Everyone who is a big fan of the Seattle Seahawks should do a slow clap for General Manager John Schneider. He and his front office entered this draft with only four picks, and they walked away on Saturday afternoon making eight selections. In doing this, they collected some talented players who are going to help this team stay in championship window over the next few years.

Out of this haul, Seattle walked away with three guys who have the stuff to develop into quality starters, possible pro bowl type players, and they added a fourth player with starter potential in the mid rounds. The rest of the selections will provide potential depth in the secondary, defensive line, and the took a receiver who is a very interesting special teams player. I recently wrote that if Seattle came out of this draft with two quality starter types, it would be a highly successful draft. I feel like the exceeded that mark. Bravo.

Exactly what Schneider and his staff most accomplished over the last few days was to thread the needle between filling needs in this draft, and taking players where there was great value was there to select them. This has been a theme of their drafts for several years now, and it is a massive reason why they have built up one of the youngest and most talented teams in the league.

The Seahawks very much won Super Bowl LX largely off the talent that John Schneider has selected from 2022 and on. Aside from a few key trades for vets, and being wise to sign a few players such as Sam Darnold in free agency, Seattle’s team is predominantly made up of drafted players. This draft feels like a continuation, and the Seahawk front office remains ones of the best drafting front offices in the entire league.

None of Seattle’s picks in the first three rounds of this draft felt like reaches, and all made perfect sense based on what they had on their roster entering into the draft last Thursday. Again, bravo.

Here are some quick thoughts on each of the fellas who have just become Seattle Seahawks over the past weekend.

Notre Dame Running Back Jadarian Price

I have already written quite a bit about Price, but here are some further thoughts a few days later. Seattle tried to trade out of pick 32 on Thursday to land probably a mid round pick and still be in position to take him. When nothing materialized for them, they stood at 32, and took their guy. I believe he was their number one player all along, most likely.

While it was never my preference for Seattle to draft a running back high, they took a fella who was the consensus second best running back in the draft, and a player who some view as a more natural runner than his Notre Dame counterpart, Jeremiyah Love, who went third overall in this draft to Arizona.

Since this pick, I have done deeper dives into Price, and I can better see why he had so many fans within the draft pundit community. Jadarian Price is a very natural one cut running back who plays with excellent vision, and balance to fit the zone blocking scheme that Seattle embraces.

I have compared him a bit to Seahawk legend Shaun Alexander who also played with great vision, and balance, and instincts. As I have looked at him more closely, however, I can draw a comparison to another legendary running back.

Price has a style about him that is reminiscent of legendary Denver Bronco Terrell Davis. He is the same size as Davis was, plays with a very similar balance, similar speed, and the same ability to stay balanced and run through contact into open lanes. John Schneider probably looks through hours of tape on Jadarian Price, and made a similar conclusion, and he was therefore the plan all along to replace Ken Walker.

TCU Safety Bud Clark

When I was writing up a mock draft article last weekend, I went through a few versions of it before I settled on the one I decided to publish. The first version of it had Seattle take Jardarian Price at 32, and then take a safety at 64. Intuitively, this felt right based on where I was sensing the values land in the range of both picks, but then I second guessed everything, and changed it into something else very different.

The safety I was projecting for Seattle was not TCU’s Bud Clark. I did not think Clark would be available at 64. He was one of the very best playmaking safeties in all of college football last year, a player who constantly gets his hands on footballs, and he is a solid run defender, as well.

In my view, Seattle very much lucked into this pick. It would have made sense for San Fransisco a few picks before to take him there, and get a playmaker in the backend of their defense that they are very desperate for, but they moved out of their pick to collect more mid day picks, and they missed out on him. Seattle was very much the beneficiary of this.

Some will see this pick as a mere replacement for Coby Bryant. While this is likely true, I will add to that it also might end up being a significant upgrade, as well.

My player comp for Clark was Devon Witherspoon. Clark is a little bit longer than Spoon is, but he plays with a very similar frenetic instinctive style. He is versatile too, able to play safety, nickel, and cornerback. The idea of Clark and Spoon together on the same field is, frankly, a very wild one for me. I am all for it, however, especially considering Nick Emmanwori’s rare abilities at big nickel.

The only reason that I can imagine as to why Bud Clark lasted this long is that he is a bit older of a player at 24, and often times, if a team has to choose between a younger player coming out of college over someone who is a couples years older, the team will go with the younger guy thinking he will play longer in the league. The only other thing that I can think of that could have made him slide is his lighter frame at safety being a wiry 6-1 and 188 pounds, and perhaps his wiry frame scarred off front offices a bit who prefer stockier players at safety.

What Seattle gets here is a very sparky player in coverage who will likely make windows much tighter downfield for Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy, and he will also provide very willing run support. This was a very good selection for the Seahawks. I love this pick.

Arkansas Cornerback Julian Neal

In the third round, Seattle traded back a bit with Pittsburgh from 96 to 99, and got an additional sixth round pick. At 96, the Steelers took Iowa tackle/guard Gennings Dunker, and my heart sank because Dunker was who I wanted Seattle to land.

However, when Seattle took Julian Neal a few picks later, I got very excited, and all was forgiven. The Seahawks grabbed a very physical cornerback in Neal, and perhaps the most physical defensive back out of the whole entire draft.

Why, Neal lasted that long, I have no idea, but for me, if Seattle had taken him at 64, I would have been behind it. For months, the draft pundits had been saying that this class was uniquely deep at cornerback, and it proved so for Seattle.

Here, Seattle found outstanding value by taking a guy who is well sized with long arms, and decent athleticism. He is nowhere the size and athletic freak of nature that Riq Woolen was for Seattle, but he will be significantly more physical on receivers and against the run. He reminds me a bit of Michael Jackson when he was in Seattle for a brief time a few years back, and he also reminds of Brandon Browner. He plays outside cornerback with a very similar junk yard dog mentality that Browner displayed during the peak Legion Of Boom days.

He’s a guy who Rams fans, 49er fans, and Cardinal fans are going to truly detest over the years. He’s a pit bull. I really got excited over this pick.

