Hope springs eternal in the NFL. Every team (and obviously, every fan base) can believe they are one or two shrewd acquisitions away during the offseason from elevating to the next level. This is the case for the Seattle Seahawks and the 12th Man. Seattle has been sort of “stuck” in this good-not-great layer of football limbo for a while now. They’ve had a winning record for three-straight years, made the playoffs once, and remained in the postseason picture until the final weeks in the two years they did not. They have been, objectively, a good team.

But in the Pacific Northwest, being just good is not good enough. There’s been a ceiling for this iteration of the Seahawks… a ceiling they hope they’ll be able to raise in 2025 with quarterback Sam Darnold.

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Seattle took a massive swing by deciding to move on from Geno Smith and pursue the much-younger but far less proven Darnold. Yes, Smith clearly wanted out, but the Seahawks could have made an offer that would have given Smith the job security he was desiring if they wanted to do so. Instead, they are rolling the dice with Darnold, and it’s a move that will either help give them an upgrade… or set them back with a considerable downgrade.

It’s this reason why Bleacher Report listed Darnold as Seattle’s most dangerous new addition. Darnold, at his best, represents a potential improvement over Smith. However, we also know what Darnold looks like at his worst, and it’s a much lower floor than Smith ever had.

Brent Sobleski of BR writes:

Truth is, Darnold is entering a whole new situation with a new offensive coordinator, albeit one with a similar system to the one he just left, and an all-new surrounding cast. To be fair, he did the same a year ago and flourished. However, the Seahawks aren’t set up for success like the Vikings were. How successful Seattle is now falls squarely on the shoulders of the quarterback.

I will politely disagree with the final assertion, to a degree. The Seahawks are going to be a defensive team that wants to run the ball. This will not be a dynamic pass-happy team in 2025, and the quarterback position will be more of a point guard-distributor type of player. However, that’s not to say they aren’t going to need a player at the most important position in all of sports to step up. Darnold being atrocious can still cause this team to suffer.

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Like we’ve said this entire offseason: going with Darnold is a gamble. But in order to make the move from good to great, Seattle had to make changes. Only time will tell if they pay off.

Interestingly, the same article lists Geno Smith as the Las Vegas Raiders’ most dangerous acquisition. Go figure.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Sam Darnold as Seahawks most dangerous addition by Bleacher Report