Month: January 2025 (Page 4 of 4)

It’s felt like this has been on the cards for weeks.

Ryan Grubb isn’t a bad coach. He and Kalen DeBoer crafted dynamic, explosive offenses at Fresno State and Washington. He was an intriguing candidate for the Seahawks a year ago and given the small pool of quality alternatives, he was worth taking a chance on.

However, this was the right move.

Plenty of defensive-minded Head Coaches fail because the offense never clicks. It’s vital for Mike Macdonald that he appoints an offensive coordinator who can effectively be the ‘Head Coach’ of the offense. That can’t be a NFL novice, learning the role as he goes along. It needs to be someone who has been in the league for a long time, has called plays before and has worked with great coaches in their career.

The Seahawks need someone who can bring together a complete vision for Macdonald, connecting a hard-nosed defensive identity with effective running and explosive plays. He talked on 710 Seattle Sports this morning, admitted their visions for the offense were not aligned. Macdonald needs ‘his guy’ for this to work.

Make no mistake, this is a huge hire. They have to get this right. But they couldn’t shirk the challenge and had to make the change.

Listening to Macdonald last week describe needing to put other coaches around Grubb to help him understand the different offensive DNA’s was eye-opening. This can’t be a developmental opportunity. Grubb had never coached in the NFL, was learning on the run and that wasn’t going to cut it. The next coordinator needs to be Macdonald: offensive version.

From route spacing, imperfect use of play-action, head-scratching situational decisions, the inability to get the right balance between pass and run, the predictability of his screen game, the bad red zone moments and the inability to make the most of Seattle’s weapons — they need a more experienced man running the offense.

Who could that be?

I think Jake Peetz has a great chance to be the next coordinator. He took his first NFL job in 2012 and has had many roles in the league – acting as a quarterback coach, running backs coach and passing game coordinator. He called plays at LSU and he’s worked with Sean McVay. Last year he was a hot name as a potential future NFL coordinator and it was a surprise he ended up in Seattle in a lesser position.

Shane Waldron flopped but other McVay-tree coaches – Liam Coen, Kevin O’Connell, Matt LaFleur – have thrived.

Doug Pederson will be mentioned. He touted the possibility of retirement last week if he was fired by the Jaguars – and that was confirmed today. His experience would be highly beneficial, he’s connected to Andy Reid (big for John Schneider I sense) and there’s little chance he would be poached for a third Head Coaching stint. Does he want to go back to being a coordinator, though?

Could they look at a big-time up-and-comer like Josh McCown in Minnesota? If Ben Johnson is serious about staying in Detroit, does Tanner Engstrand re-emerge as a target? Will they approach the Giants again about Mike Kafka?

My money is on Peetz. Macdonald has a connection to him now, clearly respects the McVay system and it would enable some continuity between players and staff.

This, to me, was the first move that had to be made. It’s a good start to Seattle’s off-season.

Here’s a live stream I conducted earlier discussing the news:

There’s not much to say about today’s final game, which didn’t even have draft position at stake (the Seahawks were locked into the #18 pick before kick-off). I thought the defense played a fair bit below expectations, given who was starting for the Rams. The offense, though, played better than expected and effectively won Seattle the game.

It means a 10-win season. Like many others, that’s what I predicted in pre-season. Now that they’re here, though, I think it feels more hollow than I would’ve expected.

They only had two wins against teams with winning records — Denver in week one (Bo Nix’s first NFL start) and against the Rams today, albeit against several of LA’s backups. It would’ve felt better had they had a statement win along the way against a proper team. Sadly, they didn’t — and they were easily beaten at home by the Bills, 49ers, Packers and, remarkably, the Giants. Losing that game against such a bad Giants team sticks in the craw. I wish they’d had a win of note to take away the aftertaste.

Going 3-6 at home was a big disappointment and it’s something the franchise should take very seriously internally. How do they fix this? The Seahawks haven’t been a very good home team for a few years now and it’s a problem. Going 7-1 on the road highlights the issue. They can and should be better at Lumen Field.

Defensively they’ve clearly improved, even if they gave up 403 yards and 20 first downs to Jimmy Garoppolo and friends today. It’s been a joy to watch Leonard Williams. Julian Love has emerged as one of the batter safety’s in the league. They tweaked their personnel mid-season to great effect — that isn’t easy to do. They still need more and I hope they capitalise on a draft class with some interesting defensive talent available. I’m not worried about Mike Macdonald’s defense holding up its end of the bargain going forwards though.

