With the 2019 Seattle Seahawks being as hot as they have been in the win column, and back to back road victories that have shown a defense starting to round out nicely, I have been less compelled to think to heavily on the future state of this team. Outside of feeling the need for Seattle to reach new long term deals with Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed, I haven’t delved to heavily in prognosticating the 2020 off-season. There will be plenty of time to do that once they have played their final game (hopefully, that is a Super Bowl victory). Right now, they are knee deep in a battle with the red hot San Francisco 49ers for the NFC West Division title.

That all said, 2020 projects to be an interesting off-season. Seattle is projected to have about $66 million in cap space, and could have a lot more after a few veteran cuts (the harsh business reality of the game).  Key veteran free agents include Clowney, Reed, Quinton Jefferson, Mycal Kendricks, Germaine Ifedi, Mike Iupati, Al Woods, Josh Gordon, Joey Hunt, and George Fant. There are going to be a lot of tough decisions for GM John Schneider to make. He won’t be able to keep them all, and maybe not even half.

In my mind, you’d really like to keep Clowney and Reed, and after them, probably at least two other key players on this list. However, should Clowney prove to be north of $20 million expensive, and should Seattle commit to that, it might be difficult to even achieve that. Should Seattle elect to tie a bunch of money into four veteran starters, or more, that will probably leave little cheddar to make a big splash in free agency, and thus the draft will become even more critical to the future of the team.

Fortunately, Seattle is projected to have a lot of picks. So, with that all said, what do you say? Let’s mock!

WITH THE 28TH PICK IN THE FIRST AROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – TREY ADAMS, TACKLE, WASHINGTON

The thought here is that Seattle made a tough decision on Germaine Ifedi who has actually been fairly good this year. Clowney and Reed soaked up a lot of cap space and when young starting tackles hit the open market, they tend to get paid a lot, and thus Ifedi moves on. This is looking like a deep class for at offensive tackle, which is kind of rare. With Adams, Seattle gets a big physical player who can play the right side and might be able to side to the left once Duane Brown retires. Adams is a good ball player who’s injury history maybe makes him available here.

WITH THE 28TH PICK IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – TYLER JOHNSON, WIDE RECEIVER, MINNESOTA

This pick is a continuation of the “Build It Around Russ” philosophy. Pete Carroll loves to add play-makers on the offense, and they love to draft receivers early. Personally, I think Josh Gordon is likely a rental for this year. Johnson has the talent to go much earlier in this class, but this is looking like a deep class at receiver, and last year at this point, DK Metcalf was projected to be a first round pick.

WITH THE 31ST PICK IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT- JAKE HANSON, CENTER, OREGON

I have been watching the Oregon Ducks all season long, and with each game, I’ve been thinking Seattle would be attracted to their offensive line. This pick reflects a tough choice that Seattle might make with veteran center Justin Britt. He’s scheduled to make $10 million in 2020, and he is coming off of a knee injury. If Seattle is determined to hang onto Clowney, Reed and a few other key veterans, this could easily spell the end of Britt’s Seahawk career. Hanson reminds me of former Seahawk/Duck center Max Unger, and seems like a natural fit.

WITH THE 36TH PICK IN THE THIRD ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – NAJEE HARRIS, RUNNING BACK, ALABAMA

This is an easy pick for the Seahawks. Seattle loves to run the ball. Chris Carson is heading into a contract year, and so is cornerback Shaquill Griffin. All things being equal, I can’t see Seattle choosing Carson over Griffin, especially with Rashaad Penny in the wings. Harris fits the perfect running back profile that attracts Seattle. He is a big physical runner with decent speed who can also catch out of the back field.

WITH THE 28TH PICK IN THE FOURTH ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – NEVILLE GALLIMORE, DEFENSIVE TACKLE, OKLAHOMA

This pick is based on the assumption that the team extends Jarran Reed, but allows Al Woods to exit in free agency, which I think is the likely scenario. There is an a bit of an odd debate floating out in Twelve circles as to whether Seattle should sign Clowney or Reed. I’ve been pretty firm in the stance that Seattle should keep both players and continue building the defense around them. I think Gallimore kind of fits what Seattle tends to look for at DT and that is a guy big enough to play nose tackle but athletic enough to also play 3 technique. He would be a pretty good value selection here.

