Seahawks Draft Blog

It was being discussed in the recent Jalen Milroe article threads — so I want to bring up an idea I’ve had in the past for a much-needed development system within the NFL.

For far too long players come into the league and exit again without much of a chance to develop and show what they can do. This is particularly problematic for young quarterbacks — who don’t have an opportunity to experience meaningful reps unless they are drafted early and fast-tracked to start quickly.

We’re also going through a situation where we’re running out of attractive coaching prospects with play-calling experience. Wouldn’t it be a great opportunity to set up a system where up-and-coming coaches can call a game?

The idea I have also fills the substantial void we see between now and training camp — although I suspect some in the NFL may wish to protect that and not turn the league into a 12-month marathon where coaches and office staff can never take a break.

So here’s the idea. Create a situation where you have six games per season against your division opponents (three home, three road). So in the case of the Seahawks, they would play the Rams, 49ers and Cardinals home and away.

The teams would be made up of players on your roster you wish to expose to the experience. Extend the roster limit to 100-120 if you want, so that teams have plenty of available players at their disposal. Or simply allow teams to sign players on short-term deals specifically for this opportunity.

Appoint a staff from within — so you give, for example, positional coaches with aspirations to be coordinators the chance to do the job. You can designate a Head Coach too.

Market this properly — perhaps even with a Championship game at the end if desired. Tap into rivalries and the pride of seeing your young players beat the young players within the rest of your division.

It might not work. Fans might not care. They might not want to pay for tickets to three home games to watch young or unproven players play. Give it a chance though. You can always fold the idea if it flops.

The benefits are — live snaps for quarterbacks who are not starters but could really use the reps to enhance their development. It’s not just the quarterbacks — players could really develop and improve playing four quarters of competitive football and having a platform to showcase who they are beyond the current limited opportunities available in camp or pre-season.

Coaches can also be developed and can catch the eye as they build their careers. If someone has two or three impressive years calling plays in this setup — they could be seen as a prime candidate for a coordinator job.

More football for fans — and an opportunity to go and watch your team play heated rivals to see who has the deepest crop of young talent in the division.

The only downside I can see is whether it’s financially viable. Again, fans might not have any active interest in this. Yet they turn out for pre-season games and they’re arguably far less interesting than this arrangement. Why wouldn’t you be intrigued to go and watch three games of Jalen Milroe to see what he can do? And it’s only three home games each — a small commitment.

It could extend careers, provide opportunities and set up a development system that is at least competitive and interesting given the divisional rival aspect.

It might not replace NFL Europe in terms of effectiveness but it might be more sustainable and provide a similar showcasing opportunity.

Isn’t something like this worth a shot?

This is a guest post by Curtis Allen…

The Quarterback position is an ever-moving carousel.  What seems stable today can quickly be disrupted tomorrow.  Fail to develop a prospect in the pipeline and you leave yourself scrambling for options in a rough market.  With that in mind, the Seahawks drafted Jalen Milroe last year.

I wanted to talk about his progress and what needs to happen for him to take the next step in his NFL career.

The Experiment

Milroe was drafted at pick #92 in the third-round with the pick acquired from Las Vegas in the Geno Smith trade.

Rob’s immediate thoughts after the draft on him:

There’s no doubt Milroe needs major technical work as a passer. His short and intermediate accuracy is all over the place at times and based on his Alabama tape, you’ll not trust him to throw for a key third down conversion based on his current playing level. However, his upside is tantalizing and if you can improve these aspects of his game you could end up with a genuine diamond. His running ability is akin to watching a Formula 1 racing car snaking around a circuit. His ability to turn corners and accelerate is rare. He will constantly give opponents headaches with his running ability. Aside from that, he does have a genuine cannon for an arm. He made some excellent deep throws and he’ll keep opponents honest downfield, which also brings his legs more into play. They can use him as a weapon immediately as he learns how to be a better signal caller.

He lived up to that report in person.  The speed was hard to grasp.  He did not appear to be moving with great exertion but was gliding through lanes with little wasted motion.

The arm strength generated excitement as well.  From a pure talent standpoint, he has the arm strength to handle any play call the coaches send in.  I personally witnessed him in camp throwing a bomb from midfield under duress – flat-footed – with enough force to keep the ball away from the defender and enough loft for the receiver to get under it.  It was impressive.