For the offense, I’m a lot more concerned. I think Macdonald badly needs someone who can run and control his offense at a high level. A lot of defensive-minded Head Coaches fail because they can’t get the offense operating properly. This isn’t a job for a NFL novice and I’m afraid, experimenting with a college coach who’d never worked in the league before was a mistake.

I don’t think Ryan Grubb is a terrible coach by any means. I just don’t think he’s right for the Seahawks. I don’t think you can learn how to be a NFL coordinator on the job, especially when you’re working for a defensive-minded leader who needs you to be on point.

Grubb, if he’s serious about a NFL career rather than returning to college, probably needs to take a step back and take a passing-coordinator job or something like that, learning the ropes that way. The Seahawks need a Head Coach for their offense. Someone with the experience of play-calling and leading a unit, or someone with the talent and chops to get there quickly.

Continuing with Grubb would be an error. From route spacing, imperfect use of play-action, head-scratching situational decisions, the inability to get the right balance between pass and run, the predictability of his screen game, the bad red zone moments and the inability to make the most of Seattle’s weapons — they need a more experienced man running the offense.

It doesn’t have to be a former Head Coach (although that would be appealing). The league is full of successful coordinators without that background. But it needs to be someone who has put in the hard yards already to position themselves to succeed, with the knowledge and experience required, having worked around the NFL’s best current play-callers. I want to see a change.

I think it’s inevitable to the point of near-certainty that Geno Smith will be back next season. When certain reporters speak, you have to pay attention. Brady Henderson is one of those reporters. He has been quite clear that his expectation is Smith will return because there isn’t an obvious, superior replacement.

I don’t have a problem with this. The thing I do take issue with is the lack of a pathway to the future. As I’ve said a few times, the Seahawks have a good bridge quarterback with nobody to actually bridge to. Until they have a young player on the roster that you can believe in as a future possible starter, it’s hard to generate much excitement for the franchise.

I think that’s all a lot of fans want, really. It’s not so much a desperation to move on from Smith. It’s a desperation to see a plan for life after Smith. I don’t think that’s unfair. He’ll be 35 next year. He has some very good games — this was one today. He also has some poor games, with costly mistakes. Meanwhile, he is becoming increasingly more expensive and the only attempts to add a younger player since trading Russell Wilson have been Drew Lock and Sam Howell.

Equally, it should be noted that I don’t think the Seahawks have passed on anyone worth having, with hindsight, in the three drafts since dealing Wilson. I don’t blame them for not drafting a quarterback. However, they’re three years on now. They’re at a stage, especially with Smith’s price going up, where I think they need to be seen to be doing a bit more. Whether that’s identifying someone in the draft they believe has the tools to at least attempt to develop over time, or signing a cheap reclamation project to have on the roster and compete for, if nothing else, Howell’s backup job in 2025 — an addition of sorts is required.

Kicking the can down the road, doing nothing and waiting for the perfect prospect to become available is a hard sell because that player may never arrive. While waiting, the Seahawks have to work to develop players like other teams are doing (with the Vikings a classic example this year). This can still happen without having to cut Geno Smith, so draft or sign someone to add to the group.

Negotiating a compromised deal will be a challenge. In 2023, Smith tested the market and that helped the player and team reach an agreement. Now, the Seahawks have no gauge of the market. Smith’s camp will point to a $44.5m cap-hit and presumably say, ‘we’ll sit on that if you don’t do what we want’. That doesn’t feel viable for a team needing to raise money, even if there are other ways to create room.

The other big offensive questions include D.K. Metcalf’s future, a huge storyline obviously, and the need to fix the offensive line. I thought it was troubling and unnecessary for John Schneider to say pre-game today, “We’ve never been a big free agency team” when asked about the off-season. It’s a quote that will irk fans hoping the team is going to do all it can to improve the O-line. The Seahawks, for years, have relied on draft picks and cheap, short-term, band-aid solutions on the line. It hasn’t worked. Nobody wants them to be reckless in free agency — but neither, I suspect, does anyone want to hear the GM playing down the usefulness of the veteran market ahead of an important off-season.

Personally I think they do need to sign one or two veterans — and ideally not the typical Laken Tomlinson, B.J. Finney, Brandon Shell types. I don’t think you can fix this purely through the draft. Free agents and trades should be considered. If someone like Trey Smith reaches the market, I’d like to see them do whatever it takes to try and land him. Nobody will criticise Schneider for splashing out on a guard like Smith. They will criticise him if he waits until the third week of free agency, signs someone who is left available for $2m and the line struggles again.