Iowa Guard Beau Stephens

On day three of the draft, the Seahawks had only two picks in round six, and if felt inevitably like it was going to be a very uninspiring conclusion to their draft weekend. I took my kiddo to his baseball game and I barely looked at my phone for updates that morning. Then somewhere in and amongst the second inning, I peaked at my NFL.com app and to my surprise, Seattle was on the lock at the top of the fifth round, and I got excited.

Lo and behold, they surprisingly got back into the early frame of the fifth round by trading a 2027 fourth round pick for pick 148 and this felt exciting. 2027 is regarded as a much stronger draft class and by dealing a coveted 2027 pick meant that there was someone still available in round five who they didn’t think would still be there, and they wanted to go get.

That player turned out to be Iowa guard Beau Stephens who they brought into the VMAC for a visit the previous week, and was someone I thought they might target in round three. While I much preferred his college teammate Gennings Dunker, who offers more athletic upside, I also felt like I could get behind this fella, if he ended up their pick at some point.

The best way to describe Stephens is a big physical offensive guard who works best in zone blocking schemes (which Seattle runs). He has a natural understanding of how to move and hit targets to create proper lanes for running backs. His is also thought of as being a technically sound pass blocker, and this might be what especially interested the Seahawks. He is a fit for the scheme and he can keep a quarterback clean.

He might actively compete with Anthony Bradford in training camp for the starting right guard spot. That said, I caution fans not to build up too many expectations for him this year.

While Seattle obviously felt the need to trade into round five to grab him, and I don’t think they do that if they don’t see starter potential, the reality is that Bradford played his best football last season, and they just won a Super Bowl with him. It would take Stephens having a kick ass training camp to unseat him at right guard, and if anything, it might take him a year to the system to get stronger against NFL competition before really being ready to step into a starter spot. We shall see.

As it stands now, I see Stephens as a player with starter potential, who might have a good floor as to the type of NFL guard he can be, but might also have a limited ceiling. If all he becomes in Seattle is a good not great guard who fits and works well enough in their system, then this will have been well worth the trade to get into round five to grab him giving a fourth rounder in 2027.

Kansas WR Emmanuel Henderson

I won’t pretend that I know much about this player because he was nowhere near on my radar. That said, I think what he most offers Seattle most is the potential of being the sixth receiver who will provide great special teams value as a returner and gunner. I think he’ll be looked at as a Dareke Young replacement for Special Teams guru Brian Harbaugh to work with, and it sounds like he was a player he was very excited to get.

Toledo Cornerback Andre Fuller

This is a player who was on my radar because he was a VMAC visit, and I wanted to look into him a bit after his visit was reported. He’s described as another long athletic cornerback who can work press coverage. It is also noted that he is another good special teams player, which matters greatly to Seattle. If anything, he will provide competition to the fifth cornerback spot with a good chance at staying with the team as a practice squad player to further develop.

Minnesota Defensive Tackle Deven Eastern

This gigantic 6-5 315 pound dude was nowhere near my radar. That said, I had a feeling like Seattle might like to add a big DT just because they don’t have many big nose tackle types on the roster. He’s described as a decent athlete for his size who can give centers fits with his quick first step, and use his long arms as leverage against the run and as a rusher, but he has to work on playing with lower pad level. This makes me think he’s a project player that they want to bring into training camp to see if there is something there to develop perhaps on the practice squad.

Arizona Cornerback Michael Dansby

This guy was so off the radar the NFL.com didn’t even offer a draft profile for him. John Schneider said that he was a player they liked, though for his versatility. He had a fair amount of interceptions and pass breakups over his past two seasons of college ball at San Jose State and Arizona, so perhaps they feel like there is a diamond in the rough with him. It is interesting that with his selection and Bud Clark, Seattle seems to have been intent on finding more ball hawk types for their defense.

Final thoughts about this draft and what rests ahead for Seattle

I dig this draft class a lot.

I will admit that I wasn’t initially head over heels enamored with the Jadarian Price selection at 32, but this move has grown on me quite a bit. I am excited to see what he will bring to the Seattle offense in the second year of their outside zone scheme. In time, he might even prove to be a better fit for it than what K9 was.

What I dig most about this draft, however, is the values they found in rounds two and three with the additions of Bud Clark, and Julian Neal. I think Seattle might have come out of this class with two potential draft steals here who could develop into long term starters on an elite defense, and this excites me.

Clark is destined to bring a true ball hawk quality to this defense that was hasn’t had in a while. I think his ceiling as a player is very good, and so is his floor. He shouldn’t have lasted to pick 64, but he did, and this is a blessing for Seahawk fans. It will perfectly fit this defense and the culture of this team.

Likewise for Julian Neal. With him, you are going to see added physicality to the secondary. He will remind you of the classic LOB players. In time, he will likely mix it up more with Puka Nakua on contested, and he will spell further trouble for San Francisco when they try to run those outside stretch plays, and screens. He is going to become a very physical player in Seattle’s secondary for years to come. I loved the value with this pick.

I am also intrigued with Beau Stephens and the fact that Seattle was enamored enough with him to be determined to bring him in when he was still available in the fifth round. Trading a valuable 2027 fourth round to take him in round five of this draft tells me that they believe he can be a starter. We shall see.

As for what the Seahawks can do right now, they can dabble in free agency starting this week, and none of the signings they do between now and Summer will count against the compensatory picks they gained for 2027 with the free agent losses of K9, Boye Mafe, Woolen, and Bryant. Seattle will have ten picks in next year’s draft that is projected to be pretty good, and they can now look to add a veteran edge rusher, or two. I suspect that they will add someone in the next week or two.

Seattle is connected with Dante Fowler who they met with before the draft, and they were close to signing Von Miller last Summer who is also still available on the market. Seattle chose not to draft an edge rusher out of this class, and I was good with it because of the value they got at other positions. I think Seattle is destined bring in Fowler and maybe even Miller both, to be honest. They have the cap space to do this.

