​The Seattle Seahawks aren’t drawing much attention despite being the defending Super Bowl champions. This offseason, Seattle has avoided any blockbuster moves that would thrust them into the spotlight, while their NFC West rival, the Los Angeles Rams, has been aggressive. The Rams have orchestrated trades to bolster their defense, bringing in players like Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie to lift their unit into one of the league’s elite defenses. In contrast, the Seahawks have suffered some notable departures, including Kenneth Walker III, as well as defensive standouts Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen, and Coby Bryant. In response, Seattle did add Dante Fowler Jr. to help offset Mafe’s production, but the franchise appears intent on replenishing what it lost through a combination of in-house development and the draft.
Head coach Mike Macdonald has been preaching a mindset designed to show the team can not only defend their title but continue progressing. “We’re saying that instead of running it back or defending anything, we want to run our process forward,” Macdonald told Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports in a July 9 article. “How do we be us and take the next version of us as a team forward, and do that every day? I don’t think that our process or our viewpoint about who we want to become, or how we get there, changes because of the Super Bowl or what we evolved to in terms of what we did every day and what our mentality was because it was the end of the season. I think you keep that same mentality of what we’re trying to achieve every day. Even though now it’s the 2026 season, it’s all the same thought process about how we want to be us as Seahawks.”
Macdonald has also indicated that he has sought guidance from those who have won back-to-back championships to understand what it takes to defend a title. “I have reached out to some people who have won back-to-back championships,” he said. “And it’s been great advice, but I think the thing that we learned last year is like, look, we want to do it our way with how we go about our business every day, and what’s best for the Seahawks. It’s great to learn from other people, but by no means are we trying to copy other people’s style or trying to do it that way. The overarching thing is, it’s the same destination, but the journey is completely different with a completely different set of people.”
Among the chatter around the league, Leonard Williams, Seattle’s defensive lineman, has embraced the idea of being overlooked. Speaking on NFL Network on June 11, Williams suggested Seattle has grown accustomed to the national narrative bypassing them. “I think that’s something that we have out here in Seattle,” Williams said. “Playing in the Pacific Northwest, we feel like we get overlooked a lot of times. So I feel like we already kind of have a chip on our shoulder and even after winning the Super Bowl, we’re still not considered favorites. So I think for better SEO, we’re okay with that.” The Seahawks, meanwhile, are focused on maintaining a mindset of continuous improvement as they prepare for the 2026 season, hoping to prove that a championship core can stay competitive and adaptable even after significant personnel changes.