Assuming Smith isn’t available, there are other veteran players who might cost a bit more than they’ve been comfortable paying in the past but can do a job. Surely it’s time for them to consider a different approach? I hope ownership is willing to stress this point.

I want them to bring back Jarran Reed — but also hope they’ll not be left to force multiple needs on the offensive line in the draft. There are a handful of defensive linemen in this draft, who won’t go in the first round, with the physical qualities to be really good at the next level. I think this is a class where you might be able to find a diamond in the rough on defense in rounds 2-4 — and that’s at every position too. There are some very intriguing defenders set to go in that range.

It seems certain they’ll re-sign Ernest Jones. His agents did a good job this weekend, letting the media know contract talks were being parked to apply a bit of pressure. I doubt they loved Jones telling everyone a deal will ‘definitely’ get done after the game. Whatever media leverage game they were hoping to play, it kind of died in that moment.

A word on Tyler Lockett, who probably played his final game for the Seahawks today. He is one of their greatest ever draft picks and it was a pleasure to watch his career in Seattle.

So there we are. Another season ends. The Seahawks will pick 18th in the draft. I think #18 could be a bit of a no-man’s land position. You’re going to miss out on the top-tier of players. Seattle’s placing also might be a little bit too early to dive into the interior O-line class — so a trade down could be on the cards. It’ll be interesting to see if Drew Allar declares and if he does, what range he is projected to go. Would they trade up for him? Would he last to #18? Is he the kind of player Schneider would deem worthy of drafting to develop?

I hope they make the moves this off-season, including taking some risks, to take the next step and give fans a reason to dream again. I’m not sure anyone today is thinking like they were in 2012 — ‘one more off-season’. There’s work to do — and yet I don’t think internally they considered this a ‘rebuild’ at all after firing Pete Carroll.

Watching a team stuck in the middle can be frustrating. Like many, I’m desperate to see the Seahawks competing against the NFL’s best and being a serious playoff threat again. The evidence of this season is that they’re not close to being a great team. They’re very much in the ‘good’ category, with little in the way of obvious young star power at the most important positions.

My fear, as it has been for some time, is that they think they’re closer than they actually are. I hope, instead, they attack the off-season and by the end of the draft, there’s some genuine excitement surrounding the future of the Seahawks. Next year, they need to win some of those games against big opponents and dramatically improve their record at Lumen Field, while offering a clearer vision to future glory.

If you missed our post-game stream after the Rams game, check it out here:

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen, replacing his typical ‘watch-notes’ today with nothing on the line against the Rams

The offseason officially starts Monday for the Seahawks. And as usual, it promises to bring a number of changes to the franchise.

A hot and cold offense hampered by severe Offensive Line issues and disjointed play calling, a defense that appears to need one more key component and the viability of the players with the biggest salary cap hits next year mean it will not be boring in the least.

Last year we outlined key dates and discussed their potential impact. Let’s look at the significant dates for this offseason and talk our way through the timeline of decisions the Seahawks will need to make.

The first – and potentially most impactful – decision the team needs to make has no timetable. But it definitely has a deadline.

January – Determining How Much of the Offensive Staff to Change

Much has been written about Ryan Grubb’s performance as Offensive Coordinator this season. So, we do not need to belabor the point.

Except to say this: it feels strongly that the game plans and play calling this year evinced a real apathy about how poor this Offensive Line was playing. It does feel like a more aware Coordinator could have given his offense more chances to be successful. The Week 14 win against Arizona demonstrated what was possible: 409 yards of offense split between 233 yards passing and 176 running, zero turnovers, zero sacks and only four pressures allowed. Yet the Seahawks left that model in the dust just as quickly as they adopted it.

The Seahawks will need to make decisions quickly on Grubb and the rest of the staff and have a group in place sooner rather than later. Why? January is a month spent behind closed doors. Watching tape. Setting up your attack plan for the offseason. Having discussions about traits the coordinators desire for their players.

Last season, Ryan Grubb was hired on February 13. The whole offseason felt rushed and uncoordinated and the results on the field reflected that. Grubb missed prep time with the staff, the Senior Bowl week of activity and three days after he was hired the team had decisions to make on Geno Smith and D.K. Metcalf.

More time to get on the same page is needed. The Seahawks need to act in a determined, focused manner here.

The last week of the month includes the Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl practices – a key time for evaluating talent that will be entering the draft as well as rubbing elbows with fellow General Managers, scouts and agents for some unsanctioned exchanges of information.

