Congratulations, football fans, we've made it. Week 1 of the NFL season is here, and for the Seahawks that means the Mike Macdonald era will officially kick off on Sunday when Seattle hosts the Broncos at Lumen Field. But before we turn our attention to this week's game, let's open up the mailbag and answer some questions from you, the fans. As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I couldn't get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

@SettingTheEdge asks, "who is the top sleeper All Pro/Pro Bowl Seahawks player?" And he offers Julian Love, Tyrice Knight, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Noah Fant as options via a twitter poll.

A: A poll in a mailbag question? I'm not sure the totally arbitrary/nonexistent mailbag rules allow for that, but I'll play along anyway.

Of the names you mentioned in the poll, I really like the chances for Julian Love to have a big year, both because he's a darn good player, and also because, as we saw in Baltimore last season, Mike Macdonald's scheme can create a lot of opportunities for the secondary to make plays. Then again, Love was a Pro-Bowler just last season, so can we call him a sleeper? Smith-Njigba is another great choice following a standout training camp, though making the Pro Bowl as a receiver is tough given the number of standout players at that position, especially on a team that also features DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

A name I'd also point to that wasn't mentioned in the poll is left tackle Charles Cross, who looked great in camp, rarely getting beat in one-on-one matchups or team portions of practice.

@MrEd315 asks, "In your opinion, where does Seattle slot in the tough and very competitive NFC West this season?"

A: The 49ers have won two straight division titles and went to the Super Bowl last season, and they're bringing back most of their key players from that team, so it's hard not to call them the favorite until some other team proves otherwise. The Rams, meanwhile, bounced back from a tough 2022 season to go 10-7 and make the playoffs, and while they lost Aaron Donald, who retired, this offseason, they too are bringing back a ton of talent from a young team. The Cardinals would appear to be a bit less of a threat after back-to-back four-win seasons, but they have a ton of talent on offense and, as the league has shown year after year, there's always a team or two each season that bounces back from a losing record the year before to make the playoffs the following year.

So where do the Seahawks fit into that NFC West landscape? Well they went 9-8 each of the past two seasons, making the playoffs in 2022 and falling just short last year, and they feel very good about a roster that has been restocked by strong draft classes in recent years. Given that last year's team struggled to find consistency on defense, the hope will be that Macdonald, who led the NFL's best defense last season while the defensive coordinator in Baltimore, will help that unit take a big step forward. If the defense does indeed improve significantly, and given the talent on offense, there's no reason why the Seahawks can't be right in the mix competing for a playoff spot and for an NFC West title.

@KateOHareWrites asks, "How much does Uchenna Nwosu's injury affect the Seahawks defense?"

A: First off, it's worth noting here that we don't know the significance of Nwosu's knee injury, other than that it wasn't bad enough to land him on injured reserve, which would have meant missing at least four games. But for the sake of this question, if we're assuming Nwosu could miss some time, that's obviously not great for the defense seeing as he has been one Seattle's best defensive players over the past two seasons.

The good news is that the Seahawks should be in better shape at outside linebacker should Nwosu miss any games. Derick Hall is coming off a great camp in his second season and looks ready to take on a bigger role, and the Seahawks also added Trevis Gipson in a trade to bolster that spot further. The Seahawks also added veteran outside linebacker Tyus Bowser to their practice squad, and given his familiarity with the defense having spent his entire career in Baltimore, he could be a candidate for a practice squad elevation next week.

Darren from Gahanna, Ohio asks, "Is Kenneth Walker III going to play all three downs, including passing downs, this year, or are they going to take him out and play Zach Charbonnet on third down?"

A: Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb referred to Walker as a three-down back in terms of his skillset, meaning he can run, pass protect and catch passes out of the backfield, but while Walker can handle just about everything the position would throw at him, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be on the field for all three downs throughout ever game. For starters, running back is one of the most physically demanding positions on the field, so Walker, like every lead back, will need some breaks, and the Seahawks also will want to get Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh involved in the offense. Walker figures to get the most playing time and touches of that trio, but Grubb and company will find ways to get multiple backs involved, both to utilize their different skillsets, and to keep everyone fresh for a long season.

Sean from High River, Alberta notes that with the new kickoff format, kicker seem to be more involved in making tackles, and asks, "Why don't the Seahawks have a safety or linebacker do kickoffs, I'm sure they have people that can kick the ball 40 yards?"

A: Not long after NFL teams voted to change the kickoff rule this offseason, talk begin to emerge that some teams might look at having a defensive player handle the kickoff since the new format might create more returns on which the kicker is tasked with making the tackle.

The problem with that plan, of course, is finding a non-kicker who not only has the leg strength but the accuracy to place it the required landing zone and not out of bounds.

Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh was asked about this very topic in the offseason, and while he acknowledged that the Seahawks have at least discussed that idea, he also downplayed the viability of it, noting that it's harder than people might think to accurately kick a ball within the landing zone between the end zone and the 20-yard line. Kicks landing short of the landing zone give the receiving team the ball at the 40-yard line, while kicks into or through the end zone come out to the 30-yard line.

"If a guy could do it, it's going to have a chance to be really good, but you've got to be pretty good to be able to kick off a bunch of times and keep the ball in the landing zone every time, because it's a pretty steep price if you miss it," Harbaugh said, also noting that repeatedly kicking for a non-kicker will put additional wear and tear and an unnatural body movement on that player, creating potential injury concerns.

Also, as Mike Macdonald noted last week, more and more teams might be inclined to just try to kick the ball through the end zone for a touchback rather than risk long returns, and it's very unlikely that teams have a position player capable of doing that consistently.

@tycoonsworld1 asks, "I'm making a bold prediction—DK Metcalf will be over 1,700 yards and 12 touchdowns in Ryan Grubb's scheme, what's yours?"

A: Only 12 players in NFL history have eclipsed 1,700 receiving yards in a season, so that is indeed a bold statement. That's not to say Metcalf doesn't have the type of talent to put up monstrous numbers, but given the talent in the passing game around him, it's just hard to envision him getting targeted frequently enough to end up in that rarified air. I think Grubb's offense will be very good for quarterback Geno Smith and his weapons based on what we've seen in camp, so I wouldn't be surprised if Metcalf and other pass-catchers enjoy big seasons, but 1,700-plus yards just seems like too much given the depth the Seahawks have at receiver.

So if you want a bold prediction, I'll go with this: the Seahawks will have multiple first-team All-Pros on defense for the first time since 2014 (Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner). I'm not going to predict who those players will be, not without seeing a regular-season game in this scheme, though there are plenty of talented candidates, including former Pro-Bowl selections like Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Leonard Williams. This prediction is less about projecting big seasons from particular players and more about the belief that Mike Macdonald's scheme is going to create situations where players can shine. Just look last year's Ravens defense, which produced two first-team All-Pros (Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith) and two second-team All-Pros (Patrick Queen and Nnamdi Madubuike). With Macdonald finding ways to get the most out of a talented defense, this very well could be the year the Seahawks have a first-team All-Pro on defense for the first time since Bobby Wagner did it six times in seven years from 2014-2020, and quite possibly a chance for multiple players to earn that honor.