Sam Darnold hasn’t been a Seattle Seahawk very long. He just signed last month in NFL free agency. But reports are already pouring in about how excited head coach Mike Macdonald is to work with Sam Darnold.

Macdonald claims that they’ve had some great conversations - not just about football - but also life and leadership. Both have left those conversations “energized” about getting to work for 2025.

But it shouldn’t just be Seahawks fans who are excited for 2025. Fantasy football gamers should be fired up as well. And it’s not just about what Sam Darnold brings to the table but about what new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s scheme will bring as well. This is a smart quarterback jumping into one of the most QB-friendly offenses in the league.

The Seahawks could make some moves in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft to stack the deck even further. Wide receiver prospects like Tetairoa McMillan and Matthew Golden would make a fine addition. LSU tight end Mason Taylor is also visiting this week, who's father Jason Taylor and uncle Zach Thomas both had storied careers with the Miami Dolphins. 

Though they don’t necessarily need to for Seattle Seahawks assets like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Kenneth Walker, and Sam Darnold himself to have big upside for fantasy. Now might be the time to acquire them in dynasty fantasy football leagues before the cat is out of the bag on what is being built in Seattle.

 

 

 

Seattle Seahawks Sam Darnold: The QB1

Things did not end well for Sam Darnold with the Minnesota Vikings. He struggled at the worst possible time, leading to a round 1 exit in the 2024-2025 NFL playoffs. The Vikings decided to move on from him this offseason and he landed with the Seahawks.

But there are multiple silver linings to this situation. First off, the Vikings wouldn’t have moved on from Darnold if they didn’t have JJ McCarthy waiting in the wings. They’ve made that fairly clear and even considered bringing Darnold back.

Second, the Seahawks traded their own QB in Geno Smith to make Darnold a high paid priority. That can’t be ignored. We also can’t ignore that this guy just threw for 4,319 yards and 35 TDs while winning 14 games last season.

That’s a top 10 QB finish in fantasy football, for those keeping track at home. And, yes, he did have a great coach, great scheme, and great weapons in Minnesota. But I’ll argue that the coaching, the scheme, and the weapons in Seattle can put Darnold in a position to succeed once again.

 

 

 

Seattle Seahawks Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak To The Rescue

Ryan Grubb was let go after only one year with Seattle. And, luckily enough, Klint Kubiak had only a one-year deal with New Orleans in 2024 that he decided not to re-up on. As we wrote last year in articles on both Alvin Kamara and on Rashid Shaheed, we love the Klint Kubiak scheme. And we especially love it for fantasy football.

Kubiak and Rick Dennison have a lot of their own wrinkles, but they also use similar concepts to the 49ers' Kyle Shanahan and the Dolphins' Mike McDaniel. They all spent a good chunk of time in San Francisco, after all.

The scheme uses a lot of presnap motion, it leans on zone run concepts, and it deploys unique personnel, which includes a fullback. In fact, Kubiak said in his introductory press conference that they will incorporate the fullback. Last year the back that took the second most snaps for the Saints was not Jamaal Williams or Kendre Miller or Jordan Mims - it was fullback Adam Prentice. That can be fairly friendly both for quarterbacks and the weapons.

Last year, the New Orleans Saints season ended in disaster. They saw a litany of injuries to guys like Derek Carr, Erik McCoy, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, and Taysom Hill. It’s easy to forget, however, how well the season started off before McCoy went down in Week 3 and the injuries piled up from there.

In fact, the Saints scored 91 points over the first two games. And it’s not like Klint Kubiak was fired by the Saints - his contract was up, and he opted to walk from a tough situation to a better one. Hard to blame him.

 

 

 

Seattle Seahawks Weapons: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Kenneth Walker, Noah Fant

We don’t really need to explain why a fullback helps the run game. Alvin Kamara was actually on pace for his first ever 1,000 yard rushing season before getting hurt. And he was a top 5 RB in PPR points per game under Kubiak. Kenneth Walker should thrive in that zone run scheme once it’s implemented in Seattle. Zach Charbonnett could even have some value as a “handcuff plus”. 

The fullback also has an extra fantasy football benefit beyond the fun game. The more guys on the field that don’t touch the football, the more highly consolidated the touches will be among the players we like for fantasy. 

We’ve seen it in San Francisco and Miami where fullbacks Kyle Juszczyk and Alec Ingold (as well as blocking tight ends like Eric Saubert and Julian Hill) take up a ton of snaps without taking a lot of targets. That’s a big reason why teams like the 49ers and Dolphins rarely have a WR3 of consequence. And it allows the top two wide receivers, as well as the tight end, to thrive. 

We know that Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp have upside in the roles that Tyreek Hill/Jaylen Waddle, Deebo Samuel/Brandon Aiyuk, and Chris Olave/Rashid Shaheed worked in. But whoever the starting tight end is could have some appeal as well. 

We know how good George Kittle has been in this scheme but Jonnu Smith saw his best season in years as well. Noah Fant does have unique athleticism if they go with him. The draft is an option. Or maybe they inevitably trade/release Fant and AJ Barner gets a shot.

For Sam Darnold himself, this scheme could not be more friendly for the quarterback. The pre-snap motion not only sets your receivers up to get an advantage but it also can tell you what kind of defense your opponent is lined up in.

In 2023, the 49ers were a bottom three team in pass attempts, yet Brock Purdy finished as the QB6 in fantasy. And Klint Kubiak was the 49er's pass game coordinator that year. Sam Darnold should have no trouble picking up this scheme.

 

 

 

The Seattle Seahawks 2025 NFL Draft

Some pundits are projecting the Seahawks to make a big splash in the 2025 NFL draft - especially at wide receiver. I personally don’t think it’s necessary. But it could happen. Because of the fullback and blocking TE usage, the scheme primarily features two wide receivers, so whoever comes in could end up waiting their turn behind Cooper Kupp and operating as a part-time field stretcher for 2025. There is a chance Cooper Kupp becomes a part time player but he certainly did not get a part time player contract. 

On the flip side, it's also not hard to see speedsters like Matthew Golden or Isaiah Bond out of Texas thriving in that Rashid Shaheed role when given the opportunity. Maybe they go for a big split end like Tet McMillan with JSN and Cooper Kupp mixing and matching at slot/flanker.

As I mentioned, tight end is another opportunity. If they draft someone like Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland to operate as the George Kittle/Jonnu Smith in this scheme, why wouldn’t we be excited? For the folks betting that Cooper Kupp is “washed” in fantasy, I ask, where do you think those targets will go? JSN will get his but maybe a tight end can thrive? It's a fairly deep tight end class and the Seahawks are hosting Mason Taylor out of LSU this week so who knows what could happen there.

Now, some may say it’s boring. But I don’t think the Seahawks go for weapons early. I think the Seahawks prioritize offensive line and defense. They have the weapons they need already to run this scheme, at least for 2025. 

And, if they draft an offensive lineman in the first round like I predict in my 2025 NFL Mock Draft, that will only make life easier for Sam Darnold and company - in a Klint Kubiak scheme that already makes life pretty easy.