There is also a window here to discuss and agree to trades. Granted, it is rare. But do not forget – the Lions and Rams traded Quarterbacks in January even though it could not be made official until March. The Super Bowl had not even been played yet and a trade that would define a good chunk of the NFC picture for the next few seasons was made.

February – Contract Guarantee Triggers, Franchise Tag Window, Scouting Combine

The Seahawks like to structure their contracts for their bigger name players to have guaranteed money that kicks in five days after the Super Bowl and that is no exception for 2025. They have three such contract triggers to consider. Two of them are fairly easy but the third one is tough.

Julian Love has an option bonus of $4.8 million that kicks in and is prorated over the next three seasons. His $1.2 million salary also becomes guaranteed. It certainly feels like the team highly values Love and his contributions, and these numbers are not punitive to their cap much at all.

Leonard Williams has the biggest plum with $17.7 million of his $20 million salary that will guarantee on February 14th. This one feels even more obvious, as Williams has had a tremendous season for the Seahawks. Side note: we talked this fall about restructuring Williams’ contract to pick up some cap room and Williams is a great candidate for that.

Then we come to the tough one: Uchenna Nwosu’s contract calls for $6 million of his 2025 salary to be guaranteed on February 14th. If the Seahawks let that date lapse without cutting him or renegotiating his contract, they will be boxed in to a $21 million cap hit for 2025. Cutting him would only net $2.4 million in space. Trading him would net $8.4 million but a guaranteed $6 million salary after two injury-shortened seasons might not bring a whole lot in trade compensation.

One thing to know: The Seahawks have typically let these guarantee triggers happen, even when it seems against their interests.

This year, Dre’Mont Jones’ $7 million guarantee and Geno Smith’s $12.7 million guarantee happened. Last year Quandre Diggs’ salary guarantee hit, coming off an injury-recovery 2022 and looking at an $18 million cap hit.

The Seahawks have not typically been ruthless in this area but Nwosu has missed large portions of two seasons. As good as he has been, questions of the potential diminishing skill set and a $21 million cap hit against a tight cap may force a bolder move here.

On February 18th, teams can place the Franchise Tag on upcoming Free Agents (the window closes March 4th). This is mostly moot for the Seahawks for two reasons:

1 — They do not have the cap room to tag anyone without creating (and then immediately spending) room.

2 — The only Unrestricted Free Agent they would likely tag is Ernest Jones and the linebacker franchise tag is projected to be about $27 million, which is a non-starter.

The Seahawks are free to talk to Jones about an extension. Nobody else can officially talk to him about a contract until the Legal Tampering Window (sorry, ‘Negotiation Period’ as the NFL calls it) opens in March. Given both sides have expressed a desire to continue working together, this bodes well for a contract announcement not unlike the team did with Leonard Williams.

What about the Scouting Combine? It is Feb 24th to March 3rd in Indianapolis and Rob will cover it extensively as he always has.

Player testing, medical checks and interviews are a key part of the team building process for all teams.

However, the worst-kept secret in the NFL is this gathering affords General Managers, coaches and agents of current players an open excuse to be in proximity to one another. Savvy professionals on all sides use this opportunity to gauge the salary and trade markets for their players under contract as well as potential free agents. It is not a coincidence that after 2023’s combine finished on March 6th, Geno Smith had his new Seahawks contract agreed to the next day.

The Seahawks have a lot of ground to cover in this area, with a lot of moving parts on their roster. Information gathering at this event is crucial to inform decisions they will make this offseason.

March – Free Agency, New League Year & Cap Compliance Deadline, Restricted & Exclusive Rights FA Tenders Due, Roster Bonuses Due

Now we are cooking. This is when the offseason work behind closed doors really starts to pay off and the team reveals a good chunk of their plans for the roster and cap.

March 9th is a key date. This is the last day they can exclusively talk to Ernest Jones about an extension. They also need to make (or have made) some moves to get under the salary cap when the league year begins March 12th.

The Legal Tampering Period opens March 10th. Unrestricted Free Agents can negotiate with teams. As we have discussed, the Seahawks do not have much cap room in order to go shopping. A big investment on the interior of the offensive line might be the biggest step the team could take to improve its play in 2025 though.

March 12th is also the annual deadline to tender Restricted and Exclusive Rights Free Agents. Here is the list of Seahawks candidates:

Among the ERFA’s, Brady Russell seems an easy choice to tender. It will not require much beyond a minimum-salary commitment to pick him up.