Whatever moves they make either in free agency or trade, I suspect veteran edge rushers are going to be eager to come into Seattle with a chance to play in Macdonald’s defense and chase after a ring. That should be a fairly easy sell for anyone who wants to play in a badass defense on a team that just won a Super Bowl and has a young deep roster.

As for the other teams in the NFC West, where do I even start?

I thought the LA Rams showed incredible lunacy drafting Alabama QB Ty Simpson at 13 overall, and then drafting yet another tight end in round two. Simpson is a massive question mark as a QB who only started 15 games in college, and they already have three talented tight ends on the roster. I get that they need to think about life after Matthew Stafford, but Ty Simpson at pick 13? Really???

In terms of the 49ers, it feels like John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have caught the Pete Carroll hubris virus of trading out of round one of the draft to reach for yet another receiver at the top of round two. Then they tripled down on the reach virus in round three by selecting a small defensive end who doesn’t play the run well, and a running back who wasn’t thought to be anything other than a late round pick, at best.

To their credit, the Niners took an interesting defensive tackle at the top of round four, but I think the rest of their draft was kinda “meh.” This was the second year in a row where I was concerned about what the 49ers might land with their picks, and then they just kinda.. blew them. If they do not make a deep playoff run this year, I think the end could be near for this long standing regime in the division. This felt like another truly bad draft for them, yet again.

I didn’t love seeing Jeremiyah Love and Chase Bisontis go to the Arizona Cardinals. Love is destined to be a very special playmaking running back in this league, and I think Bisontis has the makings of being a really good left guard. These were two really good pickups for this franchise.

That said, I thought the Cardinals did a really weird thing at the top of round three by drafting Miami QB Carson Beck, who I think won’t likely amount to much of the player in the league. Beck isn’t a great athlete, he’s doesn’t possess any special traits that scream franchise QB, and on top of that, he seems more interested in the type of girls he dates, and cars that he drives than being the best QB he can be. Plus, he was a largely turnover machine in college. This was a very wasteful pick, in my view, with the talent that remained on board for this team that is desperate for adding more talent.

So when I look at the landscape of the competition in the NFC West in terms of this draft, I don’t think the Rams and 49ers made moves to better themselves over Seattle, at all, and I think the Cardinals did a very Cardinals thing by drafting a couple talented players early and then messing things up later on. Seattle, on the other hand, continued their trend of drafting smart.

This is just my view, and I am a diehard Seahawks fan who will always be skewed by my fandom, so take this with whatever grain of salt that you want, but as of today, it feels like Seattle is probably set up where they are simply one signing of a quality veteran pass rusher away from being the heavy contender for the division crown again. I think they just need to add one more decent edge rusher to the mix, and they will be good to go.

Sure, the Rams added Trent McDuffie in a trade, but the Seahawks have Devon Witherspoon. Who is the better cornerback between the two?

Seattle also has Nick Emmanwori, Julian Love, and Josh Jobe, and now they have added Bud Clark and Julian Neal to their secondary mix. It would not shock me at all if Seattle’s defense is even better this year than what we saw last season, especially if Von Miller decides to sign here.

Will Seattle repeat as Super Bowl champs?

That does feel like a lot to ask on one hand, but on another, this team is walking back most of their starters and they just added three players through the draft who could start for them right away. Therefore, I don’t think it is that much of a pipe dream.

From a national perspective, I sense everyone is going to be high on the Rams and 49ers again, even though the Seahawks are the Super Bowl champs. Honestly, I am fine with that.

I like it when people sleep on the Seahawks, and this draft gives me more optimism that they are going to surprise people yet again this year. I am here for it.

Go Hawks.

As I reflect upon the World Champion Seattle Seahawks, the more I want to see this team, above anything else, continue to dominate defensively by further adding to their defensive line. For me, this is the way.

In terms of the offense, I most desire to see the continuation of building up their young offensive line. I want this significantly more so than finding a proper replacement for Ken Walker, and I will explain my thoughts on that more a bit later.

In a season, though, in which I marveled at Jaxon Smith Njigba, Nick Emmanwori, and others, my favorite play of the whole show was, unquestionably, the Rylie Mills sack of Drake Maye in the Super Bowl. It was the perfect embodiment of physical dominance as he overpowered Patriots guard Jared Wilson with one arm, then grabbed Maye with his other, barreling both players to the ground. That play, in my mind, was the absolute perfect exclamation point ending to Seattle’s season that was led by their dominating defense.

Mills might well blossom into a big time player for the Seahawks someday, and become a long term fixture for them. He is built somewhat similarly to Big Cat Williams, and looks to be position flexible like him on the defensive line, as well. Good, but I want more players on Seattle on this defensive front. A lot more.

As we sit here today, a week away from the NFL draft, if this offseason has taught me anything about myself, it is that I don’t really care that much about Seattle’s running back situation. It is not that I am not grateful for the fantastic post season play of Ken Walker, and what he showed us in Super Bowl LX. On the contrary, I found his level of elite postseason play about as timely as any I can remember as a life long Seahawks fan, and I will always look back on how he closed things out as a Seattle Seahawk very warmly.

I just get the sense that some folks can get things a bit twisted up on the current state of the Seahawks, and this need to find the next K9. Personally, I think there is some recency bias playing a role here.

When the Legion Of Boom version of the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, they won it very similarly to this last go around, but with a much different style running back to which K9 was last year for Seattle. Marshawn Lynch was not the breakaway style runner that some folks claim Seattle now needs minus the presence of Walker. Instead, he was a tough, reliable, physical back who understood the zone blocking system well, and had enough wheels, and gritty determination to maximize his carries as a their lead back.

Marshawn Lynch, as some of us recall, was a backup running back for the Buffalo Bills who John Schneider traded a fourth round pick for. Perhaps we shouldn’t ask the question as to whether we can draft the next Ken Walker next week, but rather can we find a Marshawn type somewhere.

