The Seahawks had themselves a big offseason: they traded Geno Smith to the Raiders, traded D.K. Metcalf to the Steelers, and went out and snagged Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp to replace them. So, they have a new-look offense for the 2025 season, but what does that mean for their fantasy football prospects? I struggled to find an overdrafted player here. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Kenneth Walker (WR13 and RB15, respectively) were my only options, but I have them in the same tier as their respective ranks (WR16 and RB17).
But, there’s still some ADP discrepancy here, so we can dive into the Seahawks’ overdrafted, underdrafted, and sleeper players for 2025 fantasy football!
Overdrafted:
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Wide Receiver (WR13, Pick 29 Overall)
My Ranking: WR16
If you’re like me and skip the intro (sorry, intro writers), then let me reiterate: I still have JSN in this tier, but I struggled mightily to find overdrafted players on the Seahawks, likely because Sam Darnold’s ADP is dragging the whole team down. My only real options were JSN & Kenneth Walker, and I believe that KW3 has insulated value through running back targets, and JSN had someone horn in on his territory with the Cooper Kupp addition.
Last season, 34 quarterbacks attempted at least 250 passes. Sam Darnold ranked 29th in the rate of pass attempts that traveled under 10 yards downfield (55%). Geno Smith ranked 10th (63%), so the Seahawks likely went from Geno to Darnold to get more verticality in their offense. Adding Marquez Valdes-Scantling and drafting Elijah Arroyo (while cutting Noah Fant) adds credence to this idea.
While more verticality will help to open up the underneath for JSN, they added Cooper Kupp to this offense. While Cooper Kupp is more name than game at this point, he works the same area of the field as JSN: Kupp’s 2024 aDOT was 8 yards downfield, and JSN’s was 9.2. Therefore, we can expect the area below to decrease in target volume and become more crowded likely. With JSN dominating as a possession monster, this could result in a slight downturn in targets for him in 2025 compared to 2024, which would drop him slightly in his tier, in my opinion.
Underdrafted:
Cooper Kupp, Wide Receiver (WR44, Pick 96 Overall)
My Ranking: WR33
Cooper Kupp, as I already said, is more name than game at this point, but he is still one of the most sure-handed receivers in the league (1 drop on 100 targets last season) and will likely work to move the chains for Sam Darnold and the Seahawks.
Kupp hasn’t been himself in three seasons; injuries snatched a lot from him, as he played 9, 12, and 12 games across the last three years. But, on a 17-game pace, he still has a lot to offer: Kupp paced out to 151 targets, 103 receptions, 1164 yards, and 11 touchdowns with the Rams. Granted, he will play a smaller role on the Seahawks, but through his first 9 games of 2024, Kupp averaged 10 targets, 7 catches, and 73 yards.
Many want to point to his last three games last season as a reason to fade Cooper Kupp. Personally, I don’t understand. The Rams shifted their focus down the stretch to emphasize a ground-and-pound approach and defensive battles. In Kupp’s first nine games, the Rams averaged 24 points per game and 25 rushing attempts. In the three games where they sidelined Kupp, they averaged 15 points per game and 30 rushing attempts per game. So, it was a change in focus for the Rams, more so than a change in talent level for Cooper Kupp.
Sleeper:
Zach Charbonnet, Running Back (RB35, Pick 103 Overall)
My Ranking: RB38
Charbonnet is my favorite handcuff to draft in drafts, mainly because Kenneth Walker’s fragility leads to a lot of opportunities for Charbonnet to shine. Walker missed 11 games last season and is yet to play a full season in the league. Charbonnet, on the other hand, missed one game with an oblique in 2023 and played all 17 last season.
In Charbonnet’s six starts last season, he dominated: 15 carries, 3.2 receptions, and 100.3 yards per game, scoring 6 times. That came out to 19.2 PPR points per game in that span, and absolute domination. That would have been RB5 in PPR points per game last year. He’s a contingent upside play, dependent on Walker missing time, but if he cashes in, then he could have league-winning upside.