As for Restricted Free Agents, Jobe is an interesting name. The Right of First Refusal Tender is projected to be about $3.185 million. Do the Seahawks rate Jobe that highly?

Keep in mind, the tenders do not lock in the salary as guaranteed. A tender can be used as a placeholder to keep a player on the roster while the team assesses their options and perhaps negotiates a contract.

Then we come to two of the most important dates of the offseason.

On March 18th, Tyler Lockett is due a roster bonus of $5.3 million. With a nearly $31 million cap number and the potential to gain $17 million if cut, it seems obvious that Lockett will not receive this bonus. He has expressed a desire to play in 2025, so we will have to see how Lockett and the Seahawks handle this. They may cut him early in the offseason as a goodwill gesture to let him explore the market as a street free agent and sign wherever he desires.

Two days later (March 20th) the Seahawks have another deadline that will force action. Geno Smith is owed a $10 million roster bonus and can increase that up to $16 million with three $2 million escalators up for grabs (passing yards, completion %, 10 wins).

Chances are, like Lockett, this decision will be made long before the date. Likely the Seahawks and Smith will be in touch on a contract extension and work something out that is mutually beneficial. The biggest challenge may be agreeing on the parameters of an extension.

By the end of March, we should have a very solid idea of how the Seahawks feel about many of their offseason priorities such as the Offensive Line and the Quarterback position.

April – the Draft and Charles Cross’ Fifth-Year Tender

The draft is in Green Bay this year on April 24th to 26th. The culmination of a ton of offseason work presents an opportunity to dramatically change your team’s structure.

Keep in mind, rookie salaries do not hit the cap until their contracts are signed.

On May 1st, the Seahawks face another decision deadline: Whether or not to place the Fifth-year tender on Left Tackle Charles Cross. It is projected to be an $18.4 million cap hit for 2026.

Some reminders on this: If the Seahawks decide to tender Cross, it guarantees his 2025 salary and the $18 million for 2026 is fully guaranteed. They can negotiate an extension any time after tendering him and lower the 2026 cap hit and lock down Cross’ prime seasons.

Also keep in mind they can start negotiating with Cross right now if they choose and avoid the tender decision altogether.

And of course they can choose not to tag Cross but still negotiate an extension. The deadline just becomes March 2026 instead of March 2027 if they do tender him.

May-September – Filling out the Roster & Considering Extending Key Players

Teams like Seattle that have little cap room in February and March look forward to June 1st. They gain cap room and can make official moves that push the roster forward, like signing their draft picks to contracts and making those late-summer moves that receive little fanfare but can make a real difference in their season.

Their draft class is normally under contract by June or so.

They also have several key 2026 free agents they need to consider extending:

D.K. Metcalf
Boye Mafe
Kenneth Walker
Riq Woolen
Abe Lucas

Metcalf might be the priority, as they can open up a bunch of cap space while locking down a talented difference-maker.

They will also need about $8-10 million of cap room saved to secure their Practice Squad before Week One. They also will have vested veterans with non-guaranteed salaries (like Noah Fant) have their salaries guarantee if they are on the roster in Week One.

Round one

#1 New England — Mason Graham (DT, Michigan)
The Patriots will probably try and dangle this pick but none of the quarterbacks are worth trading up for. Graham is the best player in the draft for me and in a class lacking true blue-chippers, the most likely player to have an excellent career.

#2 Tennessee — Abdul Carter (LB/EDGE, Penn State)
The Titans are a long way off competing and need to add talent, not chase another young quarterback they can lead to failure.

#3 Cleveland — Travis Hunter (WR/CB, Colorado)
They probably will consider the quarterbacks but the worst thing they can do after the Deshaun Watson debacle is reach for one here and compound the error. Ownership should give Kevin Stefanski time to get this right.

#4 NY Giants — Drew Allar (QB, Penn State)
If he does end up declaring for the draft, in a down year at the position, there’s no reason why the process couldn’t put him in QB1 contention. He has the most translatable skill-set and has shown rapid progress from last season.

#5 Jacksonville — Colston Loveland (TE, Michigan)
People are sleeping on the top two tight ends. They are legit. Don’t be fooled by Loveland’s lost placement within Michigan’s hopeless passing game. He has a chance to be great.

#6 Carolina — Tyler Warren (TE, Penn State)
The Panthers don’t have enough talented players. Warren can come in and basically be Bryce Young’s best friend on the field — offering a dynamic, young target machine they currently lack.

