It's a short week for the Seahawks, who face the Cardinals in Arizona on Thursday night, so we'll skip the pleasantries and dive right into this week's mailbag. As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

@bcas98@bsky.social asks, "Can you talk about Karl Scott? After seeing Josh Jobe and Derion Kendrick doing really well, I'm curious what are his points of emphasis and what does he do that seems to resonate so much with players? Wouldn't shock me to see him as a defensive coordinator somewhere soon?"

A: Karl Scott, the Seahawks' defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach, has been mentioned by Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald a few times recently, and for good reason. Scott, along with safeties coach Jeff Howard and defensive assistant/defensive backs Neiko Thorpe have played a crucial role in the Seahawks getting players ready to fill in for injured starters early this season, including Derion Kendrick, who has played nickel corner the last two weeks, recording five passes defensed and two interceptions within weeks of the Seahawks claiming him off waivers.

It's no coincidence that Scott was thought highly enough of to be one of the only holdovers from Pete Carroll's staff kept by Macdonald when he built his coaching staff last year. Scott has a reputation for being a good teacher and communicator, and players speak very highly of him.

"Just a phenomenal guy to have on the staff," Macdonald said. "Forwards a message, he's phenomenal with the group, and gets the guys to play the right way. I love the spirit with which he coaches. It's his own style, which I appreciate, and he's a great teacher. He's bringing a lot to the table game plan wise as well, he's doing a heck of a job."

And yes, if the Seahawks keep having this kind of success on defense, it does seem like only a matter of time before other teams start coming after players on Macdonald's staff, and Scott definitely has potential to be a defensive coordinator in the near future.

@MrEd315 asks, "Which Seahawks position group has been the most surprising so far this year, and which group might need to step it up a bit?"

A: To me the biggest surprise of the season so far has been the secondary, and specifically the depth of that group. Playing without defensive backs the caliber of Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Nick Emmanwori could spell disaster for some defenses, but with players like Kendrick, Ty Okada, D'Anthony Bell and others stepping up, the defense has maintained a really high level of play even while battling some injuries.

When it comes to stepping it up, I'd point less to a specific position group and instead say the running game as a whole. That can mean the line blocking better, the running backs getting more out of what is in front of them, or coaches putting players in a better position to make plays in the running game. There has been a lot of good in the running game, most notably Kenneth Walker III's 105-yard performance in Week 2, but for the Seahawks offense to be at its best, it will need more out of the ground game going forward.

@prettyboyzickle asks about the possibility of a trade with Seattle's cornerback depth playing so well, while @SamBelCT06 asks about keeping players like Derion Kendrick involved in the defense as players return to health.

A: First, on the possibility of a trade, with the caveat of never say never, etc., I really don't see the Seahawks looking to trade away from a strength of the team in the midst of a season for which they have very high expectations.

Yes, when everyone is healthy it will be hard to keep every player involved, but injuries are an unavoidable part of football, and as we've seen the past two weeks, strong depth has helped the Seahawks win games.

As for what happens to a player like Kendrick when everyone is healthy, coaches see that as a great problem to have. The Seahawks can and likely will find ways to get him on the field, be it dime packages with six defensive backs, or having him sub in for a series for another player, but there is also an opportunity for him, like every player, to compete and push starters for their jobs.

"This is a game where competition should be at its highest," defensive coordinator Aden Durde. "If a defense is going to play very well, every position needs to be challenged, every position needs to be playing really good football and the guys behind them playing really good football, and you just keep playing. Then when you get your opportunity can you make plays, can you make plays consistently, not just splash plays, and that helps us as a group, and I think you have to ask the guys, but I see a lot of buy-in to that way. I see a lot of people that when other people are in and making plays, that play the same position, they celebrate those guys, and that makes you feel good about what we're doing."

@champions891971 asks, "How far is Rylie Mills from being active?"

A: Mills, a fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame, tore his ACL late in his senior season, and as a result he opened this season on the non-football injury list. Macdonald was asked about Mills this week, and while there is not a specific timeline for his return, the expectation is that he'll be ready to go at some point this season.

"I haven't gotten a timetable that would give you an update on that, but he looks great," Macdonald said. "He's training, he's in all the meetings, looks great, I don't have a timetable, though. I think the expectation is at some point he'd be available this year."

@mookiealexander asks, "How would you assess Cooper Kupp's first three games as a Seahawks?

A: Kupp's first year with the Seahawks has seen him put up big numbers in one game, a seven-catch, 90-yard performance against the Steelers, with less production the other two games (four catches for 46 yards). As the Steelers win showed, Kupp is still very capable of being a big part of the offense, but it's early still, and with Jaxon Smith-Njigba understandably getting a lot of targets, the consistent production hasn't been there just yet for Kupp.

I think when all is said and done, Kupp will have a very productive season for the Seahawks, but even when he isn't putting up numbers in a given week, he is still a key part of this team. From his veteran leadership, to his football knowledge—Macdonald has talked about what a valuable resource Kupp is to coaches—to the physicality he plays with, including as a blocker in the running game, Kupp is a factor on a daily basis even if the stats don't always show it (and again, I'm fully expecting that the stats will show it over time).

"The thing about Coop is he's going to have a great attitude all the time," quarterback Sam Darnold said. "It is a little thing that a lot of people don't notice, but it goes a long way just no matter what kind of day he has catching the football, he's always going to have a great attitude and on run plays, he's going to do his job every single time. Guys can count on that and the attitude that he brings and the energy that he brings to an entire offense is invaluable."

@segdeha.com on BlueSky asks, "How do we explain the decline in production from Boye Mafe this year? Is he seeing the field less or is something else going on?"

A: It's not a playing time issue—Mafe played 60 percent of Seattle's defensive snaps last year, and he has played 60 percent this year through three games. More than anything, I think it's just a bit of bad luck, combined with a lot of pass rushing success for interior linemen. By a lot of different advanced metrics, Mafe is playing really well, and is getting a lot of quick pressures, but so far those haven't resulted in sacks. Over time, I'm guessing the sacks will come, but there is also the fact that players like Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy and Jarran Reed are getting to the quarterback too, and as players like to say, the focus is on rushing as a unit, so sometimes a Mafe pressure can mean a sack for a teammate.

@prollyhighaf asks, "Candy corn, yes or no?"

A: Candy corn is a no for me, sorry. There are enough good sweets out there to tempt me into making unhealthy decisions that I don't need to eat that.

@wenfot asks, "Did the corgi you were rooting for in the Corgi Cup win?"

A: Unfortunately, I'm usually busy during halftime and don't pay much attention to what's happening, though in general I'm a big fan of anything involving dogs on the field. I did have a rooting interest several years ago when my friend and former co-worker Maddie's dog Ricky was competing. This is definitely a Team Ricky mailbag, even if, as a mini dachshund, he didn't stand much of a chance against the faster corgis.