However, his mechanics, game management and decision-making kept him locked in the third spot.  Accuracy was a real challenge, particularly for the critical 5-7 yard throws the offense runs so often.  Days in practice when he did not alternate between a beautiful play and an ugly play were hard to come by.

Using him as a package player during the regular season did not work well either.  He gained four yards in three plays and had a fumble in the Tampa Bay game that the Bucs took advantage of for a touchdown on the ensuing drive.  It was early enough that the Seahawks had time to recover, but they ultimately fell short by three points.

What started out as a lottery ticket pick that might provide exciting gains right out of the gate quickly came back to earth.  He did not see the field for the rest of the season.

By no means should he be written off.  The reason John Schneider made the pick was to develop a player behind Sam Darnold, without the pressure of him immediately being the backup.  Last year that was accomplished, albeit without any of the on-field benefits that we hoped would come with that.

But What About This Year?

Taking that into consideration, Milroe needs to step his game up this season.  Showing measurable progress will greatly increase his chances of becoming a starting Quarterback someday.

Milroe has had a whole calendar year to work with the coaches and tune his mechanics.  A significant improvement is a reasonable expectation.  No, not as much as challenging Sam Darnold for the starting job.  Of course not.  But pushing Drew Lock hard for the backup job is an achievable goal given his talent and the resources he has available to him.

The mechanics should be far sounder.  Accuracy should be improved to a more acceptable level.

If those improvements are in place, Milroe can then take the next step and focus on keeping the offense on time and making good decisions with the play calls and protections he is given.

How will we know he is progressing?  Listening closely to Mike Macdonald and Brian Fleury at press conferences will give us clues.  Primarily though, actions speak louder than words.  If Milroe starts getting scrimmage reps with the backups, even in rotation with Lock, that will be a nice sign.  The Seahawks might occasionally push him with these kinds of reps this year to see the real-world benefit of his offseason work.  He should also get plenty of reps in the preseason games.

What about the package plays?  It is highly unlikely that we (or the press) will be allowed to see them in practice.  But do not be surprised if they are part of the offense.

The extent may depend on Milroe.  If he has done the work – ‘eaten his vegetables’ so to speak by becoming less of a passer and more of a Quarterback – the coaches will have much more trust to put him into real game situations.  The confidence gained by a grinding offseason of work could be substantial and unlock some of those field-tilting plays we saw in college.

Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen can turn the game upside down with their incredible legs and their arm talent.  But the game only exists to be turned upside down in those moments because they can regularly complete the quick slants or short outbreaking routes that require precise timing and the mechanics to execute them regularly.

Mentioning Milroe in the same sentence as those two legends is lofty talk.  The only way he can get remotely close to their level is by receiving coaching and dramatically improving his craft with application.

Early reports on him from some present at the VMAC this offseason have not been very positive.  To that I would say: just remember, it is still early.  Last year some were very down on Sam Darnold early on.  Some even hinted that Milroe might challenge him for the starting job, drawing comparisons to the Russell Wilson and Matt Flynn situation in 2012.

How did that work out?

A little patience is required, particularly with a young talented player at the game’s toughest position, who by comparison did not cost very much to acquire.

I have every faith that Milroe will put in the work.  Raised by parents who were in the military, the charmed, comfortable life that many top football prospects have was not his.  I have seen him in camp taking every opportunity to keep working with coaches and taking nothing for granted.

Bringing repetition to his motions and processing will benefit him greatly.  If he gets to a point where much of his process is instinctual rather than thought-driven, he will succeed.

Milroe’s floor is somewhere near where Joe Milton is at.  Flashing extraordinary talent but severely lacking in polish.  Milton was traded to Dallas after his rookie season for a swap of late round draft picks and is currently competing with old friend Sam Howell to back up Dak Prescott.

His ceiling is somewhere near what Malik Willis is today, a player who came into the NFL very much a Work in Progress but has harnessed his talent and produced to the point another organization is willing to guarantee $45 million to him.

John Schneider and the staff will diagnose where Milroe is on that scale this offseason.

Making sure the team is prepared for 2027 is on the agenda right now for the General Manager, Scouting and Pro Personnel Development staff.  And no position requires more field work and preparation than Quarterback.

To that end, they will be heavily scouting College Football this fall.  With a projected twelve draft picks and a potentially deep Quarterback draft, the future of the position behind Sam Darnold is coming quickly.  Do not be surprised to hear reports that Schneider and/or the scouts are present at games to look at eligible Quarterbacks this fall.