I get it that K9 was unique in his explosive big play abilities, and that isn’t so easily replaceable. I just look down in Los Angeles, and I see a very talented Rams team that has two good-not-great running backs, and I see a highly productive running attack out of their offense because, frankly, they have a way better offensive line that what Seattle presently has. Their offensive line, and scheme makes those two runners look pretty damn good. I want that here in Seattle.

In fact, if I were in the ear of John Schneider on Draft Day, and would be constantly pestering him to go get a really good guard, or another good defensive lineman. In fact, I wouldn’t think of drafting a running back any earlier than round three.

This league has shown us time and time again that productive running backs can be drafted later. In the case of Marshawn Lynch, it is also proven that they can be acquired via trade for a mere mid round pick.

If Seattle were to draft another stud guard at pick 32, I think Seattle’s productivity on the ground this year can carry forth much the same way as we felt towards the end of last season, and in the playoffs. I think the solution to continue being an explosive run centric play action offense could just as easily be as simple as that.

You want us to run the ball well this year? Go get a bad ass guard.

You want us to continue being the team nobody wants to play? Maybe just make an already dominant defense more dominating by acquiring another badass defensive lineman.

Here are some other thoughts I have as we head into the NFL draft in two week’s time.

I really dig the idea of trading for a stud defensive lineman

Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Jonathan Greenard.

These are the veteran edge rushers who have been connected to Seattle in trade speculation over the past few months. I would get pretty jazzed up if Seattle was able to add any one of these guys, and I would especially lose my mind if they somehow managed to land Myles Garrett.

That said, my favorite position in the sport of American football is defensive tackle, and my feeling is that you can never have enough quality ones on your roster. So this idea that NY Giant DT Dexter Lawrence could be had in a trade has me super intrigued.

I know that I just clamored on about the idea of Seattle drafting another guard at pick 32. It is an idea that makes me most happy as I look at this draft class and likely options at 32, but another idea that makes me quite happy is perhaps Seattle shipping pick 32 to the Giants for 28 year old stud defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

Not many human beings are built like Dexter Lawrence and capable of playing football on the interior of a defensive line like his is. At 6-4 and 340 LBs, Lawrence is a well built bruit force inside, perfectly built to play nose tackle and athletic enough to be a massive 3 technique on occasion.

Adding Dexter Lawrence into the mix for this year would allow Seattle to move Leo Williams to a big defensive end role which he has played before. It could give Seattle an intimidating four man front of Williams, Dexter, Murphy, and DeMarcus Lawrence. You would then have Rylie Mills, J Reed, Chenna Nwosu, and Derick Hall all mixing end. That feels pretty damn intimidating on paper, which is why I would strongly consider it.

How likely it is that Seattle would do something this is debatable, but it is worth considering that Dexter Lawrence is close friends with Leonard Williams from their time together with the Giants. In fact, he was Leo’s guest here in Seattle during one of the playoff games. Seattle’s front office would have intel on Dexter from Big Cat himself on whether he wants to come out west and be a part of this thing for a few years, and they would also have insight on him as a player and culture fit.

Therefore, I wouldn’t rule this one completely out. Especially with a draft coming out that isn’t thought to be very stellar in the census.

Anyhow, this is my pitch for adding him. I would do it.

In terms of other players Seattle has been connected to in trade rumors, I love the idea that Schneider reached out to Cleveland for Myles Garrett, but I feel like it is way too fanciful of an idea to expect the Browns would part ways with a guy who is very clearly the best pass rusher in the game of football. That said, I would trade two first round picks and change for him in a heartbeat.

To a much lesser extent, I like the rumors that Seattle has been sniffing around Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, and I like even more that they might be interested in Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. Thidodeaux, in a contract year, could come to Seattle hyper focused to make a big impact, and might be a player to really blossom in the Macdonald scheme. Greenard, to me, is a younger version of the player they already have in DeMarcus Lawrence (who might retire soon), he feels like a Mike Macdonald player. I wouldn’t consider trading their first round pick for either, but I would be open to dealing their second rounder.

As for Maxx Crosby, Lord only knows what is going on with that front. It feels like he will stay a Raider after the botched trade attempt with the Ravens. If Seattle did manage to pry him out of Vegas, it would be ridiculously exciting, but I have all but lost faith on it happening.

As it stands now, I would love to see Seattle land one of these veterans. I like the idea of adding a high end proven commodity to a proper Super Bowl contending team. It would be a fascinating load up on a defensive line that is already considered one of the best ones in the league, and as my dad once said, you can never have too many of these guys. I am for it. We shall soon see if this is a plan in the works, or not.

Here is a very short list of players I really like for the Seahawks in this draft class

The more I have digested this draft class, the more I want Seattle to add one of the quality guards that could be available at their first pick. It is my biggest want if with their first pick.

In terms of ones who I think could be good candidates, I have very strong likes for Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon, Iowa’s Gennings Dunker, Penn State’s Olaivagega Ioane, and Georgia Tech’s Keylan Rutledge. All of this guys are big athletic movers who fit the requirements of Seattle’s zone blocking scheme, and the range in which they are all projected to go appears to be late first into the second round. Where Seattle picks at 32 feels right to land one of these big fellas, and if they traded back a bit into the second round, adding a mid round pick, they could still be well positioned to grab one of these guys. This is sort of the move I am most rooting for aside from trading for some big time established pass rusher.

Of the edger rusher guys in this class who could be available for the Seahawks, Illinois defensive end Gabe Jacas is my guy. His athletic profile is good, as is his length. He’s 6-4 260 pounds of carved out bad-ass tone setting strength to set a strong edge, stop the run, and relentlessly power his way to QBs. If Seattle is looking for an heir apparent to DeMarcus Lawrence, this could be their guy.

Jacas is a four year starter, and a team captain. He plays with power and speed, he can play outside backer, stand up end, or hand in the dirt end. This guy feels like a classic Baltimore Raven style edge player, and a guy who Macdonald would really like. This draft has a lot of edge guys who fit this sorta mold, I feel it is likely that Seattle will tap into it at some point, and if it ends up being Jacas, I would applaud that pick.

