Sam Darnold shares key to success for Seahawks offense

The Seattle Seahawks' offense underwent a major overhaul this offseason, featuring a new quarterback in Sam Darnold and two new wide receivers in Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

However, the most important change may not even be on the field.

After the Ryan Grubb experiment failed, the Seahawks hired a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak, who held the same role with the New Orleans Saints last season. Kubiak, 38, is quickly rising up the NFL coaching ranks, and could be exactly what the Seahawks need at this time.

Sep 8, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak reacts against the Carolina Panthers during the pregame at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

When asked how Kubiak will help the offense succeed, Darnold gave an answer that any Seahawks fan should be happy to hear.

"I think first and foremost, Klint's going to want to run the ball and I always say that a good run game is a quarterback's best friend," Darnold said on 93.3 FM's "The Ian Furness Show." "When you can run the football and play-action off of it, run keepers, it keeps the defense guessing. Especially that front seven, it keeps them guessing. You know, they feel run and all of a sudden it's play-action and you're throwing right behind the linebacker's head, or even if a guy steps up on the back end, you can throw it over a safety's head. So, there's so many differnt ways that we love to attack defenses in this system"

Despite having two solid running backs in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, the Seahawks averaged just 95.3 rushing yards per game last season, ranking 28th in the league.

More than anything, though, they barely even tried to run the ball, as their 383 rushing attempts were the fourth-fewest in the league. Grubb's reluctance to run the ball drew ire from fans throughout the season, and was possibly the main reason for his firing.

Kubiak's Saints were far from the most run-heavy team last season, but he at least attempted to maintain some sort of run-pass balance. If he brings that same mindset to Seattle, and Walker and Charbonnet play up to their potential, then the run game should be much-improved in 2025.

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