That is not to say with surety that Milroe will be cut or traded next year if he does not demonstrate improvement in an easily discernable way.  In fact, the team might decide to keep all of their options open in 2027:  extend Drew Lock, consider Milroe ready to take the leap with yet another year and offseason of development, and perhaps even draft another project and let them all battle for the spots.

But he has the talent and work ethic to render this discussion moot.  Doing it this season would check a big box and allow the team to focus their resources on other positions.

We are about to find out if he can do just that.

“Pay the man!”

I can remember a time not that long ago where this was a regular battle cry among Seahawks fans.

The Earl Thomas contract situation was perhaps the best example. There was practically a campaign online pressuring the Seahawks to give him a new deal. Some people were apoplectic at the idea they’d let him walk.

When he held out, fans began to pick sides.

Those of us who thought the team were right to manage their cap situation were often caught in the firing line. I’ve told the story a few times that David Mulugheta, Thomas’ agent at the time, called me to complain about an article I’d written criticising his decision to hold out.

In the end the Seahawks were proven right not to act. Just as they also were right not to rush to pay Geno Smith, despite similar calls online to make him a newly minted quarterback worthy of the status of franchise signal-caller.

The point I’m making is that for whatever reason, some people end up rooting for players to be paid the absolute most — even if it can negatively impact the team they play for. It’s as if they are personally invested in the player’s earning potential and will celebrate when they pull off what is considered a winning negotiation.

I’ve never understood this.

My main priority is for the Seahawks to win. One of the ways for the Seahawks to win is to have as much available cap space as possible to build the best team.

Instead of ‘Pay the man!’ I will always root for ‘I hope the Seahawks get the best possible deal!’ instead. Nothing about that is cold or anti-player. I want every single thing that happens involving this team to go towards improving the chances of winning on a Sunday.

In some cases, such as the Jaxon Smith-Njigba extension, it’s impossible not to commit to a record-breaking deal. When it happened I had no real emotion other than ‘I’m glad this was sorted effectively and with no drama’. The deal was done and we all move on. I was neither personally excited for JSN (he’s not lending me a tenner any time soon) nor was I disappointed that the financial commitment was eye-watering.

Keeping great players on massive contracts is part of being a winner. You need to keep your top players and when they produce like JSN has, it’s not a problem at all when they get paid top dollar.

When we aren’t talking about the best of the best at a particular position though, I’m not going to root for the player in a contract negotiation to get every cent that he can. Any money saved benefits the team.

I also think it’s slightly problematic, in some cases, that players are often advised — and encouraged by fans and media — to approach their careers through the prism of draining every drop out of a contract negotiation.

I’m sure some people will criticise Derick Hall and his representatives for the new contract he has just signed. It’s worth $15.27m in fully guaranteed money — less than the arrangement Boye Mafe has with the Bengals ($19m in full guarantees). Their contract values are significantly different — $40m vs $60m.

There’s very little doubt that Hall could and maybe should’ve got more out of the Seahawks.

For once though, let’s not just focus on money. There’s more to life than money. Especially when you’re already a multi-millionaire.

Hall is now financially secure, he’s where he wants to be, he’s playing a sport with good friends in a city where he is clearly settled, competing for a winning franchise who are currently World Champions.

Life is good.

Now imagine the alternative. He ‘gambles on himself’ and succeeds in 2026. He gets a lot more money as a free agent, preferably with another contender or by re-signing with the Seahawks. That’s the ideal situation.

In order to get to that point though he has to risk staying healthy, he has to perform and he has to wait out the situation knowing that at any time things could go horribly wrong.

Is that truly worth it to be a bit more of a millionaire, maybe, in 12 months?

I think he made the right call in all honestly. I won’t argue his team couldn’t have gotten more. They probably could’ve done. But the concept of taking a good deal now rather than betting on a great deal later isn’t getting the backing it should within the NFL community.

He can now fully commit to mini-camp, training camp, pre-season and the regular season without any fear that one serious injury will cost him a fortune. He can prepare in the exact same way he did last year, fully focused on football and not a contract battle, to try and help his team win another Super Bowl.

I couldn’t live with the crushing anxiety of knowing I’m one divot in the turf away from tearing an ACL and your whole life changing, all for the sake of potentially earning more money in the future. If he got badly hurt in training camp he’d be looking at possible prove-it deals from next year, potentially having to move around the country, playing for lesser teams, always wondering what could’ve been.

