Another year, another offseason of massive changes, and another period of doubt surrounding the Seattle Seahawks. You would think by now, after all the times the Seahawks proved they would not be among the worse in the NFL, that they’d earn some benefit of the doubt. The cycle goes as follows: Seattle has a disappointing (by their standards) season, which leads to a massive shake up, there is doubt, and then they impress. Happened in 2018, 2022 and arguably 2023.

It appears to be happening again. The Seahawks fell short of the playoffs by the narrowest of margins in 2024, and decided to go in a radical new direction for 2025 with hopes their new moves would help elevate them from their “good-not-great” purgatory they’ve been stuck in for a few seasons now. However, it appears not everyone is impressed… or sees the potential.

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In a recent power ranking by the website NFL Trade Rumors, they have Seattle listed in the “middle of the pack” category at No. 20 overall. This ranking is only one spot ahead of the Arizona Cardinals, and well behind the Los Angeles Rams (No. 6) and the San Francisco 49ers (No. 9) on this list.

Logan Ulrich of NFLTR writes:

The offensive line remains a significant question mark even after drafting first-round OL Grey Zabel. At the end of the day, it’s hard to say the Seahawks did anything except take a step back on that side of the ball.

In fairness to Mr. Ulrich, he does give credit where it’s due with regards to Seattle’s defense, which he describes “could be absolutely nasty.” To that point, we at Seahawks Wire will have to agree.

The Seahawks are clearly trying to build an identity that’s not all that dissimilar from the Legion of Boom, early Pete Carroll years squads. Run the football, limit mistakes in the passing attack, and play suffocating defense. Head coach Mike Macdonald proved to be every bit the defensive guru in his first year. Now he’s had time to install his system and acquire his players to execute his vision. Defense alone is reason enough to be high on what Seattle can possibly achieve during the 2025 season.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks rank “middle of the pack” in latest power ranking