WITH THE 35TH PICK IN THE FOURTH ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – JEFF GADLEY, DEFENSIVE BACK, TCU

Seattle almost always targets corners in the mid rounds. The highest Seattle has ever drafted one was at the bottom half of the third round and that was Shaquill Griffin. They have a profile that the target later, and they draft there, and then develop. With Griffin entering a contract year, I see the team selecting a corner at some point, and with this class projected to be deep at corner, I think it is probably either going to be late day two or early day three. Like a lion, they lay in the weeds waiting to bounce at this position.

WITH THE 11TH PICK IN THE FIFTH ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – MATT BUSHMAN, TIGHT END, BYU

Like, running back, receiver, and corner, Seattle tends to spend a fair amount of draft capital at tight end. It’s a valued position on this team. I’m less concerned about the position than I was a month ago, thanks to a emergence of Jacob Hollister, but I do think it is a position that they will likely target either in free agency, or the draft. Bushman seems to be the type of player Seattle is drawn to, and I can even see them potentially taking one higher if they are nervous about Will Dissly’s ability to stay healthy.

WITH THE 36TH PICK IN THE SIXTH ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – BRADLEE ANEE, EDGE RUSHER, UTAH

Like tight end, I’m  less nervous about edge rush than I was a month ago. It’s not just the dominant play of Clowney from a few weeks ago against the 49ers, it’s also about the subtle emergence of second year player Rasheem Green, and the fact former first round pick LJ Collier is also likely to emerge at some point, as well. This isn’t looking like a deep class at edge rusher, so I think it is unlikely Seattle is going to find a top end one by the time they draft late in round one. That doesn’t exclude them from drafting at the position, but affords them to be patient. Anee is a good college player that might not be a great combine tester but might offer good value here.

WITH THE 37TH PICK IN THE SEVENTH ROUND OF THE 2020 NFL DRAFT, THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SELECT – EVAN WEAVER, LINEBACKER, CALIFORNIA

Seattle spent good draft capital last Spring at linebacker in Cody Barton, and Ben Burr-Kirven. Should they move on from Mychal Kendricks or KJ Wright, I’m fairly confident one of those guys takes over (probably Barton). If this happens, I think it’s almost a given Seattle will draft at the position again in 2020. However, if they do see bright futures in Barton and BBK and maybe even Shaquem Griffin, I think it is unlikely that they take one early unless a genuine blue chip talent is there.

Thoughts about this mock draft.

This is just a fun initial exercise to think about what might lay ahead for Seattle in a busy 2020 off-season. I could see the team go a lot of different directions. Maybe Clowney will prove too expensive for their tastes, and Reed, as will. Maybe they will feel the need to keep Ifedi despite fan opinion about the player. If all that happens, then we are probably looking at a very different draft.

But this mock reflects the idea that they commit top dollars to Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed, and on the offensive side, they maybe elect to spend cheaper on guard Mike Iupati over offensive tackle Germaine Ifedi. With this looking like a decent draft class at offensive tackle, might be a way easier position to replace than at other positions such as edge rusher and defensive tackle.

I also think, even with the extensions of Clowney and Reed, Seattle might use extra dollars to dive into the veteran edge rusher department, and that will not be cheap. If this happens, I think Justin Britt very likely becomes a cap casualty.

This draft class also fully reflects a continuation of the club’s philosophy shift towards building around their star quarterback, and in that, the first four picks go to the offense. Moving forward, Seattle has got to be careful not to get too old on the offensive line like the Los Angeles Rams have suddenly found themselves. Drafting two good young offensive linemen early might be the smartest move in the long term. It also might be quite likely that they will want to continue giving Russell Wilson more offensive weapons. Just make what is your strength stronger, and this draft class looks like it can lend for that.

Yay!

Go Hawks