The Seahawks were down two starters and two top reserves as they entered the draft, and they spent the weekend backfilling at running back, safety and cornerback while making .

In the end, we think they might have upgraded over Kenneth Walker III, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen with Jadarian Price, Bud Clark and Julian Neal.

They also made a smart move to give up a 2027 fourth-rounder to get into this fifth round and grab Beau Stephens, who should push and potentially replace Anthony Bradford at right guard.

The one position they missed on was edge rusher, where they obviously will dip into the veteran market for a cheap replacement for Boye Mafe in 2026.

They spent Day 3 moving around the board to add Stephens and some special teams options. Jay Harbaugh apparently was very involved in draft prep and really wanted Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (sixth round).

John Schneider was disappointed not to be able to move down from 32, but he added four Day 3 picks via trades.

“Unfortunately, people don’t want to trade with us until the sixth or seventh round, fifth or sixth round,” he said. “I don’t know why it happened like that this year.”

On the trade for Stephens, Schneider said, “It was too big a gap (Seattle’s next pick after Neal at 99 was 188) and too much talent there. We were pretty surprised. But when the guy lasts that long, you’re like, ‘OK, how do we figure this out?’ We did have a plan to play the compensatory game, if you will. We were, like, ‘We have the 12 picks next year. What does it look like?’ We got a lot of buy-in from the coaches. They’re really excited about it.”

In the end, Schneider and his guys seemed to make the Super Bowl champs even better than they were when they beat New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.

The always even-keeled Mike Macdonald seemed to like it.

“We have great competition on our team,” he said. “We have a lot of depth. To be able to add some extra pieces later in the draft, it’s going to be really fun to sort that out as the process kind of unfolds.”

Let’s take a look at the post-draft roster by position.

Quarterback

Draft: None.

Key players: Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe.

Outlook: Darnold had a spectacular first season as the Hawks set a team record with 14 wins and won the Super Bowl. He has a new OC to get used to in Brian Fleury, but it is the same school of offense. Macdonald said they want to get running backs more involved in the passing game this year. With almost everyone back, Darnold and the offense should take another step and Darnold should get a massive extension in 2027 that pays him among the top 10 QBs.

Running back

Draft: Jadarian Price (Round 1).

Key players: Price, George Holani, Emanuel Wilson, Zach Charbonnet (injured), Robbie Ouzts (FB), Brady Russell (FB/TE).

Others: Kenny McIntosh, Jacardia Wright, Velus Jones Jr.

Outlook: Price, who has very little tread on the tires (280 carries in college), clearly is coming in as the No. 1 back – replacing Walker. The RB1 swap is a $10 million difference in average salary, and Price looks like he might have the same big-play ability with perhaps more consistency. Fingers crossed that Price is more Shaun Alexander than Rashaad Penny (or former Notre Dame third-rounder C.J. Prosise). … Holani seems likely to be the third-down guy, and Wilson likely will be part of a timeshare with Price (a la Walker and Charbonnet). … Once Charbs comes back at midseason, he figures to work into the mix as well. We could see him then re-sign in 2027 on a one-year (maybe two-year) deal and then share time with Price.

Schneider on Price: “Instant acceleration, vision, cutback ability, but his ability to work it back, not just completely bouncing all the time, working it back inside. And then probably his contact balance. … One of his super talents is his ability to cut back and crease it. He has home run speed; he has a lot of explosive runs.”

Wide receiver

Draft: Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (Round 6).

Key players: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, Tory Horton, Jake Bobo.

Others: Henderson, Cody White, Ricky White III.

Outlook: JSN and Shaheed both got new deals and are the present and future of this position. The Hawks matched a two-year offer sheet from Jacksonville to Bobo. Kupp is likely in his last year with Seattle (probably will be let go in 2027). Can Horton stay healthy? Henderson, a sixth-round rookie who runs 4.44, will compete for a special-teams role.

Henderson said: “Special teams is a big part of my game [along] with my wide receiver ability. It’s a great combo for them to have.”

Tight end

Draft: None.

Key players: AJ Barner, Elijah Arroyo, Eric Saubert.

Other: Nick Kallerup.

Outlook: Barner is the star of this crew, as a blocker, receiver and the Barn Yard QB. He is signed for a couple more years, and the Hawks will have to decide whether to extend him next year. Arroyo needs to take a big step forward in 2026 – although there are not tons of balls to go around in this loaded offense. This is an excellent blocking crew.

Offensive line

Draft: OG Beau Stephens (Round 5).

Key players: LT Charles Cross, LG Grey Zabel, C Jalen Sundell, RG Anthony Bradford, RT Abe Lucas, OT Josh Jones, Stephens, C Olu Oluwatimi.

Others: OG Christian Haynes, OG Bryce Cabeldue, OT Amari Kight, OT Richman Mason.

Outlook: The Seahawks smartly traded the 2027 fourth to get Stephens, who figures to push Bradford now and ideally replace him in 2027. So they are a year ahead of the game, as they need to be. Stephens said Mason was a “big brother” for him at Iowa and he is happy to have a friend on the team as he gets going. Mason will attend Stephens’ wedding this summer. … Haynes has been a major third-round disappointment, and Stephens’ arrival might be bad news for him.

