Geno Smith’s Seattle Seahawks are not interested in rebuilding but are they ready to compete? | NFL News

For the Seattle Seahawks, this season was supposed to be a ‘rebuild’.

After their worst season in ten years (a 7-10 record and a fourth-place finish in the NFC West), the summer of 2022 was seen as a chance to refresh the roster and start over.

For the first time since 2011, they started a season without quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner on the roster, two of the stalwarts of a decade of winning records.

Wagner was released, but in return for Wilson (plus a fourth-round pick), Seattle received quarterback Drew Lock, defensive tackle Shelby Harris, tight end Noah Fant, two first-round picks (2022 and 2023), two second-round picks (2022 and 2023) and a fifth-rounder. It was a massive haul.

The expectation – at least from the outside looking in – was that losing a long-time and successful starting quarterback would mean Seattle had no shot this season. But instead, head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Geno Smith and a tremendous class of rookies have helped the Seahawks to a 3-3 record and joint first place in the NFC West.

Are they for real already? And how has this happened?

Geno Smith’s outstanding turnaround

Smith and the Seahawks beat Russell Wilson’s Broncos in Week One

In a league filled with star quarterbacks, young and old, there is one name that stands out as you scroll through the statistics so far this season.

Geno Smith, a second-round pick in 2013 – who was in the conversation to be the No 1 overall NFL Draft pick that year – could have safely been described as a ‘bust’ early in his career.

With the New York Jets, where he was drafted, he had a 12-18 record as a starter, a 57.9 per cent completion percentage, threw 28 touchdowns to 36 picks, and had a QB rating of 72.4. Simply put, he didn’t perform.

He spent two years as a backup with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers, before joining Seattle in 2019 to sit behind Wilson.

What a turnaround he has had.

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Highlights of Seattle’s thrilling win over Detroit in Week Four

As a Seahawk, he has completed over 70 per cent of his passes, thrown 14 touchdowns to three picks, and boasts an absurd 106.2 passer rating.

This year – after just a couple of games in relief of Wilson – he is the main man, and he leads the entire NFL in completion percentage (73.4), is third in passer rating (108.1), and has thrown for the tenth-most yards (1,502). It is quite incredible.

Despite spending his career up until this point catching passes from a Pro Bowler in Wilson, wide receiver Tyler Lockett is actually on pace to smash his own single-season receiving yards record, with 423 already. Alpha wideout DK Metcalf is over 400 yards too.

Smith, at long last, has been a standout.

Rookie revolution

While Smith has turned heads, there is something else brewing in Seattle.

Speaking after their most recent victory, Metcalf told the Seahawks’ website: “I told Pete (Carroll) congratulations because he did a hell of a job drafting this year.

“Especially with those two tackles (Abe Lucas and Charles Cross), Coby Bryant, Tariq (Woolen), Kenneth Walker, Boye (Mafe).

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Highlights from Seattle’s win over Arizona last week, where the rookies starred

“They all come in, keep their head down and just work. You can tell how much they really love the game.”

Although the franchise let Wilson go and risked it with draft picks, so far that decision is paying off as their rookie haul has been outstanding. Five are starters and another is making a big impression.

The 1,660 combined offensive and defensive snaps played by Seahawks rookies lead the league so far. And they aren’t just playing, they are starring.

In the win last week against division rivals Arizona, starting first-year corners Bryant and Woolen both forced turnovers to seal the game.

Bryant’s four forced fumbles this season are the most in the entire league, while Woolen became the first rookie corner to record an interception in four straight games since 2010 – and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

Is this the resurrection of the Legion of Boom?

Watch out for Walker

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Although the Saints topped the Seahawks, Smith and Kenneth Walker stood out

Another of those rookies who has recently come to the forefront is second-round running back Kenneth Walker. We might be watching the start of something special.

Up until a heartbreaking, season-ending injury to veteran starter Rashaad Penny, Walker’s statistics had not been worth noting (15 carries for 58 yards). Over the last game and a half, when thrust into a starting role, he has meant business.

He has 185 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, including a sprinting 69-yarder against the Saints. He is no stranger to production – he managed 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns in his final collegiate season, with Michigan State, winning multiple awards along the way.

It is not just what he has done though, it is how he is doing it. Walker makes people miss with ease – he can sprint past them or run them over. He is patient but sudden. He can move laterally then burst upfield. The sky is the limit, and Seattle would be wise to use him as much as possible.

The Seahawks will show their true colours over the next few weeks, with a visit to the 4-2 Los Angeles Chargers, a home game against the 5-1 New York Giants, and a rematch against 3-4 Arizona.

Are they truly ready to compete or is our excitement premature?

Watch the Seattle Seahawks at the Los Angeles Chargers live on Sky Sports NFL at 9.25pm on Sunday.