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Analysis
Seattle’s Rookie Class Is a Rounding Error So Far
Seattle’s 2026 draft class has barely touched the field. Heading into Week 6 the eight rookies had played 283 combined snaps, the third-fewest in the league. Only the Rams (194) and Denver (63) had fewer, and one of those teams is in last place, so I’m not taking notes. SI ranked the class’s contributions 27th of 32. Last year’s rookies played 2,742 snaps, and Grey Zabel took 1,298 of those himself.
283
Combined snaps played by Seattle’s rookie class heading into Week 6, the third-fewest in the NFL.
Some of it is plain bad luck. The top three picks are all on injured reserve: Jadarian Price with a chest injury, Bud Clark with the ankle he broke in the preseason game at Tennessee, and Julian Neal with a hamstring. Price still has 119 yards on 28 carries, fourth among all rookies. That tells you more about this year’s running back class than it does about Price.
The healthy one is Beau Stephens, the fifth-rounder splitting right guard with Christian Haynes while Anthony Bradford is out. PFF grades him a 48, 69th of 75 guards. He’s playing on a line that just gave up ten sacks in five days. Nobody drafted him to be the answer, and so far he isn’t.
The rest of it comes from how the roster is built. A team that brought back 20 of 22 starters from a Super Bowl winner doesn’t have open jobs, and you don’t find instant starters at the bottom of every round. The 2027 class is already being talked up as much stronger. Fine. But a 3-3 team that’s lost three games by a combined eight points could have used one rookie who refused to stay off the field. Zabel was that guy last year. Nobody is this year.
SOURCES →
Week 7
Kenneth Walker Is on Record Pace, and Lumen Is His Next Stop
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Through five games he’s averaging 6.2 yards a carry with eight total touchdowns. At that rate he finishes with 2,260 rushing yards and 2,583 all-purpose yards, which would beat Chris Johnson’s 2009 record of 2,509. One of Sunday’s touchdowns came with Patrick Mahomes throwing a block for him. Mahomes. Blocking. For a running back Seattle let walk in free agency.
2,583
Walker’s all-purpose yardage pace, which would break Chris Johnson’s 2009 record of 2,509.
I’m done doing the backfield math. Here’s where it stands: the Super Bowl MVP is on pace for the best running back season ever, and the thing between him and a Lumen highlight reel is a defense that just held Denver to 168 yards. Honestly, I like that matchup better than I like ours on the other side of the ball.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
No flag was thrown when Malik Mustapha hit a defenseless Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Seattle’s final drive of the 32-29 loss to the 49ers. The NFL fined him $6,998 anyway, and that drive died a yard short on fourth down. Thanks for the receipt. Can we have the yard too? Yahoo Sports
Kansas City opened as a 1.5-point underdog for Sunday night at Lumen, the first time all season the unbeaten Chiefs haven’t opened as favorites. Seattle also gets the rest edge after playing Thursday. The oddsmakers have obviously watched our defense. I’m not sure they’ve watched our ball security. Arrowhead Pride
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Last week the Rams cut their kicker and signed Blake Grupe. On Sunday Grupe made his first field goal as a Ram, and then the kickoff coverage collapsed so badly he had to make the tackle himself. He hurt his knee doing it, so punter Ethan Evans kicked the go-ahead extra point, and Arizona kicked a field goal as time expired anyway. That’s two kickers gone in under a week, one cut and one hurt tackling. The preseason Super Bowl favorites are 2-4 and in last place. Get the long snapper some film on wrap-up form.
CARDINALS
Arizona beat the Rams 18-16 at SoFi without scoring a touchdown. Chad Ryland kicked six field goals, every point they scored, including a 43-yarder as time expired. Last week I joked that when your own stadium is this haunted, a hotel starts to look like a game plan. Apparently Mike LaFleur wrote that down. He beat his old boss Sean McVay with an offense that stalled six times and a kicker who never did. It’s 2-4. It’s ugly. It’s still a better week than the Rams had.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
In April 2019 Seattle traded this defensive end, coming off a 13-sack season, to Kansas City for the 29th overall pick and a 2020 second-rounder. Who is he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Frank Clark. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs that same season, and this week another ex-Seahawk shows up in Kansas City red.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2014
October 19, 2014
Russell Wilson Goes 300 and 100
Against the Rams in St. Louis, Russell Wilson threw for 313 yards and ran for 106, the first player in NFL history to pass for 300 and rush for 100 in the same game. Seattle still lost. Some things about the Rams rivalry never change, except this week, when we get to watch them lose without our help.
THE GOLDEN EGG
🏆
Seattle lost in overtime on Thursday and then didn’t play for three days, and it was the team’s cleanest football all month. It had committed ten turnovers in three losses that came by a combined eight points. This weekend: zero. It had allowed ten sacks in five days. This weekend: zero. And while everybody stayed home, the Rams lost at home to Arizona, which leaves Seattle alone in second in the NFC West at 3-3. Nobody had to do anything.
The Weekend Off also earned Seattle the rest advantage for Sunday night, since Kansas City played this Sunday. It doesn’t scale, because you can’t take every week off. But I’ve seen worse game plans this October, and I sat through all of them.
0
Turnovers
0
Sacks Allowed
+1
Games Gained on the Rams
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Is the draft class a lost cause? Can anyone tackle Kenneth Walker? Who’s my real name? (Nice try.) Send it in and I’ll answer it with way more feelings than the question deserves.
Rams in last place. Enjoy it responsibly. — The Rooster