ESPN analyst has uncharacteristically positive view towards Seahawks season

Early on Wednesday, ESPN ranked the 14 playoff teams from last season, in terms of likelihood for a reappearance.

Shockingly, the Seahawks fared pretty well, receiving 8th out of 14 teams.

I say shocking in part because the piece is from Bill Barnwell. Over recent seasons, his takes on the Seahawks have been so bad I’ve been trying to coin the phrase Barn-brained (to no avail).

The article is paywalled so here’s a snapshot. Barnwell loosely attributes four top-50 draft picks and Jamal Adams as the additions that will - not push Seattle ahead - but merely keep them in the 9-win range “if they can get competent play out of their quarterback.”

it’s a very grudging ranking, based largely on the downfall of the NFC.

However, this feels pretty reasonable for a spot. Personally, I would add the Dre’Mont Jones addition and what feels like a massively improved understanding of what this defense is supposed to do - from the players themselves - as reason for hope.

But this puts Seattle as the 4th most likely NFC team from last year’s group to make the playoffs. Expectations have therefore come full circle, as full circly as it gets, from just one season ago.

There are so many members of the media who refuse to give Geno Smith full credit for his success last season. We are supposing he accidentally made some of those throws, and with a potential steal at WR3 he is going to be worse?

Either way, all of this harkens back to when the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll never wavered that his team could still compete in the NFC. The team hit the accelerator instead of sell mode, and they’re in a strong position for the 2023 season.