Few people can ever gage what is going on in Seahawk general manager John Schneider’s mind when it comes to the draft. I think he’s a very good poker player and intentionally throws out smokescreens through the media.

I have been doing annual mock draft articles on this blog for years now, and I didn’t see Devon Witherspoon, Charles Cross, Jaxon Smith Ngijba, or Jordyn Brooks coming in round one. I did, however, detect that Boye Mafe, Abe Lucas, Ken Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Anthony Bradford, Kenny McIntosh, and Cam Young could all be draft picks and I was right with these.

What does this all mean? It means that even though they can be hard to predict at the top end of the draft, there are players on days two and three of the draft who one can easily project as fits for what Seattle likes at certain positions. They have types.

Last year, I was almost certain that they were going to draft a quarterback fifth overall, or take a pass rusher. The way they pranced around at top quarterback prospect pro days taking selfies with each of them should have been a dead given away of a smokescreen, but I fell for it, anyways. That’s how intoxicating it can be to imagine drafting a young quarterback in round one.

This year’s “smoke screen” was most likely John going onto Seattle Sports Radio a few weeks ago, and lamenting how much guards get over paid and over drafted in the league. It’s clear that they didn’t want to pay Damien Lewis what Carolina just did. It’s also clear that through these last view weeks of free agency, guard remains Seattle’s biggest need. It is also worth noting once again just how uniquely deep this draft appears to be at offensive line.

This first mock draft article exemplifies how Seattle might use this draft to build up its offensive line for the long term, finally. This also might be the mock draft I do that will most realistically mirror what Seattle ends up doing at the end of this month, but we shall see.

With the 16th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks trade with the Detroit Lions

Seattle and Detroit have a long history of trading together, and I have them again scratching each other’s backs. Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson slides to pick 16, and Detroit makes an aggressive trade up for him sending picks 29, 61, and their 2025 second round pick. This satisfies John Schneider, and the deal is done.

With the 28th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Roger Rosengarten, Offensive Tackle, Washington

Seattle surprises by taking an offensive tackle when that is the strength of their offensive line, but in their view, they take best player available. Offensive coordinator Ryan Gruff and offensive line coach Scott Huff know Rosengarten extensively, and he was tasked to protect Michael Penix Junior’s blind side as he put up prolific passing numbers at UW. Rosengarten is a good athlete who tested well at the scouting combine, and will come in knowing exactly what to do in this blocking scheme. His presence could allow Abe Lucas to kick inside to a guard spot in order to better protect his knee and for Seattle to field the best five guys on the field together. Alternatively, it could be the rook who initially kicks inside, and Lucas stays outside. Either way, I would kinda dig this pick.

With the 61st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Ruke Orhorhoro, Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Seattle locked up Leonard Big Cat Williams to a three year deal, and he will be an anchor inside on Seattle’s defensive line, but they might want to find him a mate to rush with him. Orhorhoro has great length and athleticism to play end in the 3-4 stuff they will do, and explosive strength to be an effective pass rushing DT when they go four down linemen. His selection will immediately push Dre’Mont Jones who was the big free agent signing last year that didn’t live up to expectations.

With the 81st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks trade with the Cleveland Browns

In part of the Sam Howell trade, Seattle swapped their fifth round pick for Washington’s early sixth rounder, and in this scenario, they find a trade partner in Cleveland to move back a few spots in the third round to recoup a fifth round pick. Cleveland moves up to take an edge rusher who they think the Vikings, Rams, or Steelers might covet.

With the 85th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Trevin Wallace, Linebacker, Kentucky

Seattle takes a hard hitting middle linebacker. Wallace is an explosive athlete who attacks gaps, is unafraid to take on bigger bodies, and shows signs of being decent in coverage. He also offers pass rush abilities. He would benefit from having Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dobson playing in front of his. His job as a rookie will be to provide quality depth, great special teams, and to soak in Macdonald’s system to eventually take over as a starter.

With the 102nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Malik Mustapha, Safety, Wake Forest

At some point in this draft, I think we see Seattle taking a stab at a potential starting safety type, and I think Mustapha feels like a classic Baltimore Raven back end defender. He’s described as instinctive, rangy, plays the run and pass well. At 5-10 and 205 lbs, he’s not enticingly long, or big, but neither was Quandre Diggs, and I think he’s got those sort of traits.

With the 118th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Layden Robinson, Guard, Texas A&M

Last year, Seattle took massive athletic LSU guard Anthony Bradford in round fourth with intentions of him developing into a starter. I believe that is still the plan for him, but I can see them using another fourth rounder this year on a guard to push him, or become the eventual guard at the other spot. Robinson is another powerful big boy at 6-4 320 lbs, and with Ryan Grubbs taking over the offense, and I think we are going to see a lot of mixtures of zone and man blocking with the scheme. Robinson has the bruit abilities to fit the power man stuff, and could provide valuable swing guard duties in year one.