Now, all of that stress is gone. He has secured at least $15.27m in full guarantees and knows for the next few years he will be with the Seahawks — hopefully competing for more titles.

I would argue that peace of mind is priceless.

Hall clearly likes playing for this team, with his current team-mates. Why would you want to risk forcing yourself to play somewhere else for more money? Happiness is more important. Getting up every day and loving where you live and work is the life goal to end all life goals. If you make that your reality, and can be paid millions for the privilege, then why jeopardise it?

Sure — he could have a 10-sack season, go into free agency next year and get far more. Then what? End up playing for a bad team with a lot more cap space? Weaken your chances of winning? Play with people you don’t like? Live somewhere you constantly compare to Seattle and wish you were back where you were happy?

When Hall is 50-years-old and reflecting on his career, is he ever going to talk about regretting this contract negotiation? Probably not. Nobody is going to hand you an award as a player for a fantastic contract wrangle where you won the day. There’s no Championship ring engraved with ‘got $12m more in guarantees when I negotiated my second contract’.

You do get a prize, though, for winning a Super Bowl. I would argue earning a little bit less to play for a serious franchise is everything.

If the Seahawks continue to succeed, in 20 years Hall and his former team-mates will be able to get together, share stories and reflect on the great memories they made together. Hopefully that will include more than the one Super Bowl appearance.

That’s what life is about. Hall is never going to consider, “if I’d held out for the Boye Mafe deal I might have an even bigger house now” when he’s retired.

Normalising happiness, security and a chance to succeed over getting as much as you can is something that I think would be a positive change — even if it’s just in the case of the rare exception, like this one, where we just celebrate Hall’s decision rather than critique it.

It’s so important for players to have the freedom to enjoy their careers rather than feel pressure to max out their earning power. I’m sure the league is full of players who are richer yet living with regret.

I joined Puck for the first 30 minutes of his show today… check it out below:

Well, it might not be Myles Garrett, but the Seahawks have got a bit of business done this week…

Edge Derick Hall and the Seahawks reached agreement today on a three-year, $42 million extension that could be worth up to $46.5 million and includes $21 million guaranteed, per his agents Chad Berger and Ezra J Thompson. Hall is now under contract to Seattle the 2029 season.… pic.twitter.com/LqWAwcseLN

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 2, 2026

It’s great news for the Seahawks for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the numbers look extremely team-friendly. If Derick Hall takes a big step forward in 2026, they’ll have him under solid club-control and won’t be forced into paying a huge salary. Secondly, it speaks to Hall’s commitment to the team and his willingness to simply get this done rather than have a long protracted negotiation or gamble on himself. There won’t be any future drama or second-guessing and he’s now established as a key figure within Seattle’s defense.

For me, Hall is the heir-apparent to DeMarcus Lawrence. He is the player who can take on that spot long-term.

It follows Abe Lucas making a similar move a year ago. There is a strong inner-bond between the players on the team and they clearly want to be in Seattle.

Now they can focus their attention on getting an extension done with Devon Witherspoon — a situation that will almost certainly be resolved sooner rather than later.

Also — I went on KJR today to discuss DeMarcus Lawrence. Check it out below:

My initial reaction to today’s blockbuster trade is this — if Matthew Stafford and Myles Garrett stay healthy, it’s very difficult to imagine anyone but the LA Rams winning the Super Bowl next season.

An already highly successful team just acquired one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Garrett isn’t any old impact player — he’s a one-man game-wrecking machine. At times he is unstoppable.

It’s a scary thought to imagine what a player who can tally 23 sacks for the Browns, with little in the way of support, could do playing for a legit contender who will often be leading in games with a better supporting cast.

This is a huge statement of intent by the Rams and frankly, a superb move. They deserve a ton of credit for making it happen.

The compensation is a steal. A first round pick in 2027, a 2028 second rounder and a 2029 third rounder — plus Jared Verse.

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, it already gives off vibes of being the kind of ahead-of-the-curve thinking that landed San Francisco blue-chippers in Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey.

The Rams were clearly in win-now mode even before this trade. They want to max-out the last year or two of Stafford’s career. Who knows how long Sean McVay will want to carry on for? Now they have a legit 1-3 year window where they can go all-in.

