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NFL training camp is about to get underway, which means it’s officially football season. There are plenty of teams that will have players battling it out for starting spots in the next couple of weeks, but the Seattle Seahawks aren’t necessarily one of them.
In somewhat of an oddity, the Seahawks are returning most of their starters from a season ago.
On defense, Boye Mafe is gone, but the Seahawks have Uchenna Nwosu, DeMarcus Lawrence and Derick Hall to take a majority of the reps on the edge. Coby Bryant is out the door, but Ty Okada was a key contributor as a backup last season and should slot in easily as the starter in training camp. Riq Woolen also left in free agency, but Josh Jobe is the clear starter at the second cornerback spot opposite of Devon Witherspoon.
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That leaves no real spots up for grabs on defense. Drake Thomas has separated himself from Tyrice Knight as the second linebacker, and there’s no debate who will be starting at nickel and on the defensive line.
The offense is a similar story. The Seahawks’ offensive line is returning all five starters from a season ago, and three of those players — Charles Cross, Abe Lucas and Grey Zabel — are above-average starters at worst. There are no qualms at receiver with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside, Cooper Kupp back and Rashid Shaheed returning on a new contract. And obviously, there is no debate about Sam Darnold being the starter at quarterback.
That leaves just an interesting running back situation in Seattle, which is the biggest battle to watch in the Pacific Northwest during training camp.
Who will be the second back behind Jadarian Price?
After Kenneth Walker III departed in free agency, taking north of $50 million from the Kansas City Chiefs to be their new featured back, the Seahawks were left in limbo at the running back position. Zach Charbonnet had just torn his ACL in the Divisional Round, leaving him out of the lineup until at least the heart of the 2026 season.
Seattle addressed this need in the NFL Draft, taking Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price with the final pick of the first round. Price is expected to come in and be a starter right away while Charbonnet is still out, but he likely won’t be able to play every down.
That leaves George Holani and Emanuel Wilson as the backs behind Price. While Price will likely get a lot of the workload in terms of carries and catches, both Holani and Wilson are ahead of the rookie as pass protectors at this point, making this an interesting battle to watch.
Holani got a lot of the pass protection snaps during the playoffs last season after Charbonnet went down, as Kenneth Walker III doesn’t like to stay in and block. But the Seahawks brought in Wilson, who is a journeyman who can also protect the quarterback while being a bigger threat as a rusher than Holani is.
Price’s workload is also a question. The Notre Dame back split carries with Jeremiyah Love in college, with the No. 3 overall pick understandably getting most of the action. In face, Price never carried the ball more than 120 times in a single season in college, so it’s fair to wonder if his body is capable of being the featured back with more than 20 touches a game in the NFL. If not, Wilson and Holani are going to have to absorb some of those touches.
Of course, this battle likely only is a meaningful one during the first half of the season. Charbonnet is a great pass protector, a solid receiver and a very good runner between the tackles. If he returns at full strength, he will end up taking a bulk of the workload while Price gets some reps behind him. But until then, the battle between Holani and Wilson will be one to watch.
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