Where this draft also feels rich at is at cornerback and safety, which, of course, Seattle does have needs for. If they burnt their first pick on a really good cornerback, or safety, I would be good with it. I’d get it. In fact there are two defensive backs in this draft that I particularly love for Seattle’s defense, and they are guys who just scream Mike Macdonald players.

One of them is Oregon safety Dillion Thieneman, and I would label him perhaps the most Mike Macdonald player in this entire draft in terms of how he is able to play safety and everything he does in coverage and against the run. I anticipate that he will be long gone before Seattle picks at 32, however, so I am not going to spend a great deal of time discussing him. Just know that if he somehow fell to Seattle and took him, I would absolutely lose my mind with excitement. It would put this team on a trajectory of having an even stronger defense in 2026.

The other dude I want to touch on is the very fascinating Indiana cornerback, D’Angelo Ponds, and he is a player who I think very much could be at pick 32 for Seattle. The only reason this guy would be likely available to Seattle is because he is very pint sized, and because of that, many are dismissing the idea that he can be a boundary corner. He is largely being seen as a nickel corner who teams typically wait for day two of the draft to take. I am telling you, though, just put on the tape and watch him play.

He is very pint sized at 5-9 182 pounds with short arms that do suggest that he be used as a nickel, which is what the long and lengthy and explosive Nick Emmanwori does in this scheme. This is why I am unsure if Seattle has serious interest in him, but I cannot rule it out because he is such a unique player with a personality, and feistiness that screams a Mike Macdonald type of Seattle Seahawk.

Even though Ponds looks to be a nickel corner type in the pros, he primarily played outside corner for the National Champs, and his athletic explosiveness made up for his severe lack of length outside. His ball skills are off the charts. He’s tough, smart, and reliable.

Again, as a person and player, he’s everything that Mike Macdonald could want one of his defenders to be. He will give maximum effort, and he’s a scrappy little bit bull. I don’t know what his position would be in this defense, and what it would mean for Emmanwori if they took him, but he does feel like a player that Seattle could grab because of so many of his intangibles, and then figure out his position later.

Can Ponds play boundary corner like the pint sized DJ Reed did a few years back for Seattle? It’s possible, I think, and Reed was very good here. He has the instincts for it, and he is insanely fast. I can see him in coverage reading QB eyes and jumping boundary passes for electrifying pick sixes. He’s that type of player.

I think it is also very possible that Ponds follows the Coby Bryant path of being a boundary cornerback in college who converts to free safety in the pros. He’s so good and scrappy in zone coverage, and explosive as a downhill athlete that I wonder if his traits can translate to a Budda Baker sorta safety.

Can you imagine what this defense would be like with Budda Baker? If Ponds can be that, please, by all means, draft him.

Budda is on the small side of being a safety but he is just so damn explosive and instinctual that he more than makes up for his lack of mass. Budda is 5-10 195 pounds with 30 inch arms. Ponds is 5-9 182 pounds with 29 3/8 inch arms. Budda ran a quality 4.45 second 40 yard dash at the NFL combine when he was coming out. Ponds ran his at a blistering 4.33.

As you can tell, I’m very very warm to the idea of drafting De’Angelo Ponds. I am very into this idea. Heavens to Betsy, I think I might be talking myself out of guard for this guy. Good Lord!

One final player that perked my interest when it was reported that he had a VMAC visit with the Seahawks is Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald. He’s a massive athletic nose tackle type a bit in the order of Dexter Lawrence at 6-3 326 pounds. Drafting McDonald would make tons of sense. Big Cat isn’t likely playing that many more years, and it would be shrewd for Seattle to set themselves up for sustained success at DT for years to come if the right player fell to them at the end of round one. This guy feels like that type of player.

Then there is the whole running back thing with this class. I will be honest. There is not a player in this class that I am enamored enough for Seattle to draft higher than their pick in the late stages of round three. I hope they hold off.

I know Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price is heavily connected to Seattle, and I can understand why. He’s built like K9, and has a similar explosive style. It makes sense why he is connected to Seattle and why they have had him in for a visit. He’s supposedly a very good character dude, as well, which is important to Seattle. I just don’t know if I would feel great if they took him over someone like say De’Angelo Ponds, Kayden McDonald, or one of these really good guards that I am salivating over.

That said, I low key like that Seattle has shown interest in Washington running back Jonah Coleman, who’s a 5-9 228 pound low center of gravity bowling ball type with a style of running that feels unique enough to take a swing on at the end of round three, if he is there. If they burned their late third round pick on him, I wouldn’t hate it. He feels like the type of back you find in the mid rounds who becomes a decent starter for a while, and he’s the type who would be a bit more like Marshawn. I like that for this team a lot.

Final thoughts as draft week approaches

The Seahawks only have four picks in a draft that isn’t regarded to be a very strong one. If Seattle were to net two quality starters from this class who became good not great starters in this league, it would be a very successful haul for them. If they only found one good not great starter, it would still probably be considered a good haul. That is how unimpressive this particular draft looks to be this year.

This is also why there are rumors out there that Seattle would be fine to trade their first round pick for a proven veteran talent out there, if the right one were made available. I just don’t know if we will that the particular player actually be made available.

This all said, if I had to make a prediction of what Seattle does in the next week, I’d probably lean towards them sticking and picking with all of their picks. In a draft where the difference in talent between picks 32 and 64 in the late first and second rounds isn’t much at all, why would a team trade back into round one for pick 32 and give up a third rounder? I just don’t really see it happening, and I suspect that Seattle is prepared for this.

I can see them hoping that maybe they can pry a big fish off of another team by offering pick 32, but I suspect that they are prepared to not be able to land that type of player. If they do end up sticking and picking with all four picks as they are slotted to be, I believe all will be fine.

They are still walking back a talented roster that just won a Super Bowl, and they only really lost two true starters in Coby Bryant and Ken Walker. Riq Woolen was their third cornerback, and Boye Mafe was a rotational edge rusher. Between this draft, the remaining free agency and perhaps a trade later this Summer, all of these spots can, and should be covered.

