Seahawks Camp Notes: Darnold Hypes RB Room, Charbonnet Still on PUP

Day 5 of Seahawks camp gave us the first Sam Darnold media session of the summer, and the quarterback spent much of it talking up a running back room he clearly plans to feature in the passing game. Darnold said having backs run real routes forces defenses to guess on third down — instead of assuming the back stays in to protect — and that guys like George Holani can create mismatches on linebackers and safeties coming out of the backfield.

That's meaningful context for a Seattle offense coming off a 2025 in which Darnold threw for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and zero interceptions across 17 games — good for 269 PPR points and our No. 13 quarterback (No. 28 overall). His last five games last season ran 2.6 fantasy points below his own average, so the offense isn't perfect, but a QB who wants to check down to backs is exactly the kind of profile that lifts pass-catching runners.

Charbonnet Watch

The name every fantasy manager cares about here is Zach Charbonnet, and the update is procedural rather than scary. He remains on the PUP list alongside safety Nick Emmanwori, but there's no indication this is a long-term issue — rookie nose tackle Deven Eastern passed a physical Thursday and came off PUP, showing the list is fluid this time of year.

Charbonnet is the one to prioritize. He posted 730 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns over 16 games in 2025, plus 20 catches for 144 yards, totaling 179 PPR points and landing as our RB24 (No. 81 overall). Better still, his final five games ran 3.2 fantasy points above his season average — he was trending up when the year closed.

Holani is more of a deep-league dart. Head coach Mike Macdonald's staff expects him to feature more, partly for his pass protection, but the counting stats from 2025 were thin: 73 rushing yards, one touchdown and two catches for 15 yards over 11 games, a total of 15 PPR points and a spot at RB90 (No. 414 overall). Wide receiver Jake Bobo, meanwhile, was banged up in practice — nothing Macdonald flagged as serious — but with just 4 PPR points in 2025, he's not a redraft factor.

The actionable takeaway: buy low on Charbonnet if a nervous manager in your league is discounting him over the PUP tag. The designation is standard camp housekeeping, the touchdown equity is elite for his cost, and Darnold's stated love of throwing to backs only sweetens the case. Keep Holani on the deep-league watch list and let the pass-protection buzz turn into actual snaps before spending real capital.