After reviving his career with the Vikings, Darnold inked a three-year,
$100 million deal with the Seahawks. It couldn’t have worked out
better. The veteran played winning football as Seattle captured
the franchise's second Lombardi Trophy. Unfortunately for fantasy
owners, Darnold's statistical output dipped markedly in both passing
yards, dropping from 4,319 yards in 2024 to 4,048 last season,
and touchdowns, which fell from 35 to 25. Given that the approach
resulted in a championship, don't expect much to change in the
Emerald City in 2026.
That means a continuation of the game manager role Darnold filled
many weeks -- in his 17 starts, Darnold threw more than two TD
passes three times as opposed to one or fewer in nine outings.
It's a trend that continued during the playoffs where he had modest
numbers in both the Divisional Round and Super Bowl but hung 346
yards and 3 TDs on the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. It shows
that the potential is there any given week, but even after winning
a ring there remains a sense that you are playing with fire when
you ask Darnold to do too much. That keeps him a notch (or two)
below the top quarterbacks.
While the departure of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is
less than ideal, the team replaced him with former 49ers running
game coordinator Brian Fleury, who runs a similar offense. At
this stage, there's little reason to expect Darnold to rebound
toward his 2024 numbers, leaving him as a low-end QB2 for fantasy
purposes.
With Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker departing via free agency,
the Seahawks used the final pick of the first round on Price.
It's an interesting selection, and one undoubtedly made from need
with Walker gone and Zach Charbonnet (knee) likely to miss significant
time in 2026. Price is unique in that he was never a starter in
college, backing up No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love at Notre
Dame, but was viewed by most as the second-best back in a weak
class. Price has the size and speed to deliver at the NFL level,
though he'll need to clean up his issues with ball security.
While it's tempting to project Price as RB1 in Seattle, don't
expect him to garner heavy usage right out of the gate. Instead,
he's likely to be part of a committee with newcomer Emanuel Wilson,
who did some good things when given a chance in Green Bay, and
third-year man George Holani, who could chip in on obvious passing
downs. Things will evolve whenever Charbonnet returns, which adds
another wrinkle into projecting Price's value for 2026. The safe
choice is to view Price as an RB3/flex type and draft accordingly
as his ceiling may not be as high as it appears now. The rookie
is worth selecting, but only if the price is right...
Charbonnet (knee) tore his ACL during the team's Divisional Round
dismantling of the 49ers, and he underwent surgery in February.
He's all but certain to open the 2026 season on the Physically
Unable to Perform (PUP) list and may not return to action until
October or November. Even then, it's likely the team will ease
the UCLA product back into the mix with a long-term goal of splitting
the backfield duties between him and Price -- Emanuel Wilson would
likely slide into the No. 3 role when everyone is healthy and
available.
With no clear return date, it's tough to value Charbonnet. He
did little as a rookie in 2023 but grew into his 1a/1b split with
Kenneth Walker over the last two seasons. In 2024, he racked up
909 yards and 9 TDs. Last year, Charbonnet set career highs with
730 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, though his involvement in
the passing game cratered with just 20 receptions and 144 receiving
yards. Whenever he does return, Charbonnet should be motivated
to prove he's healthy and ready to contribute as he's set to become
a free agent after the season. If you can snap up Charbonnet as
your RB4 or RB5 and stash him in an IR slot it could pay dividends
in the later months.
Coming off a pedestrian debut, Smith-Njigba elevated his game
in Year 2, cobbling together a 100-1,130-6 line with Geno Smith
under center. Having seen what Darnold did in Minnesota with Justin
Jefferson, there was hope that JSN would find another gear with
his new triggerman. Even the most optimistic of Seahawks fans
had to be taken aback by what that partnership produced in 2025.
Smith-Njigba took a huge leap, vaulting himself into the conversation
for best receiver in the NFL with 119 receptions, a league-leading
1,793 yards, and 10 touchdowns.
That he did it without much of a secondary threat speaks to his
route running and Darnold's ability to find Smith-Njigba. The
Seahawks didn't do much with their stable of pass catchers, and
though you should expect a larger offensive impact from Rashid
Shaheed, this passing game still very much revolves around JSN's
individual brilliance. That's in stark contrast to other top wideouts
like Ja'Marr Chase, who has Tee Higgins, Puka Nacua (Davante Adams),
Amon-Ra St. Brown (Jameson Williams), and CeeDee Lamb (George
Pickens). With so much of Seattle's offense poised to run through
Smith-Njigba, he's on the short list alongside Nacua and Chase
to be the first receiver off the boards in fantasy drafts.
Seattle's acquisition of Shaheed at last season's trading deadline
didn't result in huge numbers -- the former Saint compiled a 15-188-0
line as a receiver in nine games -- but his impact can't be overstated,
which is why the team brought him back on a three-year, $51 million
contract. His primary contributions during the Super Bowl run
came on special teams as he racked up three return touchdowns,
including the postseason. Expect a bigger role on offense going
forward.
Bigger doesn't necessarily mean big, though, as the team will
likely utilize Shaheed's ability to stretch the field to create
space for Smith-Njigba while dialing up the occasional deep shot.
Whether those shots result in anything figures to largely determine
his value from one week to the next as Shaheed has never proven
he can be a consistent force all over the field. Although he's
entering just his fifth season, the speedster turns 28 in August,
so it's dubious to expect a significant increase in production
over what we saw in New Orleans. Shaheed could offer some appeal
as your fifth or sixth wideout with weekly lottery ticket potential,
but that's about it.
Given his modest production and durability issues across his
final three seasons with the Rams, Kupp nabbing $45 million over
three years from Seattle in free agency raised a few eyebrows.
Although he mostly stayed healthy, appearing in 16 games (his
highest since 2021), Kupp's output continued to trend downwards.
His 593 yards were just 27 more than his career low, which came
back in 2018 when Kupp appeared in only eight games, and he managed
two touchdowns.
Clearly, the veteran's best days are behind him. In previous
years, you could talk yourself into rolling the dice on the former
Offensive Player of the Year, but that time has passed. Now entering
his age-33 campaign, there's no reason to devote a roster spot
to Kupp.
Despite using a second-round pick on Elijah Arroyo last year,
it was Barner that emerged as the primary receiving threat at
tight end for the Seahawks. You could even make a decent case
that Barner was the team's No. 2 option as he finished second
on the club in receptions (52) and touchdowns (6) while ranking
third in receiving yards (519). All that was done despite dealing
with a laundry list of injuries that he played through, particularly
down the stretch. Barner underwent a pair of offseason surgeries
to correct undisclosed issues but is expected to be ready to go
in camp.
The problem here is that even with Barner filling a 2a/2b slot
with Kupp, a 52-519-6 line isn't moving the needle much, and it's
hard to see where any growth will come from in 2026. In fact,
it's not difficult to envision some regression with Arroyo entering
his second season -- tight end is known as a tough position in
terms of graduating from college to the NFL -- and Shaheed having
had a full offseason with the club. A stretch even as a top-25
option at the position, Barner can be bypassed on draft day, and
only those in deeper leagues need even add him to watch lists.
