Well, poo poo.

At the time of this writing, the 2020 Seattle Seahawks still have yet to sign Jadeveon Clowney, and reports are now surfacing that chances are becoming increasingly more slim that they will. As this stalemate between the team and the player has officially entered soul sucking status, I’ve all but lost interest. Sign Clowney or don’t sign Clowney. Let’s just move on.

That all said, I still believe that the Seahawks will make at least one more move to add to their defensive before the draft. They have to. They cannot go into the draft with their defensive line cupboard this bare.

This mock draft reflects the scenario that Jadeveon Clowney does not return and Seattle does not make a significant move to replace him with a star quality vet. Based on who they have already on the roster at other positions, it seems like Seattle also has needs at offensive tackle, offensive guard, and running back.

So, let’s begin.

With the 27th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks trade with the San Diego Chargers!

I am willing to project two relatively safe bets here. One is that the Chargers will use their first pick at the top of the draft to take a quarterback. The other is that Seattle general manager John Schneider will look to trade down for more picks.

If the Chargers take Oregon’s Justin Herbert, they are probably going to want to either pair him with a left tackle prospect, or give him a dynamic play-making weapon, and there could be a run on both in the later portion of round one.

In this scenario, LA sends picks 37, 71, 186, and 220 to Seattle for pick 27 in round one. Seattle drops down ten spots from their first pick and probably has their fingers crossed that one of a small handful of edge rushers they like will still be available.

With the 37th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Julian Okwara, Defensive End, Notre Dame

Seattle gets a 6-4, 255 pound speed rusher with freaky athleticism, and length. While he lacks counter moves as a rusher, he has picked up a lot of tackles for losses by using his top end speed and closing burst. Physically, he ticks many boxes that this team covets at the Leo end position.

This was kind of Frank Clark a few years ago, and since Clark had the benefit of learning from Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, if Seattle brings in someone like Okwara, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to bring Bennett back to have him learn from the cagey vet.

There’s a decent chance that he won’t be there at 37, and if Seattle is still looking for pass rush talent with their first pick, they may either have to settle for a lessor athlete at edge, or take a defensive tackle, if they think that player could add to the interior pass rush. Given the unrefined areas of his game and some inconsistencies shown on tape, though, there is also a chance that he will be available, as teams might be inclined to grab greater immediate value at other positions on their draft boards.

With the 59th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Matt Peart, Offensive Tackle, Connecticut

If Seattle doesn’t take an offensive tackle with their first pick, this is probably where they need to take one. With Peart, at 6-7 and 318 pounds with 36 inch arms, Seattle gets an incredibly lengthy player with good athleticism that can likely play the right or left side, but like Okwara, he has a rawness to his game, and may need to get stronger to handle top edge rushers in the pros. That would probably be okay because they signed Brandon Shell to a two year deal to take over from Germaine Ifedi.

If they take Peart here, and Shell plays solidly at right tackle, they might feel compelled to groom Peart specifically to take over at left tackle once Duane Brown decides to call it a career. This is a good value pick that may require a red shirt year.

With the 64th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Rashard Lawrence, Defensive Tackle, LSU

I’m quite positive that Pete Carroll has a deep fondness for a lot of players coming off the national championship roster at LSU. He is close friends with LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, and Rashard Lawrence has a quality that Carroll likely loves at defensive tackle. He’s a player to watch out for, and one that I could see Seattle make a surprise selection on, possibly taking much higher than here.

In short, what Lawrence brings is a lot of Jarran Reed like qualities as a two gap run defender with interior pass rush upside. At 6-2 and 308 pounds, he’s built a lot like Reed, too, and he plays with a similar junk yard dog mentality.  He’s a good player. I like him a lot, and I suspect teams might like him a lot more than some scouting reports do. The only knock on his game seems to be his injury history, and if he’s available beyond the third round, that’s likely the reason why.

With the 71st pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Van Jefferson, Wide Receiver, Florida

As mentioned, this draft class projects to be uniquely deep at wide receiver. Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network projects nearly thirty players with third round or better grades in this class. In a nutshell, this means that there is a strong likelihood that a very good receiver will be available around this pick for Seattle, and they might feel compelled to grab one here even though it’s not their biggest need (although, I contend it is a need because depth at receiver is a concern).

