albeit in a smaller sample. But the previous offensive staff cited play strength and technique as the reasons Haynes never cracked the starting lineup and was later pushed out of the lineup altogether in favor of Laumea.
Haynes and Laumea should look better and more consistent after a year of experience. Playing for an experienced staff should help, too. It's unclear where Bryce Cabeldue will fit in, but he may have a chance to climb the depth chart if he looks good in the preseason games and joint practices. Unlike last year when the right guard battle bled into the regular season, I'd imagine Macdonald and Kubiak will have the position settled before Week 1. The job seems wide open for now, with no true frontrunner.
Center Olu Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick in 2023, made one start as a rookie and eight last year after Connor Williams' mid-season retirement. Last season, Oluwatimi didn't surrender any sacks and allowed a league-average pressure rate (he also didn't have recurring issues snapping the ball like Williams did). The starting job should be Oluwatimi's to lose, barring an excellent offseason from Jalen Sundell, who is entering his second season after making the team as an undrafted rookie. He played 54 offensive snaps, 46 of which came as an injury replacement in Week 15. Those snaps were enough for general manager John Schneider to sing Sundell's praises all offseason and give him a chance to unseat Oluwatimi in camp.
Schneider said you can watch Kubiak's offense in New Orleans last year and envision how the Seahawks will operate at wide receiver.
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'(Marquez Valdes-Scantling) is the take-the-top-off guy,' Schneider said in March. '(Jaxon Smith-Njigba) can take the top off. Cooper (Kupp) is a deceptively fast dude, working the middle of the field, setting people up.'
Before injuries decimated the offense, the Saints leaned mostly on two-receiver sets, either with a fullback (21 personnel) or a pair of tight ends (12 personnel). Copying that formula could mean using Kupp like Chris Olave as the guy working underneath in the middle of the field and Smith-Njigba as Rashid Shaheed, a big-play threat who had touchdowns of 43, 59 and 70 yards before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Valdes-Scantling is probably better suited for the take-the-top-off role, but Seattle shouldn't make a habit of having him on the field more than Smith-Njigba or Kupp.
Translation: Seattle's two best receivers in a two-receiver offense have overlapping skill sets. Upon being introduced as a Seahawk in March, Kupp was asked about the overlap and said, 'It'll be interesting to see' how the staff builds the offense and emphasizes what they do best. Schneider said that the use of tight splits will make Kupp and Smith-Njigba hard to defend. Another workaround would be to align Smith-Njigba more out wide as opposed to the slot, where he spent 77.4 percent of snaps last season.
Smith-Njigba led all receivers in yards (956) and catches (79) from the slot in his breakout 2024 season, so decreasing his usage there may not be the cleanest solution. Which is why, as Kupp said, it'll be interesting to see how Kubiak works that out to make sure Darnold's top targets are being used to the best of their abilities.
The first look.
📸 » https://t.co/nBaw0E9pN4 pic.twitter.com/hnqhFDiZHp
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 23, 2025
The Seahawks rank eighth in available cap space at $31.2 million, according to Over the Cap, so if the team sends anyone out between now and the start of the regular season, finances may not be the primary reason. But due to some of the positions targeted in the draft, they may have logjams to address by the end of the preseason.
At tight end, for example, Seattle has veteran Noah Fant — and his 2025 cap hit of $13.4 million, which ranks eighth among tight ends — along with 2024 fourth-round pick AJ Barner, free agent signee Eric Saubert, second-round rookie Elijah Arroyo, Nick Kallerup and Marshall Lang (the latter two are undrafted rookies). Seattle has carried four tight ends on the active roster each of the past two seasons, but that was before rostering a fullback. Seattle currently has two of those: Brady Russell, a converted tight end, and fifth-round pick Robbie Ouzts.
There's a way to keep everyone (or just keep all the tight ends, start Ouzts and stash Russell on the practice squad) but there's also world where someone like Fant, who's in the final year of his deal, becomes more attractive to another team, depending on how Seattle's young players look this summer.
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The same scenario applies at wide receiver and running back. Seattle had three running backs on the active roster last year: Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh. The team can raise that number to four to account for seventh-round pick Damien Martinez or move one of the veterans (Seattle typically keeps at least one running back on the practice squad; last year it was George Holani, who is still on the roster).
Seattle is rostering the following wide receivers: Kupp, Smith-Njigba, Valdes-Scantling, Jake Bobo, Cody White, Dareke Young, Ricky White III (seventh-round rookie), Tory Horton (fifth-round rookie), Steven Sims, John Rhys Plumlee, Tyrone Broden (undrafted rookie) and Montorie Foster Jr. (undrafted rookie). Kupp and Smith-Njigba are the only veterans under contract beyond this season. Even when accounting for the two or three receivers Seattle tends to keep on its practice squad, there's still a chance for the Seahawks to be sellers by the end of the summer if the rookies show promise (Valdes-Scantling and Bobo would be the only attractive options, I'd imagine).
Last summer may be instructive in that regard. Darrell Taylor was on an expiring deal and the odd man out at outside linebacker, so he was shipped to Chicago in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Seattle had surplus talent at cornerback and lacked depth at inside linebacker, so Michael Jackson was sent to the Panthers in exchange for linebacker Michael Barrett. Barrett didn't end up sticking around, but the swap was an example of using a logjam to try and address a roster hole. This offseason may feature similar roster shuffling, perhaps to find depth at corner or inside linebacker.
(Top photo of Jalen Milroe: Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
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