Category Archives: NFL draft

NFL draft

Draft IQ shows how it could play out

2 Comments

We’re just days away from the NFL draft, and the Seahawks and the rest of the teams are finalizing their draft boards.

NFL.com has a new tool called Draft IQ that projects the top eight on the big board for each team, using a combination of pre-draft interest, team needs and draft philosophies.

If they stay at 18, who are the Hawks most likely to pick? Which guys in that top eight might still be there? We used the Draft IQ boards to walk through the first round and see how it might play out.

Continue reading Draft IQ shows how it could play out →
NFL draft, Trades

Trade talk: Howell, Woolen — who else?

Leave a comment

When the Seahawks brought back Drew Lock last Friday, the first thought that came to mind was: Whither Sam Howell?

With Lock reportedly signed to a two-year deal, it sure seems to put Howell on the trade block.

The Hawks acquired Howell in a pick swap last year, getting a fourth and sixth while giving up a third and fifth. It was not a bad price to pay (equivalent of a fourth-rounder) for a look at a guy who had started a full season in the NFL and might be a possible long-term QB.

But Howell was no competition for Geno Smith and showed very poorly in clearly trying circumstances against the Packers late in the season.

John Schneider had said he looked forward to seeing Howell in Klint Kubiak’s offense because Ryan Grubb’s offense “wasn’t a good setup for him.” But now here comes Lock back, and he seems like as good a fit or better as the backup in Kubiak’s offense, which includes plenty of rollouts and bootlegs.

Continue reading Trade talk: Howell, Woolen — who else? →
NFL draft

Draft notes: WR at 18? No O-line until Round 3?

2 Comments

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?

Continue reading Draft notes: WR at 18? No O-line until Round 3? →
NFL draft

Draft talk: Moving up in Round 2, adding corners and more

3 Comments

At the NFL meetings this week, John Schneider and Mike Macdonald offered a few draft nuggets – some of which confirm conventional wisdom and others which create questions.

Macdonald said they would take the best player available – offense or defense – with their top pick (18). He also said they would be looking at drafting some cornerbacks, and he gave a lukewarm endorsement of Riq Woolen – a guy we think might be traded at some point this year.

Schneider, meanwhile, said (1) he was laying groundwork for trades with other NFL execs in Florida, (2) he might consider moving up in the draft and (3) the Hawks likely won’t be able to upgrade at center.

Here’s a look at the key draft-related comments from Seattle’s two chiefs and our take on them.

Continue reading Draft talk: Moving up in Round 2, adding corners and more →
NFL draft

NFL draft: Top needs, best strategy and what Schneider might do

1 Comment

While the Seahawks continue to add role players to the bottom of their roster and still might sign a veteran guard later, they are pretty much done in free agency. So all eyes have turned to the draft, which is now a mere three weeks away.

We are not scouts, nor do we pretend to be draft experts. And we certainly have no idea what John Schneider is going to do in three weeks – who does?

But, after checking out consensus boards, seeing what top analysts think of this draft and running through a bunch of scenarios, we have thoughts on the strategy Schneider should/could use.

Continue reading NFL draft: Top needs, best strategy and what Schneider might do →
Franchise history, NFL draft, The roster

Will Schneider deliver the dream: O-line consistency?

3 Comments

Whether it has been draft misses, bad (or no) free-agent signings, poor coaching or injuries, Seattle just has not fielded a good offensive line during the majority of John Schneider’s tenure – that’s 15 seasons of mostly bottom-10 rankings.

Despite another whiff in free agency in 2025, Schneider has a chance to turn that around. But he needs to do something he has tried only a couple of times: Create continuity with top talent.

We’d call that living the dream.

Continue reading Will Schneider deliver the dream: O-line consistency? →
Free agency, NFL draft

OL: After free agency whiff, it is all on the draft now

2 Comments

It is no big surprise that the Seahawks once again missed out on adding a
notable veteran lineman.

It has been apparent since Teven Jenkins — an injury risk — left the VMAC without a deal that the Hawks likely were going to end up settling on a middling one-year vet again – a la Laken Tomlinson in 2024.

But John Schneider needs to get serious about the offensive line in this draft.

Continue reading OL: After free agency whiff, it is all on the draft now →
NFL draft, On the air, The roster

Draft and develop: Schneider wants to emulate Eagles’ O-line construction

1 Comment

“We know exactly what our deficiencies are. We can all see it, right? And we have a plan to address everything.” – John Schneider, on fixing the offensive line

For fans thinking John Schneider is suddenly going to change his spots and start paying offensive linemen big money, the Seahawks’ GM once again made it clear he is going to stick to the draft-and-develop strategy.

In his first 2025 weekly show on Seattle Sports 710 AM, he said he wants to emulate the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line construction that featured four draft picks developed by the team.

Continue reading Draft and develop: Schneider wants to emulate Eagles’ O-line construction →
NFL draft, The roster

Yes, the Hawks look more like a playoff team now

Leave a comment

A Seattle Times headline asked: With roster shuffling mostly done, are Seahawks closer to being a playoff team?

The answer to that question is “yes” – because John Schneider found an innovative new coach, improved the defensive line and secondary and seems to have made the offensive line and linebacker spots better, too.

Schneider hit what we consider to be home runs with the hiring of Mike Macdonald as coach, the re-signing of Leonard Williams and the drafting of Byron Murphy II in the first round. Macdonald wanted to “build a wall” — and those two guys should help do it.

In the draft, the Hawks also focused on adding blockers – three linemen and a tight end. And they added a much-needed linebacker and Auburn’s starting cornerbacks as well.

Here’s a positional rundown after the draft (RB not mentioned as nothing to note there).

Continue reading Yes, the Hawks look more like a playoff team now →
Franchise history, NFL draft, The roster

Is a new homegrown defense in the offing?

2 Comments

Byron Murphy said he loved watching the Legion of Boom Seahawks when he was a kid. (For some of us a decade is not that long ago, but for a 21-year-old it was half his lifetime ago.)

The LOB was a dominant defense with a core that John Schneider put together mostly through the 2010-12 drafts: Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, K.J. Wright, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett (Murphy’s favorite player on that defense) were the only core outside additions. And that group of stars dominated the NFL from 2012 to 2016.

Schneider has not been able to replicate that magic over the past decade. He had the perfect chance to do it again in 2016 and 2017, but he absolutely whiffed on most of his 11 picks on Days 1 and 2. Ever since those failures, he has been patching together his defense with trades for veterans.

But, thanks to three straight years with high picks in the draft, maybe he finally is building another core – this time for Mike Macdonald.

Continue reading Is a new homegrown defense in the offing? →