For a month now, mock drafters have loved matching the Seahawks with a wide receiver at No. 18 — assuming the team naturally would use its top pick to replace the traded DK Metcalf.

And there is scuttlebutt that the Hawks might indeed be leaning that way. The guy who keeps coming up now is Emeka Egbuka, former Ohio State teammate of Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

But do the Hawks really need to force a receiver pick high in this draft?

Daniel Jeremiah does not think so. We agree.

Fully agree with DJ on #Seahawks and WRs in this draft: "I think Day 2 is a sweet spot. … Even just waiting until the third round, I think you get a good (receiver) that can help you – and you can (focus on the trenches) early.” https://t.co/yyCcnZLGjM

— Chris Cluff (@CHawk_Talk) April 9, 2025

This class of receivers is not highly regarded, with only one unanimous first-round prospect: Arizona’s Tet McMillan. (Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is considered a corner first by most.)

“This receiver group is terrible,” an NFC personnel guy told Bob McGinn of “Go Long.” “Absolutely terrible. There’s nothing here. Guys are going to move up a round or two just because it’s a terrible year. A third-rounder is going to be taken in the first and a fourth-rounder in the second. That’s how weak this group is.”

Two teams told McGinn there are only seven or eight receivers worthy of the top 100 picks. The Athletic’s consensus big board has four in the top 24 (Egbuka is 24) – and not another until 47. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com has no Pro Bowl grades for this class.

Dane Brugler, premier draft analyst for The Athletic, counts Hunter as a corner and agrees on McMillan as the only surefire first-rounder. He has three others, including Egbuka, as borderline Round 1-2 guys.

While receiver is a top-three need in 2025 for the Hawks (with guard and nose tackle), they do not have to panic at 18.

John Schneider has had some good success adding receivers on Day 2: Golden Tate, Tyler Lockett, Metcalf. But there also is nothing saying the Hawks have to draft a receiver this year.

Some would argue the Hawks need a tight end more than they need a receiver – considering Klint Kubiak likes to use two at a time a lot. That has led to some people mocking Michigan’s Colston Loveland at 18. That assumes he is available at that point, of course. Chicago (10), Miami (13) and Indy (14) all could have something to say about that.

No OL at 18?

Even if they don’t take a pass catcher at 18, it is entirely possible that the Hawks still will not take an offensive lineman at that spot.

They could instead really fall for one of the top defensive backs at 18. Jahdae Barron, the versatile DB from Texas, could be an awesome chess piece to go with Devon Witherspoon. The Hawks also have shown interest in Kam Chancellor clone Nick Emmanwori of South Carolina; he was slated for a Top 30 visit to VMAC. Georgia’s Malaki Starks is another option.

So, if no lineman at 18, when do the Hawks get him?

Chad Reuter’s latest mock at NFL.com has them taking Egbuka at 18 and actually waiting until Round 3 and 4 to add project linemen. Passing on talented blockers in the first two rounds would be inadvisable, but Schneider and Mike Macdonald have talked up their current bunch and the miracles the new coaching staff will do with them (where have we heard that before?).

If they do pass on blockers in the first two rounds, the pressure will really be on Christian Haynes to play up to his third-round draft pedigree (he was a second-rounder on the consensus board last year) and step into a starting role.

Trade down?

This might be Schneider’s preferred strategy. Consensus is that the players from about 15 to 40 in this draft all have similar grades from most teams. It just comes down to what each team needs/wants, and it could lead to a lot of moving around.

Grey Zabel is the guy most Seahawks fans seem to want — he could play center or guard. But 18 might be a bit rich for Schneider to want to take an interior lineman (remember, they are “overdrafted”).

Jeremiah ranks Zabel 24^th, Brugler has him 32^nd and The Athletic consensus big board (CBB) ranks him 35^th.

Schneider might try to move down and see whether Zabel is there. The Hawks also might prefer a different lineman than many think – maybe Kelvin Banks Jr. or Donovan Jackson or even Tyler Booker (despite the apparent scheme misfit).

Or maybe Schneider drops down in order to get better value at receiver or tight end. While Egbuka is 17^th on DJ’s board, he is 24^th on the CBB and 28^th on Brugler’s board. LSU tight end Mason Taylor is ranked around 32-33.

Schneider’s best move, if it were possible, would be to trade down from 18 and also up from 50. If he could pull that off, he could get two starting players in that 15-40 sweet spot — and still ideally have three more picks on Day 2.

What about a QB?

The Seahawks reportedly were bringing both Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough and Alabama QB Jalen Milroe to VMAC. It’s a pretty standard practice for them to have a couple of quarterbacks in for pre-draft visits, so there is nothing necessarily to read out of it.

Chad Reuter’s recent mock included a weird trade up in the second round for Texas QB Quinn Ewers. Schneider is quite unlikely to trade up for a QB in the first two rounds, but perhaps he would consider a guy in the third round. Despite his age (25), Shough seems like the passer who could be NFL ready the fastest among these three.

It is a weak draft for quarterbacks though. All of those guys have major flaws and are probably only going to be NFL backups at best.

The Seahawks are banking on Sam Darnold, a former No. 3 overall pick, being their franchise QB — and Schneider has other positions he should focus on in the first two days.