{"id":7477,"date":"2025-04-28T17:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T17:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/7477\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T17:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T17:03:10","slug":"why-the-seattle-seahawks-2025-draft-could-be-special-but-not-in-the-way-you-might-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/7477\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Seattle Seahawks 2025 draft could be special, but not in the way you might think"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not by any means the main story, but among subplots to the Seattle Seahawks<\/a>\u2019 2025 draft class, one looks to be a renewed commitment to special teams.<\/p>\n

Not so long ago in actual time \u2014 yet very, very long ago in NFL generations \u2014 the Seahawks coaching staff emphasized excellence on special teams beyond everyone just making all their kicks. There were sermons from Pete Carroll about the importance of hidden yards, and special emphases placed on explosive returns. Leon Washington and Golden Tate had the ability to house a kick at any moment. The 2013 squad allowed the fewest punt return yards in the league. Tyler Lockett got All-Pro recognition for his return work as a rookie. <\/p>\n

Then, as coverages changed, rules morphed and the roster turned over again and again, Seattle\u2019s special teams dominance waned. As happens in the NFL. Nothing F\u2014king Lasts.<\/p>\n

Most recently, teams play isn\u2019t something we\u2019ve heard Mike Macdonald wax about again and again in his first year at the helm in Seattle. Still, let\u2019s read between the lines: there can be no doubt he values what happens on kicks and returns. No coach can maintain success while discounting special teams. Ignore them at your own risk.<\/p>\n

I mean, look at the 49ers<\/a> (you don\u2019t have to actually look. You can just pretend you did). They finished 31st in ST DVOA last season (per FTN Fantasy<\/a>) and last in the division. If you don\u2019t believe those events are related at all, shall we sprinkle in four fun facts:<\/p>\n

San Fran went 6-11 when their expected wins by point differential were 7.4
\nThey lost four (!) division games by one score
\nThey returned no kicks for touchdowns
\nJake Moody missed 14 FG.<\/p>\n

I will guarantee you that Macdonald, as taciturn as he may present himself to the public, wants no part of Kyle Shanahan\u2019s special teams self-toe-stubbing.<\/p>\n

Games swing on big plays. Your surplus of generated explosives vs. allowed explosives, on offense and defense, becomes a major predictor of victory. Spoiler: Big plays happen on special teams too. So I\u2019ve chosen to believe that from the selection of Tory Horton on down, this was on the front office\u2019s mind(s). <\/p>\n

Got us some Horton highlights, and they include a nifty kick return he houses. The straight line speed is impressive and helps him obliterate tackling angles. Of course, with Horton coming back from injury, there\u2019s no telling how cautious the staff will be with him, but the tape does not lie \u2014 he can be the kickoff returner we hoped everyone since Lockett would be, but then wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Link is here<\/a>, kick return is at 0:31, with a couple of jukes and then the afterburners.<\/p>\n

When it comes to Robbie Ouzts, there\u2019s no reason to assume he\u2019s a special teams pick, but every reason to assume he\u2019ll excel there. Dayna O\u2019Gorman from Hawkblogger.com<\/a> shared her opinion of Ouzts with me the afternoon he was drafted:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That\u2019s kinda what you want on ST and it\u2019s not likely he\u2019ll immediately eat offensive snaps as either a TE or FB, not at first. Remember Nick Bellore, also a fullback by trade but general football player in spirit, made a Pro Bowl<\/a> on special teams. Now the Seahawks have zero Bellores. Or, do they have one again? <\/p>\n

And of course, there\u2019s Ricky White III, whose special teams contributions might as well turn him into Ricky White !!! (Sorry.)<\/p>\n

Did you know? White blocked four punts last season. Probably you knew. It\u2019s his especialidad de la casa.<\/p>\n

This highlights video<\/a> also shows him snuffing out a fake punt and making a sure fourth-down tackle short of the line to gain, at the 1:30 mark. Don\u2019t tell me receivers can\u2019t play real football. Don\u2019t tell White either.<\/p>\n

Look, the 2013-2014 Seahawks had All-Pro talent everywhere, so they didn\u2019t win the conference twice because of their special teams. But if you were watching a decade ago, there\u2019s a decent chance you still have a soft spot in your heart for Ricardo Lockette and Neiko Thorpe, versatile \u201clittle\u201d guys who gunned down so many unsuspecting opponents. <\/p>\n

Why wouldn\u2019t it be White\u2019s turn to change the game from an unexpected angle? Games turn on events like punt blocks. Especially in one-possession affairs, which we may see the Seahawks spend much of 2025 in, if as expected, the defense is the superior unit while the offense plays ball control or struggles to score as it finds itself. Or even, as many analysts warn, when Sam Darnold and his fellow skill position players find themselves again hamstrung by an underperforming offensive line. Don\u2019t tell me you can\u2019t foresee it. It\u2019s too easy to envision. All you have to do is close you eyes and remember 2017 to the present.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m ready for White et al. to fire up the crowd, assert themselves on kick coverage, and steal a couple games along the way, as the Seahawks resume their climb to true contenderhood once more. Which sometimes starts with not shooting yourself in the foot in football\u2019s third phase, and instead letting the Niners do it again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not by any means the main story, but among subplots to the Seattle Seahawks\u2019 2025 draft class,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2081],"tags":[3937,3757,3801,19,707,7,29,708,723,5085,6,15,813,238,237,261,5086,709,2635,5084,24,3747,2758,1853,4237],"class_list":{"0":"post-7477","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-seahawks","8":"tag-be","9":"tag-but","10":"tag-could","11":"tag-draft","12":"tag-field","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-front-page","15":"tag-gulls","16":"tag-in","17":"tag-might","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-nfl-draft","20":"tag-not","21":"tag-seahawks","22":"tag-seattle","23":"tag-seattle-seahawks","24":"tag-seattle-seahawks-game-analysis","25":"tag-seattle-seahawks-nfl-draft","26":"tag-seattleseahawks","27":"tag-special","28":"tag-the","29":"tag-think","30":"tag-way","31":"tag-why","32":"tag-you"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114416674776730896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}