What Do the Seattle Seahawks Need to Do To Have a Top 10 Offense in 2024?

Internally, there are high hopes for the Seahawks offense. What will it take for them to be a top 10 unit in the NFL?

Nov 30, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) celebrates with quarterback Geno Smith (7) after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Seahawks' offense will look a lot different this year. Not because of personnel, as Seattle will have their same quarterback, top two running backs, top three receivers, and starting left tackle from last season back yet again. The staff went through wholesale changes, with Ryan Grubb as the new offensive coordinator.

Grubb is fresh off of helping build the offense at the University of Washington into one of the most explosive units in all of college football last season. Now, he is in charge of livening up the place down the street at Lumen Field.

Seattle's offense wasn't terrible by any means in 2023. They ranked 21st in total yards and 17th in points per game. For the most part, the Seahawks were an average offense. Of course, fans remember them on their lowest days, like getting blasted by Mike Macdonald's Ravens, 37-3, or scoring just 13 points against San Francisco. But they also scored 35 or more points three times.

Sportsnaut ranks Seattle's offense at 21st heading into the season. Bleacher Report ranked them 14th back in May. That might be surprising, given the Seahawks have a two-time Pro Bowler at quarterback with one of the best trios of receivers in the entire NFL.

Given the new juice along the offensive coaching staff, with the talent littered throughout the offensive roster, what do the Seahawks need to do to become a true top 10 unit? Obviously, they will go as far as Geno Smith can take them. If he continues his rise, or looks even better with Grubb, the sky is the limit with the talent around him. The receiving corps is also unquestionably talented and deep.

But Smith can't do it alone. Let's look at three things the Seahawks need (other than a healthy, productive Geno Smith) that need to happen for them to be a top 10 offense.

At Least an Average Offensive Line

That might not seem like a big deal. When you dive deeper, having a league-average offensive line would be a massive accomplishment for Seattle and something they haven't had in years. Pro Football Focus ranked Seattle's offensive line at 30th last season, dead last at 32nd in 2022, 25th in 2021, and 14th in 2020. It's been three full seasons since the Seahawks had even an average offensive line.

That would mean left tackle Charles Cross takes another step in the right direction. Either Abraham Lucas or George Fant will likely man right tackle. Both have proven to be viable starters. What will make-or-break the offensive line situation this season is the interior. Seattle will have three new full-time starters, unless Anthony Bradford holds off the competition at right guard.

At the other guard spot is Laken Tomlinson, a former Pro Bowler who had a poor 2023 season with the Jets. Olu Oluwatimi looks to lock down the center spot after playing less than 150 snaps last season as a rookie — unless the Seahawks sign free agent Connor Williams.

Can the unit gel into a league-average group? Christian Haynes looks to start Week 1 at right guard as a third round rookie. McClendon Curtis continues to rise up the depth chart and even took snaps at right tackle in training camp. There is a possibility Seattle will have two starters along the three interior spots that are either rookies or someone with less than one full season as a starter. However the lineup looks, this unit needs to keep Geno Smith upright and plow lanes in the run game more consistently.

Oct 2, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (87) breaks a tackle by New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke (58) during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

More Involvement from Tight Ends

Stop me if you have heard this before: The Seahawks need to involve their tight ends more. From the days of Jimmy Graham to today, Seahawks fans have clamored for Seattle to utilize what has become a vital part of the modern offense. Noah Fant fits the mold of your prototypical modern tight end — athletically built and moves fast at a large size with soft hands. He won't make anyone forget about Zach Miller in the run-blocking department, but Fant is your ideal player for what Ryan Grubb's offense can do.

A subhead of this section should be "targeting the middle of the field." Naturally, that points more towards the tight ends. Under Shane Waldron, it seemed the Seahawks neglected, and at times straight up ignored, the middle part of the field in the passing game. No Seahawks tight end has exceeded even 500 yards since Jimmy Graham in 2017. That's now going on seven years ago.

A reliable tight end in the middle of the field is a good security blanket for a quarterback. Seattle needs to involve Fant more on third downs and in the redzone. Fant was inexplicably held without a single touchdown last season. That needs to change in a big way.

It's not just Fant either. Seattle spent a fourth round pick on Michigan's AJ Barner. He posted 610 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his final three seasons of college ball. Jack Westover was just with Grubb at Washington and made several big plays in the passing game. It's time for the tight ends to have a bigger role in this new era.

40 Percent on Third Downs

If both of the top two items come to fruition, this metric should naturally improve. The Seahawks were a paltry 23rd in third down conversion rate last season at 36.2 percent. Converting third downs is critical to extending drives, racking up yards and, eventually, scoring more points. Conversely, quickly going three-and-out is not only detrimental to the offensive rhythm, but it usually affects the defense negatively as well. It's a stat that can help or hurt the entire team.

If the Seahawks can improve to 40 percent, that will rejuvenate the team as a whole. Last year, 40 percent would've ranked 13th in the NFL. In games where the Seahawks were at least 40 percent on third downs last season, they were 5-2. They were 4-6 when they failed to reach that mark.

It's not hard to see the correlation between third down success and team success. All of the top 11 teams on third downs last season were in the playoffs.