After eight years in the NFL, Cooper Kupp expects a lot from himself anytime he steps on the field, which is why he found fault in a 13-yard run on the Seahawks' first possession of last weekend's preseason game.
Kupp had no issues with the blocking up front or with the way running back Zach Charbonnet hit the hole on his way to a big gain; instead he was critical of himself for not making the block to spring an even bigger gain.
Yes, it was a preseason game, and for Kupp, his first preseason action since his rookie year—Rams coach Sean McVay has generally avoided playing top starters in the preseason during his tenure in L.A.—but even a former Super Bowl MVP, first-team All-Pro and AP Offensive Player of the Year wanted to be sharper on what in the grand scheme of things was a pretty inconsequential moment of his decorated career.
"If you are going to be out there on the field, you are going to want to go down and score," Kupp said of his and the starting offense's one drive in Friday's 33-16 win over the Chiefs, which saw the Seahawks drive 81 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown. "Honestly, if I handled business on the first play of the game and got up on the post safety, Charbs might break that thing for a touchdown right out of the gate, which would have been pretty cool. But there are all these good things and all these positive things we take out of that drive, and then so many things that we are looking at critically and saying if we could do this, these are the things we can do so much better. The sky is the limit if you could just handle your business snap in and snap out. That's football."
But even if Kupp's blocking on that particular play wasn't up to his exacting standards, his overall impression of his new team's offense has been very positive. Kupp, a Yakima native and Eastern Washington University product who returned to his home state as a free agent this year after eight seasons with the Rams, is just one of many new faces in a key role in Seattle's offense.
There is, of course, quarterback Sam Darnold, a Pro-Bowl selection with the Vikings last year, as well as receivers Tory Horton and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, tight ends Elijah Arroyo and Eric Saubert, left guard Grey Zabel, and a mostly overhauled offensive coaching staff, led by offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
All that newness means a lot of growth is necessary to be ready for the regular season, but from the execution in practice to the performance in the past two preseason games, there have been a lot of very encouraging signs, highlighted by a dominant performance on Friday night that saw the Seahawks total 477 yard and 29 first downs, including 268 rushing yards.
"It's been awesome," Kupp said of the offense's growth. "Anytime you can run the ball, like we have been, mix the football up, much easier games, it's been great seeing that. The way the running backs are running behind those guys, too, it's been impressive. Hopefully something that we can continue to build on."
And it's not just players on that side of the ball who are seeing that growth, it has also been noticed by defensive players going against them in practice.
"I've seen them from the first day they got in here and started going over that playbook," linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. "It was rocky those first couple weeks of OTAs when we'd go offense-defense. But from that first day to the first day of training camp was a big difference. I knew they had it in them to get up there, attack the ball and just run off the ball, run off the rock and create explosives off of that. I knew they had it in them. It wasn't a surprise at all.
Jones added what has stood out has been, "The movement. Specifically here, how they get up to the line, they're super decisive. From the moment the huddle is broken, receivers, O-line, running backs, they're breaking out, Sam's walking up, getting his reads, and after a motion or two, the ball is snapped. They do a good job getting set, and when it's time to roll, they roll."
Next up for the Seahawks and their still-growing offense is a joint practice against the Packers, which should provide the starters a more thorough test against an opposing defense that they would get in any preseason cameo, then after Saturday's game, the Seahawks will continue the shift from training camp mode to Week 1 preparation.
"It's a challenge because you see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting ready to go and start preparing for an opponent," Kupp said. "But we still have, at least two weeks still of good work, good growth that can be done before you're into a standard time frame where you start game planning and things like that. Right now it's really being focused on what is important right now, and that's about diving into our details, diving into our stuff and making sure we're doing the best that we can to master our systems and be able to go out there and execute at a high level. That's where our focus needs to be and knowing that that is going to present itself at the end of the day to be able to go out there and start scheming up against someone."
One of the reasons players seem to be taking so well to Seattle's new offense is the way that Kubiak and the rest of the staff are teaching, focusing not just on what players are supposed to be doing by on why they're doing it.
"They definitely go into the why, the intent of what we're trying to attack," Kupp said. "I don't know if there's any other way to do it. The guys that we have here and the questions they're asking me, you've got to be able to answer the question of 'Why'? We've got guys that ask those questions. If you don't give us a why, eventually you're going to ask why we're doing something a certain way. The intent behind everything that we do is a pivotal piece of how we operate. It's the core of what makes plays good. If you're out there just running lines on a piece of paper, you're not going to be very good. You've got to be able to solve problems and part of solving problems is understanding why you're doing what you're doing."
And of course, it's always important to remember that it is still August and that this new-look Seahawks offense has yet to play a regular season game. Kubiak and head coach Mike Macdonald will have to evaluate and make adjustments based not just how the offense progresses heading into Week 1, but on how things go in those early games, and in turn, how opponents adjust. But based on what the offense has shown thus far, there are signs that there might not be as big of a learning curve with a new coordinator, quarterback and several other key players as one might expect.
"I think it's one of my favorite things about watching offenses across the league as the season goes on," Kupp said. "You have the first four weeks of the season, this is what we did in training camp, this is who we are. We put those four weeks together and now we have to kind of start building off it. You just keep stacking layers upon layers, and by the end it's morphed into the things that are working for us, these are the things that we're doing well, and there's these counters back that makes it a lot of fun to see that growth. It's about the sequencing and what are the things that you're putting out there? What runs are working well? What play-actions are you going to build off that? And what screens are you going to build off those? It continues to stack and build. I think we've seen a little bit in the way that we do things here. Being able to compete against each other in some ways, it's like Klint just wants to beat the crap out of Mike, and Mike wants to beat the crap out of Klint, and it makes it makes it really fun."
The Seahawks hit the field for practice on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 as they get set to travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin for a joint practice and preseason matchup vs. the Packers.
Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Pili (95) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle J.R. Singleton (70) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (93) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) and cornerback Riq Woolen (27) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks punter Michael Dickson (4) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Steven Sims (84) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell (52) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety D'Anthony Bell (23) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas (42) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker D'Eryk Jackson (46) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell (52) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Pili (95) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (93) and nose tackle J.R. Singleton (70) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford (75) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford (75) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo (18) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks guard Bryce Cabeldue (77) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks offensive lineman Mason Richman (78) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks center Federico Maranges (62) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald at practice on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Dareke Young (83) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo (18) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyrone Broden (85) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin (24) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks center Olu Oluwatimi (55) and offensive lineman Mason Richman (78) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (0) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna (92) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle J.R. Singleton (70) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Pili (95) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II (91) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Elijah Arroyo (18) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo (19) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Jacardia Wright (31) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cody White (82) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (0) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back George Holani (36) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin (24) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Coby Bryant (8) and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tory Horton (15) and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (1) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cody White (82) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
The Seahawks practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock (2) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Abraham Lucas (72) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Eric Saubert (81) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Charles Cross (67) and guard Grey Zabel (76) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (1) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks guard Grey Zabel (76) practiced on August 19, 2025 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
