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The Seattle Seahawks were one of the biggest pleasant surprises in Fantasy Football during the 2022 season. Geno Smith came out of nowhere to lead the offense under Shane Waldron and revive a passing game that had stalled in its final season with an injured Russell Wilson in 2021. Heading into 2023, more excitement abounds as Smith enters Year 2 running the offense and after the Seahawks used a first-round draft pick on a wide receiver who out produced Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave when they were all on the same Ohio State team in 2021. 

Below the CBS Sports Fantasy staff will take a look into the Seahawks' entire team outlook, including a burning question for Fantasy Football managers that needs to be answered, key player projections, a review of their draft class, strength of schedule, and individual player outlooks for notable Seahawks players who may end up on your Fantasy rosters.

Seahawks 2023 team outlook

By Chris Towers

The Seahawks were supposed to be rebuilding after trading Russell Wilson. Instead, Geno Smith was one of the most effective passers in the game and they made a surprise playoff run. There's still plenty of offensive talent here to make another run.

Burning question: How safe is Ken Walker's role?

There are other questions here, most notably how rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be worked in. But it was the team's second second-round pick that raised the most eyebrows, as they added UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet. Walker had a solid rookie season, rushing for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games, but he was inconsistent, ranking close to the bottom in success rate among backs. Does the addition of Charbonnet just give a run-heavy coaching staff useful depth, or is he an actual threat to Walker's status as the RB1? It adds risk to his profile, if nothing else.

Seahawks player projections

PosPlayerProjection
QBGeno SmithPA: 572, YD: 4175, TD: 29, INT: 11; RUSH -- ATT: 65, YD: 292, TD: 2
RBKenneth WalkerCAR: 238, YD: 1022, TD: 8; TAR: 34, REC: 25, YD: 181, TD: 1
RBZach CharbonnetCAR: 130, YD: 544, TD: 5; TAR: 34, REC: 28, YD: 206, TD: 1
WRDK MetcalfTAR: 149, REC: 95, YD: 1152, TD: 8
WRTyler LockettTAR: 137, REC: 93, YD: 1074, TD: 8
WRJaxon Smith-NjigbaTAR: 97, REC: 63, YD: 758, TD: 4
TENoah FantTAR: 51, REC: 41, YD: 425, TD: 2

2023 NFL Draft class

1. (5) Devon Witherspoon, DB
1. (20) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR
2. (37) Derick Hall, DE
2. (52) Zach Charbonnet, RB
4. (108) Anthony Bradford, OL
4. (123) Cameron Young, DT
5. (151) Mike Morris, DE
5. (154) Olusegun Oluwatimi, C
6. (198) Jerrick Reed, SAF
7. (237) Kenny McIntosh, RB

Strength of Schedule rankings by Dave Richard

  • QB PSoS: 17th easiest
  • RB PSoS: 23rd easiest
  • WR PSoS: 16th easiest
  • TE PSoS: 23rd easiest
WKDATEOPPTIMETVVENUE
1Sep 10, 2023vsL.A. Rams4:25 pmFOXLumen Field
2Sep 17, 2023@Detroit1:00 pmFOXFord Field
3Sep 24, 2023vsCarolina4:05 pm
Lumen Field
4Oct 2, 2023@N.Y. Giants8:15 pmESPNMetLife Stadium
5—BYE———
6Oct 15, 2023@Cincinnati1:00 pm
Paycor Stadium
7Oct 22, 2023vsArizona4:05 pmFOXLumen Field
8Oct 29, 2023vsCleveland4:05 pmFOXLumen Field
9Nov 5, 2023@Baltimore1:00 pm
M&T Bank Stadium
10Nov 12, 2023vsWashington4:25 pmFOXLumen Field
11Nov 19, 2023@L.A. Rams4:25 pm
SoFi Stadium
12Nov 23, 2023vsSan Francisco8:20 pmNBCLumen Field
13Nov 30, 2023@Dallas8:15 pmAMZNAT&T Stadium
14Dec 10, 2023@San Francisco4:05 pmFOXLevi's Stadium
15Dec 17, 2023vsPhiladelphia4:25 pmFOXLumen Field
16Dec 24, 2023@Tennessee1:00 pm
Nissan Stadium
17Dec 31, 2023vsPittsburgh4:05 pmFOXLumen Field
18Jan 7, 2024@ArizonaTBA—State Farm Stadium

Seahawks 2023 player outlooks

By Heath Cummings unless otherwise noted

QB Geno Smith

We are ranking Smith as a high-end No. 2 quarterback worthy of a pick in the double-digit rounds, but it wouldn't be the first time we have underestimated him. Lest you think that Smith's surprising 2022 was just about Fantasy success, he had the lowest number of off-target throws in the NFL and led the league in completion percentage despite the fact that his air yards per attempt were near league average. Smith was a legitimately good passer in 2022 and now he's added arguably the best wide receiver in the 2023 class to a group that already included DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. If Jaxon Smith-Njigba lives up to his hype and Smith plays at the level he did last year, he'll be a top-10 Fantasy QB and analysts will be eating their hats again.

