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2021 NFL Power Rankings: Seattle Seahawks

Throughout the 2021 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Here is where the Seattle Seahawks rank in terms of average, best and worst:

Below you will find a Week 1 roundup for the Seahawks in our consensus 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 8

Person on the hot seat: RB Rashaad Penny

It's now or never for Penny in Seattle as the No. 27 overall pick in 2018 enters the last year of his rookie deal. The Seahawks declined to pick up his fifth-year option this spring because of his underwhelming production in three injury-plagued seasons. While the talk entering camp was about how fit Penny looked and the one-two punch he could form with Chris Carson, Penny has since missed time with a thigh injury. Carson just signed a two-year deal, but his own injury history means Penny could have chances to showcase himself to potential suitors. He'll have to stay healthy to capitalize on those opportunities. -- Brady Henderson

NFL.com -- Rank: 7

Which version of the Seahawks' offense will show up on Sunday against the Colts? The Let Russ Cook edition, which averaged 34 points per game in the first eight games of 2020? Or the Russ Looks Cooked attack that closed out the season averaging just 22.3 points over the final nine weeks (including the postseason)? We're betting on the former, as Seattle enters the season with better health, an improved offensive line and a freshened offensive philosophy. An overlooked X-factor is the state of the backfield: When running back Chris Carson is doing his thing, Seattle becomes extremely difficult to game plan against. New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron enters the year with a lot of toys at his disposal.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 18

They still have Russell Wilson, which always makes them a threat. The key to their season will be the improvement of the defense, which means improvement of the pass rush. I am not sure it's good enough, which is why they are the fourth team in the division in my book.

USA Today -- Rank: 10

Add new coordinator Shane Waldron's offense -- and it wasn't unveiled with starters in preseason -- to a defense that's skewing younger, and it's worth wondering if the defending NFC West champs might stumble at a time when the relationship with QB Russell Wilson seems tenuous.

The Athletic -- Rank: 8

Why they're ranked here: The Seahawks are an interesting team. On the one hand, they've made the playoffs eight of the last nine years, and they still boast a top-five quarterback. On the other hand, they have just one playoff win the last four years and are coming out of an eventful offseason that raised questions about Russell Wilson's happiness in Seattle. That has led to a team our panel doesn't quite think is in the NFL's top tier, but firmly in the group behind that. Only three of our voters had the Seahawks outside the top 10.

One big question: What does the offense look like? The piece from Michael-Shawn Dugar, Mike Sando and Jayson Jenks this offseason showed Wilson wants more say in the decisions and an offense that runs through him more. Pete Carroll sounds like a coach who wants to run the ball more. How does that end?

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