The Seattle Seahawks made a bold move to swap Geno Smith for Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback this offseason. If GM John Schneider's recent words are accurate, however, then Darnold may not be on firm footing with his new team — or at least not as firm as we initially expected.
The general consensus is that the 2025 NFL Draft class of quarterback prospects lacks star power and depth. Schneider is pushing back against that narrative. He recently cautioned fans to be "careful" when it comes to downplaying this year's group of signal-callers.
The GM specifically commented that a quarterback's potential success depends on the situation he walks into at the pro level. It also sounds like he's given this supposedly weak quarterback class quite a bit of thought.
Seahawks GM John Schneider's QB comments should make Sam Darnold uneasy
Those comments won't make Darnold feel warm and fuzzy. He signed a three-year, $105 million deal with the Seahawks in free agency. Seattle, however, can get out of the deal well before its expiration date without eating a significant amount of dead cap. That means Darnold must play at a high level this season if he wants to remain the team's starting quarterback beyond the 2025 campaign.
None of this means that Seattle is dead set on adding a rookie quarterback to their roster via this year's draft. Drew Lock and Sam Howell already occupy the next two spots on the quarterback depth chart. Bringing a rookie into the mix would cause one of those more established veterans to lose their job.
The most likely explanation for Schneider's positive words about this year's quarterback class is that he wants his competitors to think Seattle is a threat to take a young quarterback somewhere in the middle rounds. That could help the Seahawks convince a quarterback-needy team to overpay to move up to get their guy. Such misinformation is common at this point in the pre-draft process. The Seahawks play that game as well as anyone, and could very well be doing so here.
Darnold still can't afford to get too comfortable in Seattle. The structure of his contract gives the Seahawks a lot of flexibility when it comes to his future. This might not be the draft where Schneider pulls the trigger on a new franchise quarterback but that decision may not be too far away either.