What's Wright - Best Of - Bill Belichick SNUBBED, Giannis TRADE DESTINATIONS, Seahawks to Super Bowl | Nick Wright

All right, the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl, and it’s because of Darnold’s surge, not in spite of him. Who really saw this coming outside of a few loud voices?

Before the season, I thought they got worse at quarterback and that last year’s output was mostly system‑driven, but this run flipped it. After the early Rams meltdown, he steadied in the rematch, then went throw for throw with Stafford, and Seattle proved its faith by dialing up late-game passes in spots most coaches burn clock—he earned real top‑ten buzz with that.

Who should feel worse about letting this version of Darnold get away, the Jets or the Vikings?

I lean Vikings; they just watched him win fourteen last year and still balked at the price, and now Seattle has a steal on a stacked roster. They’re sixteen and three with elite defense, a rebuilt line, a real run game, and a premier wideout, which is why I picked the Rams only on the QB edge—and Darnold erased even that.

Receivers question for you: have JSN and Puka climbed into the league’s top tier?

I’ve got JSN one and Puka two right now, with full respect to Jefferson and Chase. JSN’s volume and touchdowns with Darnold this year stack up with Jefferson’s last year, and those two have nudged ahead for me.

So are you all‑in on Darnold?

I think he’s really good, and the Stafford duel matters because of the pressure it brings; I can’t rank Trevor or Goff above him on trust alone. He’s not in my top five—Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, Burrow, Stafford, and Drake May crowd that group—but if I were starting a franchise today with age in mind, it’s Mahomes, Allen, then Drake May, and the injury questions around the thirty‑ish stars complicate everything.

Hall of Fame talk: Belichick didn’t get in on the first ballot, which feels wild for newer fans—what’s your read?

The process caps those special-category votes, so some voters likely used theirs on the senior finalists, but I also think this was a deliberate withholding of the first‑ballot honor as a Spygate penalty. I’d have voted him in; I still get why others didn’t, and the ripple is real—he’ll block the coaching slot next year, younger fans are now learning the scandal’s context, Bill Polian’s mixed messages looked bad, and the snub will overshadow the class that does get in.

NBA shakeup: Giannis wants out, and there’s chatter on the Warriors, Knicks, Heat, and Wolves—what actually makes sense?

The Knicks don’t have the picks, and Miami’s path likely guts the roster and doesn’t push Giannis closer to a title, while Minnesota also lacks the draft capital. Golden State can send four future firsts and salary pieces, but given Milwaukee’s pick obligations, a pure tank does nothing for them; I prefer packages from Atlanta, San Antonio, or Houston that deliver premium non‑Bucks picks, and OKC looms in the summer with Jalen Williams and a war chest if their postseason disappoints.

Do the Bucks send him where he wants or to the best bid?

You work from a short list but you can’t hand him the wheel, because certain destinations just crater your leverage given the pick math. And for all the Steph‑Giannis intrigue, I don’t think the Warriors leap from ‘far away’ to juggernaut—closing with Draymond and Giannis strains spacing, and if I’m Milwaukee I hate that kind of package.