With the 156th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Joe Milton, Quarterback, Tennessee

At some point in this draft, I believe it is still likely that Seattle will take a quarterback even though they just traded for Sam Howell to potentially be the QB of the future. I think John Schneider is itching to draft quarterbacks now with Pete Carroll out of the picture. Schneider is from the Green Bay school of drafting and developing passers and he has openly lamented only taking two in the last fourteen years.

I have thought long and hard about what prospect they could be targeting in the mid rounds should they not invest in one earlier. Joe Milton offers upside with Cam Newton like size, arm strength, and running abilities, but he is painfully raw with only twelve college starts in an air raid system that doesn’t greatly translate to the pros. However, with Geno Smith and Sam Howell, Seattle might be the ideal landing spot for him to come in and properly learn pro concepts with no pressure to start anytime soon. If he can pick the system up, fix his mechanics, he has crazy upside. At this stage in the draft, why not take a shot on a prospect who could actually blossom into a top end starter if all goes correctly? I would rather see them take a shot at potential greatness than play it safer on a prospect who will mostly likely be a run of the mill backup.

With the 179th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Jaheim Bell, Tight End, Florida State

Seattle has Noah Fant locked in for two more years, and they brought in Pharaoh Brown for a couple years to serve as their primary blocking tight end. They have depth players behind these two guys, but I could see them taking a shot on a player like Bell who offers good pass catching chops. At Washington, Grubb loved using athletic tight ends almost as big slot receivers who can get down field on occasion, and offer outlets on third downs. This is what Bell could be in the pros.

With the 192nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Josiah Ezirim, Offensive Tackle, Eastern Kentucky

Here, Seattle goes for its third offensive line prospect, and they take advantage of the unique depth at the tackle spot in this draft. Stone Forsythe is in the final year of his rookie contract, so Seattle could be in need of a longer termed swing tackle. Ezirim is huge at 6-5 324 lbs, and he has natural abilities as a run blocker and pass blocker. At this stage in the draft, he might be too good of a prospect for Seattle to pass up, and now they feel great about the depth of their offensive line for years to come.

With the 235th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select Tyrice Knight, Linebacker, UTEP

Knight is a developmental middle linebacker with good athletic traits. He was a tackling monster at Texas El Paso, but has been described as a player who free lanced a lot within the scheme. He will be tasked to learn how to become a disciplined linebacker in Mike Macdonald’s scheme, but in this late stage of the draft, they take a flyer on his traits.

Thoughts On This Mock Draft

If the Seattle Seahawks make a trade such as this one, bypassing a chance at a premiere pass rusher like Chop Robinson by trading into the backend of the first round for a right tackle many will see graded as a second round pick, I can guarantee the outrage all over Seahawks Twitter and sports radio. Before Roger Rosengarten plays a meaningful down of football, fans will be calling for John Schneider’s head on a silver platter.

The truth of trading back, however, is that a great prospect has to land at Seattle’s pick in order to entice the deal. For the folks who want Seattle to trade back in order to collect more picks, they need to square themselves with the fact that Seattle could pass up on a dude who might be an absolute star at a premium position. In this mock draft, I wanted to present a scenario where Seattle does just that.

A few quick thoughts on the quarterback situation for the Seahawks before we get to Roger Rosengarten and other picks in this draft. Even though Seattle now has Geno Smith and Sam Howell, a narrative is being driven that Seattle is still a quarterback needy team. I’m not so sure about that, but I think a few things are worth addressing here as the position ties into this mock draft.

I suspect the Seahawks probably went into this offseason keen to potentially draft one of the top quarterbacks of this class, but somewhere through the course of Senior Bowl workouts, the combine, and pro days, they determined that it would probably be too difficult to land a quarterback they really dig at pick 16, and this is why we saw the Sam Howell trade. They liked Howell a couple years ago, and are probably willing to give him a good long look with two years left on his rookie contract. If he blossoms into a quality young NFL starter, Schneider can hang his hat on saying that he always loved him coming out of college. I believe there’s a decent chance that he could, and I feel the team sees it this way, too.

That said, this Sam Howell trade does not prevent Seattle from starting to draft quarterbacks until they have found their next franchise passer. In this mock draft, I have them taking a fifth round flyer on Joe Milton, who has all kinds of physical talent, but is raw as can be for NFL standards, and will have an uphill battle to improve accuracy and show an ability to handle pro style concepts as a passer. If he clears those hurdles, however, he could be something special, but like Howell, he would be just one bite at the apple trying to find the next franchise passer.