The aim will be to win at least one Championship in that period. Who’d bet against them doing it? These are the kind of difference-making deals that get you over the line. The Rams will start next season as red-hot favourites.

Garrett is the walking embodiment of a generational player. When you combine his game-wrecking skills with McVay and Stafford on offense, it’s a terrifying cocktail. We just need to be honest and admit this isn’t a good day to be a Seahawks fan.

It’s why I’m very grateful for last season. They won a Championship when the optimal opportunity emerged. There’s no great, heaving pressure to do it again. That would exist had they missed out last season.

Yet the reality is the Seahawks, as with everyone else in the NFC, will now have to deal with a juggernaut.

I have no negative feeling towards the Seahawks for not getting this done themselves. I think it’s clear the Browns are taking the Quinn Hughes approach. They wanted a young talent as much as the picks. Hughes got the Vancouver Canucks one first rounder, three players including another talented young defender in Zeev Buium and other, lesser, draft compensation.

The Seahawks likely would’ve had to sacrifice one of Byron Murphy or Devon Witherspoon to do this and that was never going to happen. Even then, the Browns might’ve still preferred the EDGE rusher.

Verse is a good-not-great player. The Rams could very realistically dangle him with picks to get this done. It works for both LA and Cleveland in that regard — although if I were the Browns, I would’ve hoped for a bit more in the way of draft stock coming back.

I don’t think the Seahawks will be rushing out to make a counter move. Being reactive like that would be overly emotional and ill-advised. I’m sure they’ll still linger in the background if Maxx Crosby becomes available again — but I wouldn’t anticipate any big splash being on the horizon.

They do have to be somewhat wary, though, that they too are in a window here. They don’t want to squander it by being too conservative. In the case of Crosby and now Garrett, I don’t think they had much shot of getting it done. In the future, though, they should be as prepared as the Rams have been to push the envelope.

I’ll be doing a live stream at 2pm PT discussing the trade:

The video of DeMarcus Lawrence running out for OTA’s, combined with accompanying quotes from the player stating he won’t be retiring, produced arguably the most significant moment of Seattle’s off-season today.

Lawrence was a revelation last season. He produced several key plays. He scored touchdowns. He enabled the Seahawks to rush with four and still have enough size and physicality to defend the run.

He provided immediate alpha energy to the defense, with added experience and leadership.

I’m convinced the Seahawks don’t win the Super Bowl without Lawrence.

I think he’s the most significant free agent signing in my 20 years following the team. Having him next season is huge and an understated factor. You couldn’t replace him without making some enormous splash. It’s not just about sacks or the plays he specifically makes. It’s the complete package he provides.

It seems increasingly obvious to me that winning teams require veteran leadership and toughness of the highest level.

I think gradually the Eagles might come to realise their loss when, by 2027, they look at a roster without any of Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce or Lane Johnson. All were high quality players but even in their latter years when their influence had perhaps waned slightly, they set the tone. The Eagles played in three Super Bowls during their era, winning two.

With players like Lawrence, Jarran Reed and Cooper Kupp — the Seahawks similarly have players who are nearing the end of their careers. Yet they just offer so much beyond whatever it says in the box score.

For Kupp it could be the calming presence he provides on offense, his ‘lead by example’ professionalism, the savvy play on third down or the advice he can give to the younger receivers or the quarterback.

With Reed and Lawrence — they are often the pair barking at team mates in the tunnel, leading the pre-game speech, providing the physicality up front week after week that will make opponents not want to play this team.

Lawrence’s quotes are indicative of the chemistry that has developed within this team — another key factor for success. “I had the most fun I’ve ever had playing football last year. So just taking all of that into consideration, knowing what I’d be leaving behind, the chances (of retirement) were very slim.”

This kind of culture is hard to create, as much as every team intends to do it. The Seahawks have struck gold by harnessing the collective they have in the locker room and within the staff.

I also think it’s a good thing that Lawrence will have another year helping Derick Hall, the most likely heir-apparent for the long-term on the roster, take another step forward.

Seattle’s D-line depth and talent is as critical to their success as anything. With Dante Fowler replacing Boye Mafe, they have a chance to retain what worked so well last season.

Even if a big trade opportunity arises in the coming weeks or months — the Seahawks can feel very confident about their chances in 2026 with D-Law confirming his return.

It was the news many of us have been waiting for.