Fantasy Football Sleepers, Busts & Predictions: 2026 Seattle Seahawks

The NFC’s Team of the Decade is probably the Eagles. They’ve won five division titles and two Super Bowls in that time, and they have a 101-63-1 record in that time. The Chiefs, Bills, Ravens and Steelers have better records, but no one in the NFC is ahead of them. But the Seahawks are right there. They only have one Super Bowl title in the last 10 years and only two division titles, but then the NFC West has been the best division in football for a big chunk of that time so big win totals have been harder. They have the same 101-63-1 record as the Eagles in the last 10 years, and their worst year in that time (7-10 in 2021) is better than anyone else’s worst (the Eagles went 4-11-1 in 2020). And now they’re coming off the top of the world, and they’re at worst the No. 2 favorite entering the 2026 season. It’s good times in Seattle. Again.

2026 Sleepers, Busts & Bold Predictions: Seattle SeahawksSleeper: AJ Barner, TEBarner nearly doubled his target (38 to 68), reception (30 to 52) and touchdown (4 to 7) totals from his rookie 2024 to 2025, and he more than doubled his receiving yards (245 to 519). And he found a new role, and a new play: The Barnyard. The Seahawks brought the Tush Push into their offense, but instead of Sam Darnold, it’s the 6-foot-6 Barner (a former quarterback) who leads the way. It only led to one touchdown last year, but he gained 10 first downs on 11 carries in the regular and postseason combined. So in the aggregate, we have maybe the No. 2 pass catcher in a good offense, who also has rushing touchdown upside, and he’s only 24. Oh, and he’s going 25th among tight ends in early ADP. I’ll buy that.

Bust: Rashid Shaheed, WRShaheed is a much better idea than he is a fantasy product. He’s never topped 800 scrimmage yards or 5 touchdowns in a season. For all his upside as a big play waiting to happen, he’s just not consistent on a down-to-down basis. When the Seahawks traded for Shaheed last year, there was all sorts of excitement about him joining a good offense that lacked a reliable WR2. But the primary reason for excitement was reuniting Shaheed with his former New Orleans offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak. And despite that reunion, Shaheed only put up 252 scoreless scrimmage yards in nine regular-season games as a Seahawk, with another 100 yards in the postseason. He did score a couple of return touchdowns, which boosts his numbers a bit, but it’s not enough. Shaheed is fun to watch. But just enjoy him as an idea, not as a fantasy contributor. (Note: If your league offers points for return yardage, I mostly take this back.)

Bold Prediction: Jadarian Price Is the Top Rooking Running BackThis one’s out there on the boldness, but I’m intrigued by it. Barring someone like a Kaytron Allen (in Washington) or Nicholas Singleton (in Tennessee) surprisingly seizing a bell cow role, the only real candidates to lead rookie RBs in fantasy scoring are Price and his former college teammate Jeremiyah Love in Arizona. Well, Price landed in Seattle, which had the third-highest run rate in the NFL last year, and Love’s Cardinals had the lowest rate. To be sure, some of that was the disaster of a backfield the Cardinals had last year — after James Conner and Trey Benson went down, the team had to go with guys like Michael Carter, Bam Knight and Emari Demercado. But even without considering the bad running game, this just isn’t a team set up to run a lot. It’s a bad defense with an offensive line ranked 21st in our offensive line rankings, and it has three good-to-great pass catchers in Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson. And of course, the Cardinals still have (for now) Conner, Benson and offseason signee Tyler Allgeier on the roster. Love won’t necessarily lose time to them, but they aren’t going to disappear, either. Meanwhile, Price is going to get every shot to be a bell cow early in the season. With Zach Charbonnet likely out to start the season, his only real competition are George Holani and Emanuel Wilson. It’s an offense that wants to work through the run and, after Jaxon Smith-Njigba, doesn’t have many sure things at pass catcher. If Price can start strong, and if the Seahawks and Cardinals are as good and bad, respectively, as they were last year, it’s set up for Price to top his former teammate in Year 1.