A real key to this scenario of trading back with Detroit isn’t just getting their late second round pick this year, but also acquiring their second round pick in 2025, as well. If they want to take another chomp at the quarterback apple in 2025’s draft class, having two second round picks would give them ammo to move up for one, if they determine Howell or a guy like Milton isn’t going to be the guy long term. It just gives them more options and resources to better find that next guy in 2025, if needed.

The real story of this draft is taking advantage of what the strengths of it is, and that is offensive tackle. This is a ridiculously deep draft at the position. If there are internal concerns over how well Abe Lucas’s knee will hold up long term, Seattle could land a player like Rosengarten later in round one after a trade back, and they can be good to go at that spot for years.

In his recent mock draft, ESPN’s draft guru Mel Kiper has Rosengarten going to the 49ers at Pick 31. Kiper is a very well sourced draft analyst and might be hearing chatter in the winds that the former Husky is getting a lot of positive traction with teams these days. So, in my mind, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he ultimately finds himself in the backend of round one, and Seattle, with his former Washington offensive coordinator and line coach, knows him better than any other team out there. I’m connecting these dots.

People could read this article and ask why doesn’t Seattle stay at pick 16 and take UW’s Troy Fautanu instead because he is the superior prospect who is also familiar with the coaches, but I don’t expect him to make it to 16. The Chargers, Titans, Bears, and Saints all need offensive line help, and I can see him going to any one of those teams in front of Seattle. Therefore, I think there is a decent chance that they could be keen on Rosengarten after a trade back. He could be their best player available by the time they pick who also fits somewhat of a need.

I do think they will aim for a true guard but it might not be until early day three of the draft where they were comfortable taking Anthony Bradford last year. John Schneider might feel that rounds three through five are great points of the draft to take guards, and in truth, many quality guards in the league were drafted later on. You can find good guards, linebackers, safeties, and running backs in the mid portions of the draft. It’s actually fairly common.

Good offensive tackles, however, those guys usually go in round one. It is, and it has always been a premium position in the league. This is why I wouldn’t be surprised if they ultimately pick an offensive tackle first when the real bullets fly on draft day. Not the most obvious need, but because of the uncertainty of Lucas’s health, I think it’s a sneaky of enough need that also aligns with the top end strength of this draft class. Seattle can get a really good offensive tackle in round one, if they want one.

With the late second round picked gained in the trade back, I opted to go with a good defensive tackle prospect, even though it also didn’t feel like an overt need. I don’t think Schneider wants to get caught up on drafting needs. Orhorhoro was available at pick 61 in the draft simulator that I used, he was the highest rated player, and the pick made sense to me.

Mike Macdonald was hired to stop the Shanahan and McVay teams in the NFC West. His Baltimore defense was built up with a strong defensive line and front seven. I can see Seattle wanting to gift him with a player who has a chance to be special on the defensive line along with Big Cat Williams. Orhorhoro feels like a Baltimore Raven style D Liner. Tall, powerful, plays explosively with good pad level. I like this fit in Seattle.

In terms of linebacker, it has been talked about a lot how this draft isn’t super great at the position. Nobody really stood out at the combine hyped as the next Ray Lewis, or even Devin White, and the few guys being touted as potentially higher picks didn’t work out much. I think Seattle is interested in a few of these guys, but I don’t think they will burn a high pick on one just for the sake of it. Trevin Wallace in the middle of round three makes some sense. Waiting late on a raw yet athletic guy like Tyrice Knight makes sense, as well. No need to force any need here with Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dobson being brought in as veteran starters for 2024. Take a linebacker where ever it feels right to do it.

I like taking day three shots at safety and tight end. It feels right to target them there unless someone truly special falls in their lap earlier. There’s only one special tight end in this class, though, and I don’t think Brock Bowers makes it to pick 16.

If I were to nitpick this mock draft, I would have liked to have found another young edge rusher, and maybe taken a shot on another receiver. This is also a deep class at receiver, and it would be a shame for Seattle to not tap into it with Tyler Lockett being older, and Dee Eskridge being in the final year of his deal. While it is not a great need, I like the theme of staying with the strength of the draft, and instead of taking a developmental linebacker in the round three, that pick could have gone to a decent receiver prospect. Just a thought.

‘Tis what it is, though, and generally, if they pulled something like this off, I would dig that draft. I would love to see Seattle build up a great offensive line, and if they hypothetically kicked Abe Lucas to left guard to better protect that knee, a line that features Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford, and Roger Rosengarten has an exciting feel to it, at least to me. It would be BIG, athletic, with a good mixture of technically sound pass blockers and physical earth moving run blockers. I could get behind that. Absolutely I could.

Go Hawks.