RB Ken Walker

We value Walker as a high-end flex who should be drafted some time after the fourth round. In his rookie season, he was the prototypical big-play back. Among players who ran the ball at least 100 times last year, only James Robinson had a higher percentage of his carries go for zero or negative yards. But Walker was also one of eight backs who saw at least 10% of his rushes go for 12-plus yards. The Seahawks brought in Zach Charbonnet to share the load, which should terrify Walker's Fantasy managers. Charbonnet profiles as being better both in the passing game and on short yardage eventually. If both of these backs stay healthy, it's hard to see how either finishes in the top 20 this year. They are both more desirable in Dynasty.

RB Zach Charbonnet

We're advising waiting until Round 9 in redraft to target Charbonnet, though to tell the truth it is a bit of a guessing game how Pete Carroll will employ his rookie alongside Kenneth Walker. It's not often a team uses a second-round pick on a running back in back-to-back years. Charbonnet showed better passing-game skills in college than Walker and is a bigger back, so it is entirely possible by the end of the year that the rookie is handling the majority of the high-value touches. Early in the year, we're expecting a 1A/1B situation, with Walker in the lead role. Charbonnet is worth a late first-round pick in one-quarterback rookie-only drafts but could fall to Round 2 in Superflex.

WR D.K. Metcalf

We would prefer to wait until Round 5 to draft Metcalf as a low-end No. 2 wide receiver. Seattle added Jaxon-Smith-Njigba in the NFL Draft, and Tyler Lockett is still there as well. As long as those two stay healthy, it is highly unlikely Metcalf earns the target share necessary to live up to his top-10 potential. One positive you should expect from Metcalf is an increase in touchdowns. Last year was the first time he scored fewer than 10 touchdowns since his rookie year, despite the fact that he had a career-high 23 end-zone targets. One long-term concern for Metcalf is that if Smith-Njigba hits his ceiling, Metcalf will not be the No. 1 in Seattle for long. That makes Metcalf a good Dynasty sell if he gets off to a good start in 2023.

WR Tyler Lockett

We like Lockett as a No. 3 receiver worth a pick in Round 7 this year. Once again, he'll probably beat our expectations. The 31-year-old has new target competition in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but he also has four consecutive years with at least 1,000 yards and five straight years with eight or more touchdowns. Among players with at least 700 career targets, Locket's 9.6 yards per target ranks fourth, behind only DeSean Jackson, Rob Gronkowski, and Julio Jones. Lockett's aDOT has fluctuated wildly the past four years, ranging from 9.7 in 2020 to 14.6 in 2021 back down to 10.6 last year. With Smith-Njigba likely working more in the slot, it could balloon again this year, leading to fewer catches but more big plays.

WR Jaxon Smith-Ngigba

In terms of 2023 value, Smith-Njigba's landing spot doesn't look great. After all, receivers other than Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf combined for just 75 targets in Seattle last year. But the Seahawks didn't draft him in the first round just to have him learn from Lockett and Metcalf this year. The Seahawks threw 136 passes to tight ends last year and spent most of the year in two tight end sets, and that is what you should expect to change. If Metcalf and Lockett stay healthy all year, Smith-Njigba is likely a WR4 at best, but he has enormous upside if either miss time or if Father Time catches up to Lockett. We wouldn't draft Smith-Njigba before Round 10 in a redraft league, but he's a top-three pick in one-QB rookie only drafts.

TE Noah Fant

We would not advise drafting Fant in a standard redraft league after a disappointing first season in Seattle. Fant has now seen his targets, catches, and yards drop three straight seasons despite the fact that he has played more games each season. He set career lows with an 11.4% target share and 1.39 yards per route run last year. Even in Dynasty leagues, his Round 1 pedigree isn't going to carry him much longer. With the Jaxon Smith-Njigba pick, the Seahawks signaled that they are moving away from two tight end sets, so Fant will have to fight Will Dissly just to stay on the field. We'd advise holding Fant in Dynasty if you can. He'll be a free agent after this year, but the odds are growing long that he'll ever fulfill his potential.

K Jason Myers

Myers will be aiming for his second-consecutive top-five finish and his fifth top-12 finish in six years. We like him as a top-10 option worth a pick in the last round of your Fantasy draft. Over the past three seasons, Myers has made 89.3% of his field goals and 94.4% of his extra points. He led the NFL with a 100% FG conversion rate in 2020 and kicked the longest FG of the year at 61 yards. He has made at least 40 extra points four seasons in a row. If you want to set it and forget it at kicker, Myers should get that done for you without having to pay a premium.

Seahawks DST

Seattle's defense was mostly miserable last year, but there are plenty of reasons to think it could be better. The Seahawks brought back Bobby Wagner to shore up the middle, then drafted cornerback Devon Witherspoon in Round 1 and outside linebacker Derick Hall in the second. Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant were good as rookies, but they could be even better in Year 2. We can't get Seattle's DST inside our top 12, but if you like their Week 1 matchup at home against the Rams, we wouldn't blame you for taking them in the last round. At the very least, expect they'll be a streaming option Week 3 at home against Carolina.