The 2026 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, and the schedule release is coming tomorrow, which makes this a great time to dive into the mailbag to answer some questions from you, the fans. Once again, we branched out from Twitter/X to also get questions on Instagram stories, and the response was great, so thanks to everyone who submitted questions that way.

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.

@0xJolt asks, "Who is starting at safety?"

A: Julian Love.

Oh, maybe you meant the other safety spot, the one previously held by Coby Bryant, who signed with the Bears as a free agent this offseason?

In that case, there are several possibilities, starting with Ty Okada, who started 11 games last season, filling in for both Love and Bryant, and who played very well, recording 65 tackles, six passes defensed, an interception, three tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and 1.5 sacks. Given that experience as a starter and the success he had, I would expect Okada to open camp with the No. 1 defense, but there will be challengers, including rookie Bud Clark, a second-round pick out of TCU who showed off playmaking ability and ball skills in college, recording 15 interceptions over the past four seasons. The Seahawks also signed Rodney Thomas II, a former starter with the Colts, and also have D'Anthony Bell, who handled some of the third safety/big nickel role while Nick Emmanwori was injured, as well as AJ Finley, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, but who was pushing Okada in camp for the No. 3 safety role prior to that injury.

Again, Okada's play last season should make him the favorite heading into camp, but the Seahawks investing a second-round pick in Clark shows they see him as a player who can be a big contributor, and there are other quality options to make that a strong competition in camp.

@CindySchell asks, "Could you share one of your most memorable behind-the-scenes draft moments?"

A: Why yes, Cindy, I would love to again shamelessly plug our inside-the-draft-room story, thanks. More than a single moment, what stands out to me is the excitement in the room leading up to a pick, especially among coaches who will be adding a player at their position group or on their side of the ball, along with the collective exhale that takes place when the Seahawks are on the clock and that player is still available. I've also really enjoyed in recent years the way that general manager and president of football operations John Schneider has spread the love in recent years, having scouts be the first one to call a player the Seahawks are selecting, rather than Schneider handling that role himself throughout the draft. This year, Schneider expanded that role even further, having senior football research analyst Becca Erenbaum make a call in the seventh round, a nod to the work that she, director of research & analytics Patrick Ward and the rest of their department do to help the team prepare for the draft.

Another funny moment mentioned in that story was when, during a long gap between picks on Day 3 of the draft, Schneider had a laptop playing clips of 'Dumb and Dumber' while he continued to work on the large computer monitor next to him, with the Lombardi Trophy in the background, no less.

Andrew from Seattle asks about the pecking order at running back, asking, "Do you think the Seahawks believe George Holani has shown enough as a runner to make a serious push for the starting job?"

A: I do think Holani earned himself a substantial role in the offense with his play in the postseason following Zach Charbonnet's injury. First-round pick Jadarian Price figures to be a big factor in the running back rotation, but my hunch is that the Seahawks won't want to just throw a rookie into an every-down role without having other backs contributing. So even if Price ended up winning the job, there will be room for other backs like Holani, Emanuel Wilson and Kenny McIntosh to also play a big role.

Travis from Post Falls, Idaho asks, "Who do you think takes Riq Woolen's spot? (Free-agent signing) Noah Igbinoghene or newly drafted rookie Julian Neal or someone else?"

A: This is an interesting one because it's hard to know exactly how the Seahawks want to replace Woolen's role. This isn't the case of a starter leaving—Josh Jobe took over that role—but Woolen did play a lot, both because the Seahawks liked to rotate him and Jobe, and also because in dime packages, both were on the field along with fellow starting corner Devon Witherspoon. So if we're assuming Seattle's primary defense will have Nick Emmanwori in the nickel role along with two safeties, Witherspoon and Jobe, then the question is whether the next corner up is primarily playing in dime packages, or if they'll want to continue to rotate corners, splitting time with Jobe.

Either way, there are some interesting options, ranging from, as the question noted, Igbinoghene, a free-agent signing, to Neal, a third-round pick who provides a physical presence at corner, to Nehemiah Pritchett, who came on strong last season as a special teamer.

@easterbrooksj.bsky.social asks, "How are Mike Macdonald and his coaches thinking about maintaining motivation and warding off potential complacency in the wake of a Super Bowl season for the ages last year?"