Of course, we have no idea how any of this will shake out, but I do find it encouraging that there are some rumblings out there in recent days that Seattle does, in fact, like a number of the guards in this draft. If they do take one with their first pick, it would be a highly encouraging move that they are committed to further building out the trenches.

Continuing to put together a talented young offensive line will make Sam Darnold’s life easier in the pocket as he takes shots downfield to JSN, and Rashid Shaheed, and others. It would also make any running back’s life easier finding the holes, and busting forward for positive gains, and keeping things in more easier third and manageable situations with a solid veteran quarterback to work from.

As I look at this team as it is presently, this feels like the right move to make on draft night apart from making a splash trade for a veteran defensive lineman of high caliber. For me, it is either make a splash on the defensive line, or take a quality guard at 32. This is definitively where I land on my preference chart.

But that said, if they have conviction on Jadarian Price, and take him at 32, they have earned the right to be trusted with that pick. Maybe there will be a cornerback at 64 that they have a lot of conviction in, or an edge rusher, or a guard. Even though I am not wanting to see them take a running back that early, I understand that I don’t always get what I want with these drafts. Last year, for example, I wasn’t super wild about the Jalen Milroe pick in round three even though I understood why they took him. We will see what happens soon enough.

Next week, I might put together a final mock draft for the Seahawks prior to the draft that will probably lean towards what I think the team likely does over my own personal preferences. I’ve stated my case clearly enough in this piece, but as we inch closer to Draft Day, I tend to be more inclined to take a stab at what will most actually happen.

Until then, go Hawks.

Mission Over Bullshit. This was the theme Seattle Seahawk players chose to embrace before the 2025 NFL season kicked off. Their unrelenting devotion to this theme earned them an unexpected Super Bowl victory.

What does Mission Over Bullshit mean, exactly?

It means a lot of things. It means not getting caught up in the noise of doubters on the airwaves and online. It means not pushing forward personal brands, and being active presences on social media in ways that distract from game preparation. It means having a willingness to sacrifice individual numbers for the greater good of the overall team on Sundays.

The Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX by not having a premiere pass rusher who put up gaudy numbers, but rather having a collection of really good pass rushers who played collectively together in a disciplined manner that spread the sack numbers around. Is this the formula that they must repeat year to year, or can it morph into something else if opportunity strikes?

As much as I would love to see John Schneider throw two first round picks at the Raiders for Maxx Crosby, is it wise to do this and potentially break up the formula that made this the best overall defense in the league this year? I am sure that Crosby would fit Mike Macdonald’s defense and culture extremely well, but is this a move that is necessary to make when it appears that there are a number of quality veteran edge rushers who will be available on the market and may yearn to be a part of this thing in the upper left corner of the country?

I think this is the question that if fundamental towards kicking off Seattle’s offseason quest to repeat as Super Bowl Champs. If Crosby is acquired, Seattle should be the hands on favorite to repeat, but if not, they still might be okay, and we will explore that.

As we loom days away from NFL free agency to start, here is where my head is currently leaning towards for the Seahawks and their quest to repeat in 2026. I don’t think they should get caught up in the big dollars it will cost to keep their skill player free agents in town. If the market dictates the Rasheed Shaheed can get $18 million per year, and Kenneth Walker can get $14 million, then God bless their abilities to go get those dollars elsewhere. That is not where I want to see Seattle spend their big with massive extensions around the corner for Jaxon Smith Njigba, and Devon Witherspoon.

Now, I am not suggesting that Seattle punts on all of their pending free agent players. In a perfect world, I would love nothing more than to see Josh Jobe, Coby Bryant, K9, and Sheed stick around longer termed. I just want Seattle to be really smart about this and stay true to their mission.

When Mike Macdonald took over this team back in 2024, he was asked by reporters what his vision for this team is. In paraphrasing, he essentially said that he wanted them to be great on defense, be physical running the football, and play a style of ball that is shocking, and that opponents don’t want to play against. As Seattle veered into the playoffs onto Super Bowl glory, this was very much the style of team that they became. They were outstanding on defense, they were physical running the football, and they weren’t a team that the 49ers, Rams, or Patriots enjoyed playing (especially the 49ers and Pats).

I want Seattle to stay true to this, and for me, that means to continue pouring in resources into the trenches on both sides of the football. Instead of paying Ken Walker $14 million and Rashid Shaheed $18 mill, is there a really good veteran edge rusher out there, and really good right guard available that can make them even stronger and impactful at the lines of scrimmage?

I know how vital K9 was to the success of this team down the final stretch of games, and how impactful Shaheed was as a returner and providing timely explosiveness on offense, but consider for a moment vastly improving right guard, and adding more veteran savvy to a no bullshit pass rush unit that just so happens to also defend the run well. If Seattle’s good not great offense line takes a big step forward in 2026 by adding one really good veteran piece, and their defensive line continues to dominate by adding another, is it not possible to find cheaper solutions at running back and wide receiver and be an even stronger football team, overall? I kinda think it is very possible.

This is where I have learned as a fan over the years to emotionally detach from players a bit. Was it a bit hard to emotionally handle seeing Seattle move on from Mr Seahawk Tyler Lockett last year? Yeah, if I am being truthful, it was for me a bit, but I understood it. The offensive system was changing and he was expensive and not an ideal fit. Cooper Kupp, with his more physical style of play, was a much better fit.

Let us be clear about the offensive style of play that Mike Macdonald has chosen for this team. He has fully embraced the Shanahan/Kubiak wide zone attack. In its truest form, this has been a scheme that placed more of an emphasis on a specific style of offensive lineman and pouring resources into that unit than spending big dollars on running backs.

Decades ago very famously, Mike Shanahan coached a Denver Broncos team into perennial Super Bowl contention using a variety of different running backs while keeping his offensive line intact. They found fellas late in the draft to plug and successfully play, and when their contracts came up, they let them walk elsewhere for the big dollars. Up until his Christian McCaffery obsession, Shanahan’s son Kyle in San Francisco has successfully had the same approach at the running back position.

