THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Darnold discourse, draft options and Dart

It’s a simple question. 

At least it is for fans, for all species of media, and for half-asleep characters at the bus station. 

Can the Seahawks reach the Super Bowl with Sam Darnold at quarterback? 

Yes or no? 

If the answer is yes, then GM John Schneider has a specific task during the NFL draft next week.

He needs to surround Darnold with some of the tools he needs to lead this team to the promised land. 

It certainly won’t get there with an offensive line that was up front for a rushing attack that finished 30th in the league a year ago. 

Every team with designs on a championship must have a solid group of bully boys at the line of scrimmage, but it’s especially critical for the offense run by new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. 

You’ll see a lot of stretch plays (running wide or off the guard-tackle box) complemented by play-action passing. 

The Seahawks have one solid offensive lineman in left tackle Charles Cross, and a “maybe” if right tackle Abe Lucas can remain healthy. 

In the middle, well, Schneider will have to do some work in the draft. 

SEVERAL so-called draft experts have said Grey Zabel, a multi-tasking lineman from North Dakota State, would be a solid pick at No. 18. 

We’ll take another look at that in a minute. 

Meanwhile, Schneider would have to beef up that offensive line no matter who happens to be playing quarterback, so let’s get back to the debate about Darnold. 

More to the point, are the Hawks better off with Darnold than Geno Smith? 

Before the blockbuster deal that sent Geno to the Raiders, draft analyst Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus was adamant that the Seahawks were on the verge of making a mistake. 

“Geno Smith is the best quarterback available to Seattle, period,” Sikkema said. 

“That includes players in the league who might be traded, it includes free agents, and it includes everyone that they could get in the draft.” 

Obviously, Sikkema was tossing Sam Darnold into that pot of quarterbacks that would be a step backwards for the Seahawks. 

But others disagree. 

Strongly. 

“I’ve always been a fan of Sam Darnold,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said during a radio interview in Seattle. 

“I’ve always believed in Sam Darnold’s ability, and I think there’s so many people that had just put their feet in the ground on him and had decided that, ‘OK, we haven’t seen any good. He’s never going to be good.’ 

“It was like they were just eyeballing the first sign of regression and then they were going to throw away the whole rest of the season (2024) based off the last two games.” 

By now, everyone has an opinion about those two games. 

Darnold led Minnesota to a 13-3 record, then struggled against Detroit in a game that decided the NFC North — and followed that with a catastrophic performance as the Vikes were blown out by the Rams in a first-round playoff game. 

Jeremiah admitted Darnold’s performance in Minnesota’s de facto NFC North title game was a bad one. But he’s not convinced that the struggles in the Vikings’ playoff loss fall on Darnold, who was sacked nine times. 

“Nobody was playing well in that situation,” Jeremiah said. “He got the tar kicked out of him. I mean, they couldn’t protect. He had no chance.” 

SO, IF Darnold’s supporters are correct, Schneider needs to draft one offensive lineman after another, right? 

Not necessarily. 

ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller has a different view. 

“In the first round and maybe even the second, I think you should be aiming at the money positions,” Miller said. 

“You can get linemen in later rounds, really solid guys. But those early picks, the key is to draft the money players, and hit on them. 

“Quarterbacks, left tackles, edge rushers, corners — those are the guys who really get paid in this league, so if you can get some of them playing on rookie contracts, you have a huge advantage in terms of money and cap space.” 

Miller’s strategy, in the Seahawks’ situation, would likely lead Schneider to a wide receiver in the first round. 

Keep an eye on Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan. 

He wouldn’t be my choice, simply because he didn’t get routine separation from corners and safeties in college, and relied on catching 50-50 balls. 

That will be a lot tougher in the NFL. 

If Schneider let me pick in that spot, I’d take Ole Miss quarterback Jaxon Dart. 

But that’s another story. 

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”