Sam Darnold will make a significant change to Seahawks passing offense
The Seattle Seahawks made significant changes to their offense this offseason. None was bigger than swapping out Geno Smith for Sam Darnold at starting quarterback. Seattle’s passing offense will look significantly different in 2025, with Klint Kubiak also taking over play-calling duties at offensive coordinator. Personnel alterations were also made at wide receiver.
One of the more underrated potential changes that is being under discussed is the checkdown passing game. Pro Football Focus recently revealed data for quarterbacks with the highest checkdown rates in 2024. Smith placed seventh for the Seahawks last season, whereas Darnold ranked 25th in the same category for the Vikings.
“Smith, like Joe Burrow, also played behind a bottom-10 pass-protecting line (61.3 PFF grade) in 2024.” Lauren Gray wrote. “Smith checked down 69 times, completing 64 passes for 480 yards. He averaged 7.0 yards per attempt and threw for 20 first downs, both top-five marks. Few quarterbacks have checked down more than Smith over the past two seasons, as he ranks fourth with 115 attempts.”
Gray is correct that Smith played behind a bottom-10 offensive line last season. That undeniably impacted his willingness to check down the football. The data over the previous two campaigns strongly indicates that Smith loves the check down, however.
“Darnold tied for 11th in PFF passing grade on checkdowns (68.3) in a breakout season, completing 43 of 49 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown,” Gray continued. “He had a top-five receiving group last season (82.1), but checking down was not an area of strength (56.5).”
Smith also had PFF’s seventh-highest checkdown rate (12.9%) on third and fourth down in 2024. Smith checked it down on 18 occasions via 140 qualifying dropbacks. Darnold played behind a better offensive line with a better overall receiving core in Minnesota, but all indications are the Seahawks will check-it-down fewer times in 2025.
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