Seattle Seahawks training camp, for all intents and purposes, pretty much ends this week. Thursday marks the final public practice before the team’s preseason debut against the Dallas Cowboys, and while there are subsequent practices afterward (plus a joint scrimmage with the Tennessee Titans), preseason becomes a lot closer to a normal game week.
Myself, Bryce Coutts, and Josh Hite were all at Seahawks training camp in some capacity last week. Bryce and I attended three practices, while Josh joined us to make it a Field Gulls trio at Lumen Field. We’ve each jotted down our biggest takeaways from camp.
Mookie Alexander
My biggest takeaway from Seahawks training camp was Brian Fleury’s emphasis on utilizing tight ends and running backs more, both pre-snap and post-snap. Unfortunately, we only saw Jadarian Price once last week, so we got even less of a percentage of what could’ve been worked on than what was planned. Still, more motioning of tight ends, more two-back looks, more running backs running actual routes instead of checkdowns, and greater use of tight ends split out instead of inline. Even if the percentage of targets to backs and TEs may not be particularly high given the embarrassment of riches at wide receiver, I believe Fleury is going to add to Klint Kubiak’s existing passing concepts by making sure everyone at every skill position is a pass-catching threat. We’ll see more misdirection and different types of matchup manipulation.
My other takeaway is that Seattle’s pass rush wrinkle, if it does not necessarily involve more blitzing, may see a lot more involvement outside of traditional defensive line players. Seattle’s edge rush depth is three-deep with a TBD on Dante Fowler Jr. If one of Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, or DeMarcus Lawrence has to miss considerable time, I’m nervous. But I think Mike Macdonald is cooking up some new things like having Tyrice Knight line up at edge, or have Rylie Mills play across pretty much every alignment. Nick Emmanwori and Devon Witherspoon are definitely going to be lurking at the line, but if D’Anthony Bell makes the roster he might do a lot of the same. It’s auxiliary pass rush in the absence of a 15+ sack beast like Myles Garrett.
Bryce Coutts
After spending several days watching the Seahawks up close at training camp, one of my biggest takeaways was just how comfortable and connected this team looks on both sides of the ball. From a coaching perspective, I was paying close attention to communication, alignment, tempo, technique and how quickly players were processing what was happening in front of them. Rylie Mills was one of the players who consistently stood out. He looked powerful, active and disruptive along the defensive front, showing the kind of strength and movement skills that can translate into a meaningful role in Mike Macdonald’s defense. Tyrice Knight was another player who impressed me throughout camp. He has been playing fast, confident football, and what makes his development especially intriguing is the number of different ways Macdonald may be able to use him. Knight’s athleticism, physicality and ability to operate in space could allow Seattle to move him around within its defensive structure rather than locking him into one traditional linebacker role. Considering how much Macdonald values versatility and creating uncertainty for opposing offenses, Knight could become a very interesting piece in some of the different personnel packages Seattle shows this season.
Offensively, Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp were two of the biggest reasons I left camp encouraged about where this unit could be headed. Darnold looks noticeably more comfortable in the offense, and that familiarity appears to be allowing him to operate at a much quicker and more precise pace. His reads look cleaner, he is getting through his progressions faster and the ball is coming out with more decisiveness. Instead of executing the play that is called, he looks like a quarterback who understands where his answers are and can get to them quickly based on what the defense is showing him. Kupp looks similarly comfortable within the structure of the offense, and that comfort makes him appear to be playing faster. It is not necessarily about an increase in raw speed; it is about how quickly he is processing leverage, identifying space, and getting to the correct spot within the concept. His route detail, timing and understanding of coverage were evident throughout the practices I watched. When you combine that growing comfort between Darnold and Kupp with the development of players like Mills and Knight, I came away from camp feeling that Seattle has both the talent and schematic flexibility to continue evolving on both sides of the football in 2026.
Josh Hite
My biggest takeaways from Fan Fest: First, Rylie Mills looks like a first round blue chip draft prospect. On one-on-one drills versus Anthony Bradford, it was hard to tell who one each rep, but I had Mills winning two out of the three slightly. In 11-on-11 drills, he regularly got into the backfield no matter who was blocking him. He looked like the Juggernaut out there, a pure unstoppable force.
A second takeaway was the backup interior offensive linemen. Bryce Cabeldue had a rough outing, getting beat during 1-on-1’s, and having a rough time on 11-on-11’s. He was not able to really cement himself and was getting pushed back often. Christian Haynes looked more comfortable and seems to have taken a step up from the previous two seasons. Beau Stephens looks like he will need some time to develop and gain some more strength.
And now it’s time for Seahawks preseason!