Saturday, September 10, 2022

Seattle Seahawks Week 1 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2022 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 1 roundup for the Seattle Seahawks in our consensus 2022 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 24

Who's on the hot seat: QB Drew Lock

Pete Carroll could have a hot seat if the Seahawks fall apart in 2022 because coaches don't always survive back-to-back bad seasons. But another season with double-digit losses would probably mean that Lock either didn't play well or didn't even win the starting job in the first place. Whereas Carroll is signed through 2025 -- he's one of the NFL's highest-paid coaches, and their contracts are typically guaranteed -- Lock's rookie deal ends after this season, meaning the Seahawks could move on easily if he doesn't show that he is worthy of a longer look as their starter.

NFL.com -- Rank: 24

They're really doing this, huh? It always felt like the Seahawks would eventually add another option at quarterback ... but it just never happened. And so it is that Seattle will begin the post-Russ era with Geno Smith starting in front of Drew Lock. "It didn't look good this preseason," one NFL exec told The Athletic. "When you have two quarterbacks, you have none. I think it could be bad." Expect Pete Carroll to use this fresh start at QB to lean on the running game in a profound way. Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Walker III will both see extensive work if healthy, but Carroll would be wise to remember he has two very good receivers in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Let's hope they're not wasted.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 31

They have major problems at the quarterback position - and many others. They will be feisty, but they are young and rebuilding.

The Athletic -- Rank: 22

The good news: Pete Carroll is finally going to get to play his preferred style of ugly, grind-it-out football.

The bad news: Pete Carroll is finally going to get to play his preferred style of ugly, grind-it-out football.

Nugget to remember: Geno Smith will make his first Week 1 start since 2014, thereby setting a modern record for hanging around. The record for years between Week 1 starts for a quarterback this century is seven, which Josh McCown accomplished in 2014. Congratulations to the Smith family.

The Ringer -- Rank: 30

Trading Russell Wilson for two first-round and two second-round picks, in addition to a handful of other assets, firmly puts the Seahawks in rebuild mode, even if Pete Carroll and John Schneider are reluctant to admit it. Veteran quarterback Geno Smith earned the starting nod in a depressing preseason battle with Drew Lock, but he isn't a long-term solution under center. The team still possesses relative star power with receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and safety Jamal Adams, but they're not bright enough to outshine what is otherwise a roster without marquee talent at quarterback and other high-value positions like edge rusher and offensive tackle.

Yahoo! -- Rank: 30

Geno Smith won the Seahawks' QB competition, mostly because Drew Lock didn't do much to win it. We don't know whether rookie running back Kenneth Walker III, a second-round pick, will play in the opener after having hernia surgery. You would have liked some more positive news from Seattle in August, but there wasn't much of it.

PFT -- Rank: 25

The presence of Pete Carroll forces us to take them more seriously. Even then, it feels like they'll have a hard time — especially in a tough division.

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