What Seattle gets with Van Jefferson is a player with good size at 6-1 and 200 pounds who is a solid route runner with great quickness who catches the ball with ease. While he is not the speed burner that Lockett and Metcalf and Phillip Dorsett are, he’s not slow either, and is a good run after the catch guy. In many ways, I think he can be a bit of a Doug Baldwin type and we all know what that can mean. This is a good value pick.

With the 101st pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Zach Moss, Running Back, Utah

Any who has watched Zach Moss play at Utah and draw definitive comparisons to Chris Carson. They are built similarly, and they run with a very similar physical style. He sees the holes, sets up blockers and then explodes with authority. He’s also a very solid receiver out of the back field. It’s no surprise that Seattle showed interest in him at the Scouting Combine last February. This guy is very much a Seattle running back, and yes, they will be drafting a back at some point in this draft. If Moss is available here, I think this is the likely pick.

With the 133rd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select, Johan Jackson, Guard, Ohio State

Once we get into round four, I suspect we will see a run of guards start to come off the board. There’s a bunch of good ones in this class. I think once we see a run of offensive tackles in rounds one and two, and receivers and back in rounds two and three, guards and centers are going to start coming off the boards, especially when you see that teams with defensive needs are going to take defenders early. If Seattle doesn’t take a guard earlier, I don’t think that they wait much longer than here.

With Jackson they get a player with good size, decent football smarts, and good technique. He’s not a bad athlete but is not a dynamic one either and probably fits Seattle’s power scheme more than a zone blocking one. He likely comes in to add quality depth with an outside chance at battling for a starting spot.

With the 144th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select, Michael Ojemudia, Cornerback, Iowa

This is where Seattle takes it’s annual mid round cornerback project. Ojemudia fits the physical traits Pete Carroll covets at outside corner. He’s 6-1, and has 32 inch arms, he shows good route awareness in zone coverage, and since Seattle almost exclusively runs a cover three zone, his fit feels natural. At the back end of round four is where you want to take a player like this, and teams that run a lot of man coverage are going to shy away from him.

With the 186th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Raequan Williams, Defensive Tackle, Michigan State

Seattle misses out on an entire round five before they select here, and by the time they get here, I think they are likely to pick best players off the board, and that’s what Williams probably is. They addressed depth at defensive tackle with Rashard Lawrence, but here they just get good value at a position group that could still use better depth. Williams is a strong two gap defender with enough athleticism to push the pocket, if needed. Plus he has the great length that Pete Carroll loves at DT.

With the 214th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Calvin Throckmorton, Offensive Lineman, Oregon

Pete Carroll loves versatility with his offensive and defensive linemen, especially his depth players, and at this point, you are drafting for depth. Throckmorton played tackle, guard, and center for the Ducks. While I don’t think he’s what you want at tackle in the pros, something about him makes me think he might have a decent future in the league at center or guard, and is a player worth taking a flyer on right here.

With the 220th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select John Metellus, Safety, Michigan

The last player that Seattle selects is a strong safety from Michigan who played for a head coach that Pete Carroll admires greatly. Metellus was a productive college player who played with a nastiness and intelligence that will appeal to Carroll. His average speed and size might keep him from being a high selection but he will bring a demeanor that will fit into Carroll’s rebuilding secondary.

Thoughts about this mock draft

I really like that Seattle addressed the defensive line three times and with two high picks. I also like that they found upside at offensive tackle, and I love that they found value at receiver and running back, thus giving Russell Wilson more young weapons for the offense.

If Seattle is able to land Okwara with their first pick, I think that’s a good pick, even if he’s a bit of project. Yes, there is a rawness to his game, but you can’t teach speed and burst and length, and those are the traits that Seattle needs for a young edge rusher. It’s vital to have him learn from a quality vet, though. That’s a move that must happen.

Of the players mocked, I think Rashard Lawrence and Zach Moss most closely represent Seattle type players. They just feel like Seahawks. Those are two names to keep in mind day two of the draft.

This is just the first mock that I will do as we head closer to the draft. There’s going to be other options worth exploring that I think will be pretty exciting.

Go Hawks and stay safe!