Last year in free agency, John Schneider showed incredible smarts and conviction in punting on popular players who may not ideally fit what Macdonald’s schemes called for, and he identified players who would fit, and he brought them in. Sam Darnold was a great fit for the Kubiak scheme, as was Cooper Kupp. Defensively, DeMarcus Lawrence had a lot of familiarity with defensive coordinator Aden Durde, and he proved to be an excellent fit as an edge rusher.

Ultimately, I want Schneider to mimic this same approach for this offseason full of trades and free agency. I want to see him go after players who specifically fit the schemes and who are familiar with the coaches and players, and will fit this culture. I think, at the very least, you want them to bring back Josh Jobe as the starter opposite Witherspoon at corner on defense, and if you can do it, also bring back Coby Bryant who Macdonald seems to especially love, but outside of those two, I am fine seeing others leave if they play their cards right on the veteran market, trades and the draft.

This draft, while not considered especially great, appears potentially good enough at corner and receiver to think Seattle can use it to add a couple decent young players there. If you are paying Spoon and JSN premium dollars, it makes sense long term to have them matched with good young players are cheap rookie contracts. As we get into April, we will talk more extensively about the draft as we always do around that time, but here is a small sample of veteran players available who I think make a lot of sense for Seattle in free agency and the trade market. The theme that connects them all is familiarity and fit.

Edge Rusher Maxx Crosby

The Seahawks have been trying to trade for Maxx Crosby for over a year. When they trade Geno Smith to Vegas, they had an offer for Crosby that included Geno and DK Metcalf. It has also been widely reported that they tried to trade for Crosby again at the trade deadline.

To be clear, the addition of Maxx Crosby in Mike Macdonald’s defense legitimately makes the Seahawks the odds on favorite to repeat their Super Bowl triumph. Macdonald schemed this defense up brilliantly without having a true A Lister at edge rush last year, all respects to DeMarcus Lawrence. What does this defense become if Macdonald has a true game wrecker at edge that forces offensive coaches to pay extra attention towards?

The answer to this question is the reason why Seattle has been in active pursuit of Crosby for a year. Seattle’s defense probably reaches a level of dominance that would be unworldly destructive to offenses, and good luck Rams in hosting their own Super Bowl appearance next year.

The cost of acquiring him is two first round picks and a player. There are teams who can likely outcompete Seattle due to their draft positioning, and this is why I won’t put tons of stock in Seattle pulling this one off, but we shall probably soon see. If they do make this pull this off, however, woof.

Edge Rusher Jonathan Greenard

Can’t get Crosby? How about pivoting to a guy to compares well to a younger version of DeMarcus Lawrence?

The Minnesota Vikings have weirdly found themselves in salary cap hell by having a struggling young quarterback on a cheap rookie contract, and it is a horrific situation for them. For all the talk of landing a veteran quarterback like Kyler Murray to compete with JJ McCarthy, they presently can’t afford to do so. In result, they have let it be known to the league that they are willing to deal 28 year old defensive end Jonathan Greenard who is a player very much in the mold of DeMarcus Lawrence (really solid at a whole bunch of things, but not elite).

Personally, I think Greenard would be a great fit for the Macdonald defense that asks its edge players to set strong edges against the run while also being versatile enough to drop in coverage and pass rush. Greenard does all of this, and is a noted unselfish player at it. He is at a decent age and would come into Seattle with a contract that is more affordable than many alternatives that they would find in free agency.

Seahawks beat reporter Corbin Smith has noted that he is a player Seattle showed interest in trading for at the trade deadline last Fall. The current asking price in Minnesota is a day two pick for him, but they don’t have tons of leverage here given their cap hell that they made for themselves. It will be interesting to see what unfolds out of this, but I can see the stars aligning for Seattle to circle back towards him if they feel like the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes have become too rich. He feels like a Macdonald edge rusher.

Edge Rusher Khalil Mack

I just have a vibe that Macdonald’s defense yearns for smart talented veteran pass rushers and it isn’t scared of players long in the tooth. The strength of the scheme is in its deep defensive tackle rotation, having savvy capable vets on the perimeter gives Macdonald a steadiness that he doesn’t have to worry about. This is why I find Greenard interesting and why I also circle toward Mack who is a player going year to year in this league, and for the past two years, has played in a defense modeled after Macdonald’s.

Mack is connected to Baltimore because of his former DC getting the head coaching gig there, but I wouldn’t count out his interest in Seattle having watched what this defense became and a chance to finally get to a Super Bowl after a long storied career. If DeMarcus Lawrence decides to retire, he becomes an obvious candidate to replace him, but even if he doesn’t, the addition of Mack would be fascinating for a year. This is a player who makes sense for Seattle a lot, in my view.

Offensive Guard Alijah Vera-Tucker

I don’t know how much of a priority it is of Seattle’s to look to continue improving their offensive line this offseason, but I hope it is a higher one than what is anticipated. Anthony Bradford proved very serviceable at right guard last year, and was certainly improved. That said, I still question how much his massive body fits the traditional wide zone scheme that they have adopted. Alijah Vera-Tucker would be an ideal fit, and is young enough to be the answer at right guard for several years to come.

Offensive line coach John Benton coached Vera-Tucker in New York when he first got into the league, and he instantly turned him into a pretty good guard. There is good familiarity with him here because of Benton, and this is a situation where I really do wonder if the stars align for Seattle to finally make a big veteran splash in free agency to address the offensive line as opposed to splurging to keep Ken Walker or Shaheed. This, for me, would be a big sneaky move in free agency that Seattle might look to make.

Wide Receiver Jalen Nailor

If the Seahawks lose out on bringing back Rashid Shaheed, Minnesota receiver Jalen Nailor would be the one free agent out there, I can see them having an interest in. Nailor played with Sam Darnold in 2024, and the two of them had a good chemistry together. If you want to see this offense continue to hum in 2026, give Sam a target that he knows and is comfortable with. Nailor could come in with the expectation to compete for the number two spot with Tory Horton and Cooper Kupp, and at the very least elevate the depth of the receiver room. If they don’t get Sheed back, as it now looks like they might not, I like this move a lot for Seattle if it happens.