A: A phrase you'll hear a lot around here is "process over results" and that process this offseason will be important to avoid exactly what this question is talking about. Macdonald has been very clear with his language this offseason that the Seahawks don't view themselves as defending champs or a team trying to "run it back."

"We're trying to be really careful with our language, we're not really saying we're running anything back, we're not defending anything," Macdonald said in March at the NFL Annual Meeting. "That's just not really our attitude. The goal is to try to retain as many great players as we can, and we love our roster and we love our guys, and we're trying to keep that unit together and have that continuity. That's what we've been trying to do."

Asked about going into the season as the "defending champions," Macdonald replied, "That's not a thing. We're not defending anything. I've already talked to some of the guys about it, and they're great. The guys are awesome, and they know what we need to do. We're working through those things, it's not like you have the definitive meeting—no, it's, this is our mentality on how we want to approach it. We'll work through it. It's not just me saying it, our coaches have an influence, and we'll figure out ways for guys to talk—we'll do walk and talks or whatever—we'll figure out ways for the guys to really make it their journey again so we can all be on the same page moving forward."

And now onto the questions from Instagram…

@mittellaeufer asks, "When will you guys come back to Germany?"

A: I don't know, but I would definitely love to go back, so if I have any say in it (and I definitely do not) it will hopefully be soon. The Seahawks' trip to Munich in 2022 was great (minus the result of the game) with a strong showing from Seahawks fans, who have a big presence in Germany and throughout Europe, and the gameday atmosphere was phenomenal.

@jaquesy04 asks, "Which rookie should we expect to have a big rookie year?" And on a similar note, @melting_pot_tw on Twitter asks about potential breakout rookies.

A: Jadarian Price is the most obvious answer, both because he was the team's first-round pick, and he has arguably the clearest path to a starting job with Kenneth Walker III leaving in free agency and with Zach Charbonnet recovering from offseason knee surgery. As outlined earlier, Seattle has other capable backs who will be involved in the offense, but it's hard to imagine Price not having a big role right off the bat.

At safety, Ty Okada will be tough to unseat, but Bud Clark's unique playmaking ability gives him a real chance to get on the field early on, whether because he's able to win a starting job or because he finds ways to get on the field in sub packages. Other rookies have chances to compete for playing time on what is a very deep roster, but Clark and Price seem the two most likely to earn significant roles right away.

@Waqyyy asks, "Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or a10 duck-sized horses?"

A: Ten duck-sized horses for sure. Do you know how freakin' strong a horse-sized duck would be, and how dangerous that big beak would be? No thank you. I'll take my chances kicking those mini horses out of my way.

@bronsonharris7 asks, "How much are Rashid Shaheed and Tory Horton going to be involved this year?"

A: Shaheed was a game-changer as a returner last year, but as one might expect from a receiver joining a new team midway through the season, his role on offense wasn't as big as he or the team would like it to be moving forward. With a full offseason to work with Sam Darnold and the rest of the offense, I would definitely expect Shaheed to be a much bigger part of the offense in 2026. Whether that means Shaheed passes Cooper Kupp as the No. 2 receiver in terms of production remains to be seen—both should be big factors—but the Seahawks definitely envision bigger things for him in his first full season in Seattle.

As for Horton, we first need to see where he is at, health wise, when camp opens, but he showed a ton of potential as a rookie so the Seahawks will want to take advantage of his talents. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kupp and Shaheed all expected to have big roles, Horton might not be on the field a ton, but he will be involved—there's just too much big-play ability not to get him the ball.

@agonzo13_96 asks, "When does the schedule come out?"

A: Thursday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

@zekhrih asks, "What's the schedule release video going to look like?"

A: You'll just have to wait, but I can tell you it's a lot of fun.

@king_pear-01 asks, "Schedule release, are you hyped about matchups or ugh about the travel?"

A: I look forward to schedule release simply because it helps me know what my fall will look like. Am I home or on the road for the holidays? When is the bye week, etc.

@lifewithco asks, "When is the opening game? Trying to book flights."

A: Wednesday, September 9. We'll learn the opponent on Thursday, but date is set.

@lucastophoff asks, "Are you ever going to play in Mexico City?"

A: There was speculation that the Seahawks could be the 49ers' opponent in Mexico City this season, but it turns out that will be the Vikings, so if the Seahawks are going to go there, it will have to wait until a future season.