Stephens said: “It’s going to be nice to stay a Hawk (Seahawk vs. Hawkeye). … You’re going to get a mauler in the run game, technical in the pass game.”

Defensive line

Draft: Deven Eastern (Round 7).

Key players: Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Jarran Reed, Rylie Mills.

Others: Mike Morris, Brandon Pili, Eastern.

Outlook: We’ll see whether Eastern (6-5, 315) can crack the roster, perhaps over Pili. The rest of the crew returns intact for another Super Bowl run. After 2026, though, the futures of Williams (UFA) and Reed ($9.5 million cap hit at age 35) are murky. Will Mills show he can replace Reed as the third guy (35% of snaps in 2025) in the rotation? Morris and Pili played under 15% of the snaps in 2025.

Schneider on Eastern: “Our coaches were very excited to add an A-gap player that can get up and down the line of scrimmage and have some upside as a pass rusher.”

Edge rusher

Draft: None.

Key players: DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall.

Others: Jared Ivey, Connor O’Toole, Jamie Sheriff.

Outlook: The Hawks did not address this spot in the draft, so they are expected to add a veteran – Dante Fowler Jr. visited earlier in April. The vet would replace Boye Mafe for 2026. … In 2027, this unit likely will look very different – with Lawrence expected to retire and Nwosu and Hall both free agents. Hall played in just 37% of the snaps last season (he missed the last three games) and recorded just two sacks. They need a lot more out of him. … This unit really needs a game wrecker to help beat offenses like the Rams. It would not be a surprise to see Schneider make a big trade at this spot at some point this offseason.

Linebacker

Draft: None.

Key players: Ernest Jones III, Drake Thomas, Tyrice Knight.

Others: Patrick O’Connell, Chazz Surratt.

Outlook: This unit returns complete from 2025, after Thomas was given a two-year contract that keeps him locked in alongside Jones through 2028.

Cornerback

Draft: Julian Neal (Round 3), Andre Fuller (Round 7), Michael Dansby (Round 7).

Key players: Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Neal.

Others: Nehemiah Pritchett, Noah Igbinoghene, Shemar Jean-Charles, Fuller, Dansby.

Outlook: Neal (6-2, 203, 4.49) is a physical, confident corner with 33-inch arms who should claim the No. 3 corner spot, replacing Riq Woolen. Behind the top three, there will be a pitched battle for the last couple of spots.

Macdonald on his cornerback room: “I don’t think I’ve been a part of a team that has this many drafted corners on their team going into camp, which is really exciting. It’s going to be a fun competition, man. It’s going to be really cool to get these guys in here, get moving, see where it goes.”

Macdonald on Neal: “I think that’s one of the exciting parts about where he is: There’s so much room for growth. I mean, he’s already playing a really good brand of football. He has great traits, he’s got a great work ethic, he’s super competitive, he’s smart. Those are all the ingredients that we believe can add up to playing even better football as his career grows. So it’s pretty cool.”

What Neal said: “I’m the most physical corner in this draft class. I use my arms to my advantage. I use my length. I use my durability. Never missed a game in college for being hurt. I come down and I hit something. I’m gonna blow up and go get the ball. I’m getting interceptions. I’m pressing dudes at the line. I’m locking dudes up at the line. It’s box time.”

Safety

Draft: Bud Clark (Round 2).

Key players: Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, Ty Okada, Clark.

Others: D’Anthony Bell, Rodney Thomas II.

Outlook: Coby Bryant played the most snaps (87%) on defense in 2025, so those are some relatively big shoes to fill. Clark might help there, but he also might play corner or nickel – he is very versatile and appears to be a great cover man. He should offer similar versatility to what Spoon and Emmanwori provide – and Okada still figures significantly. Bell and Thomas are probably fighting for the final spot.

Macdonald on Clark: “We’re not just gonna play him at safety. He can play nickel. He can probably play corner for us. We’ll figure that out kind of as we go.”

Special teams

Draft: Henderson, Fuller, Dansby.

Key players: Michael Dickson, Jason Myers, Chris Stoll.

Others: Russell, Morris, Pritchett, Bell, Surratt, Knight.

Outlook: Henderson was brought in to battle for Dareke Young’s gunner spot; Young played 34% of ST snaps in 2025. Fuller will compete for ST play as well. Dansby is a speedster (he said he has run 4.25 in the 40) who played gunner in college, too. … Myers, 35 in May, is a free agent after next season. He led the NFL in scoring in 2025, set a team record with 41 field goals and set a Super Bowl record with five 3-pointers. He figures to be worth one more contract.

Schneider on Henderson: “This guy is an outstanding special teams player. … Just a ton of speed. We were really excited to be able to get him. Jay (Harbaugh) spent so much time preparing for the draft. It was so great to be able to get one of the very top players he’s excited about it.”

Dansby said: “Gunner is where I’m going to make my money for sure this upcoming season. Gunner, jammer, running down on kickoffs.”