The Seattle Seahawks enter the 2026 NFL season as one of the league’s strongest Super Bowl contenders. As the defending Super Bowl champions, they have already demonstrated that they have a recipe for success on the league’s biggest stage, and with much of their core returning for next season, they appear poised to make noise again in 2026, but will they ultimately do so?
ESPN surprisingly left the Seahawks off of their rankings of the top five win-now teams in the league entering the 2026 season.
Seattle’s biggest advantage may be continuity. The Seahawks return a talented core on both sides of the ball, led by quarterback Sam Darnold and AP Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, as well as a defense built to pressure opposing offenses
with a breathtaking amount of verve. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has quickly established a disciplined, aggressive identity, giving Seattle the type of coaching stability every contender needs.
There are questions, particularly after losing star running back Kenneth Walker in free agency, but the roster remains deep enough to absorb key departures. The Seahawks also have the confidence that comes from winning the Lombardi Trophy last season.
Seattle’s combination of talent, coaching, experience and confidence makes them a contending team to beware of among the best of them around the league in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks left off ESPN’s ranking of the top five win-now teams in NFL