Running Back Tyler Allgeier

K9 is most likely outy. I think all Seahawk fans need to embrace that. I also think they need to keep an open mind about who the next running back will be to be added to the mix in 2026. Tyler Allgeier is currently being heavily linked to the Seahawks, and honestly, I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.

He enjoyed a lot of success in Atlanta when they operated the wide zone running scheme under Arthur Smith a few years back, and before they draft Bijan Robinson. The only knock on Allgeier is that he isn’t a burner like K9 is, and if he gets signed, that will be an issue with fans. However, he’s a proved scheme fit who has great patience and vision to go north and south to cut, and he’s really good pass blocker and receiver. A move for him isn’t to replace K9, it is to provide insurance for the style of play Zach Charbonnet offers while he recovers from his knee injury.

Personally, I think it is the style of play that the coaches might prefer, a well roundedness over elite explosiveness. Also, while him mixing in with Charbonnet might sound redundant, I think it’s a redundancy that could provide sneaky value.

Part of the issue I had with the two headed approach of Zach and K9 last year was that I felt like they were too different from each other, and that provided a tell. Zach was the better pass blocker and receiver over K9. So, in theory, when a defensive coordinator sees Zach on the field, that probably provided a tell that Seattle would pass out of a heavy set over when K9 is on the field. As I watched the season unfold, and noticed that the Rams, alternatively, used two backs who more closely mirrored each other, I felt myself wanting that sneaky dynamic in Seattle.

I want an offensive that does not give defenses many tells and clues. If the running back rotation in Seattle consists of Allgeier, Charbonnet, and George Holani, and they all feature fairly equal skill sets in terms of how they run, block, and catch, I don’t think that is terrible, at all, for this scheme, especially if the offensive line continues to evolve. This is something that I am really interested in if Seattle pivots from K9 as I expect that they will.

Cornerback Josh Jobe

For me, of all the pending Seattle free agents, Josh Jobe feels like the player most logical to bring back. He is a player that obviously Mike Macdonald likes a lot, and he fits and understands the scheme perfectly well. He is a really good Robin to Witherspoon’s Batman at cornerback, and his presence allows Nick Emmanwori to stay solely at the nickel role which allows this defense to thrive in a hybrid 4-2-5 sorta way is plays in.

On top of all of this, because he is a bit older, doesn’t have the length and athleticism that Riq Woolen has, I don’t think other teams will likely be looking to break their banks in order to pry away from Seattle. The Seahawks will have to offer him a reasonable contract to what the market demands a starting corner, but I think it’s something they can easily absorb for a few years.

For all these reasons, I think he is the one pending free agent most apt to return, and he should. His presence gives stability and the Seahawks can look to the draft and develop someone behind him.

Safety Coby Bryant

Coby Bryant is the other pending free agent that makes a ton of logic to retain, and I think paying a bit more to keep him around makes sense, even with Ty Okada still being around. Average fans probably don’t sense this, but Bryant does a lot of heavy lifting in the backend of the Dark Side defense. He can play both safety spots, and he’s instinctive against the pass and rush. He is a true safety net player, and he’s sharp as a whip in understanding what Macdonald wants. I think you pay extra to keep him around, and keep Nick Emmanwori in his unique linebacker/nickel corner role. You do not mess with this very special dimension of Seattle’s dominating defense. If I am John Schneider, I try really hard to keep this player, if I can.

Safety Geno Stone

If the Seahawks lose Coby Bryant in free agency, and I think they can pivot to an old Baltimore Ravens Mike Macdonald favorite in Geno Stone. He knows the scheme and was a productive player in his final year in Baltimore playing for Macdonald. It would make a wealth of sense for Macdonald to look to bring him up here. That said, I think there will be an effort by Seattle to get a deal done with Bryant, however. We shall see if that happens, but Stone is a guy worth monitoring if it doesn’t work out.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of ways that Seattle can go this offseason from free agency, trades, and the draft, but let us be real about this team, and try to temper panic at whatever we see happening in the initial stages of free agency next week. The Seahawks are going to lose some really good players of their roster. That said, this is still a roster that is filled with talent, and Seattle’s main task to supplement that talent to keep their window open for more championships.

Personally, I think K9, Shaheed, Riq Woolen, and Boye Mafe are gone. I feel like they will work something out with Josh Jobe, and I am hopeful that they will hang onto Coby Bryant. If they do these two things, and if DeMarcus Lawrence decides to play another year, they will walk back their entire starting defense along with their entire starting offense minus Ken Walker. That does not leave them with many holes to fill. Go get another starter caliber running back in free agency to hold serve until Charbonnet is fully recovered, and this team is off to the races again.

What Seattle could do, presuming Jobe and Bryant return, is to aggressively add another very good edge rusher in one way or another. If it is not Crosby, I would be very happy with Greenard, or Mack, but there will be others in free agency who will intrigue a lot.

I also think that if they like a player on the offensive line like Vera-Tucker who has worked with their offensive line coach in the past, a move like that would be well worth doing. Nothing wrong with making a good young offensive line potentially a great one, and making Sam Darnold’s life even easier in the pocket.

Last of all, this draft is pretty decent at corner, and receiver this year. If their aim is to pay JSN and Witherspoon this off-season, I think there is a decent chance that Seattle will prep to add a corner and receiver in this draft. It is good salary cap Tetris to match an expensive receiver with a good young player on a rookie contract, and ditto at cornerback.

You cannot tie too much money at those positions because it takes away from the trenches, and let us be clear about something. Under Mike Macdonald, Seattle wants to win the trenches warfare battle. That is why they drafted defensive tackle Byron Murphy in the first round in 2024, and why they drafted guard Grey Zabel in the first last year.

That said, go get Maxx Crosby. Go pull this trade off if you can do it.

Go Hawks