#7 NY Jets — Cam Ward (QB, Miami)
This is too rich for me. Ward played very well this year and boosted his stock. I still don’t think he’s a round one player due to the way he plays. However, a lot of connected people seem to be saying he’ll go early so there’s no point fighting it.

#8 Las Vegas — Shedeur Sanders (QB, Colorado)
Tom Brady and ‘Coach Prime’ could work to make this a reality.

#9 Chicago — Josh Simmons (T, Ohio State)
Without the injury he would’ve been a clear top-15 pick. We’ll see how that impacts his stock but he’s the best left tackle in the draft.

#10 New Orleans — Will Johnson (CB, Michigan)
A tremendous talent who was hampered by injuries in 2024.

#11 San Francisco — Jalon Walker (LB, Georgia)
Dre Greenlaw is a free agent and has had injuries. Walker is extremely talented.

#12 Indianapolis — Luther Burden (WR, Missouri)
The league was reportedly super high on Burden going into the 2024 season but he didn’t shine in Missouri’s offense. He might be too good to pass up here.

#13 Dallas — Ashton Jeanty (RB, Boise State)
As with Burden, if Jeanty falls into this range, even with the positional value lacking, you have to consider him.

#14 Arizona — Malaki Starks (DB, Georgia)
His play tailed off a bit at the end of the season but he’s a chess piece who can pretty much play anywhere in the back-end.

#15 Miami — Kelvin Banks (T/G, Texas)
I think his best position will be guard but teams might try him at tackle first. The Dolphins have to address their O-line.

#16 Cincinnati — James Pearce (EDGE, Tennessee)
They need a spark to get their defense going again.

#17 Atlanta — Tetairoa McMillan (WR, Arizona)
McMillan has a lot of natural talent. If he falls this far, the Falcons — a big BPA-led front office — might decide they have to take him.

#18 Seattle — Tyler Booker (G, Alabama)
The Seahawks reportedly liked JC Latham last year and Booker is another big, athletic blocker who can start immediately at left guard.

#19 Houston — Donovan Jackson (G, Ohio State)
The Texans have no choice but to repair their interior O-line this off-season.

#20 Denver — Harold Fannin Jr (TE, Bowling Green)
He glides into routes which is incredible at his size and has soft hands. I think he’ll go earlier than people think.

#21 Tampa Bay — Jihaad Campbell (LB, Alabama)
He’s built like a tank and moves so well for his size.

#22 LA Chargers — Shemar Stewart (DE, Texas A&M)
He’s extremely raw but Jim Harbaugh took a chance on Aldon Smith and might try and polish this rough diamond too.

#23 LA Rams — Jahdae Barron (DB, Texas)
A very instinctive, physical player who can play in a number of spots.

#24 Green Bay — Mike Green (EDGE, Marshall)
He had a great season and with good testing, could go ahead of some of the bigger name pass rushers in this class.

#25 Pittsburgh — Nick Emmanwori (S, South Carolina)
He could be their answer to Kyle Hamilton — just with a totally different testing profile.

#26 Washington — Will Campbell (T/G, LSU)
Campbell lacked aggression and doesn’t always finish, while his arm length means he probably has to kick inside. I don’t think he played well this year. However, the expectation is he’ll test through the roof.

#27 Baltimore — Josh Connerly Jr (T/G, Oregon)
Highly athletic and aggressive, the Ravens could play him at tackle or guard — although he is a bit undersized.

#28 Philadelphia — Jonah Savaiinaea (G/T, Arizona)
He doesn’t finish enough plays for me but when he plays square he can lock in and hold position.

#29 Buffalo — TJ Sanders (DT, South Carolina)
One of the more underrated players in the draft. He can wreck an O-line. He did it to Georgia.

#30 Detroit — Mykel Williams (DE, Georgia)
He’s had a stop-start season and hasn’t elevated his stock — but the physical potential is there.

#31 Minnesota — Walter Nolen (DT, Ole Miss)
At the end of the season we saw his best form, especially against Florida.

#32 Kansas City — Princely Umanmielen (DE, Ole Miss)
When he wants to be, Umanmielen can be really difficult to stop.

Round two

#33 Tennessee — Matthew Golden (WR, Texas)
He showed in the playoff game that he can go in this range.

#34 Cleveland — Wyatt Milum (T/G, West Virginia)
I think he’s strictly a guard but Cleveland has had success converting tackles into interior linemen in the past.

#35 NY Giants — Kaleb Johnson (RB, Iowa)
Johnson has star potential and is being slept on.

#36 New England — Aireontae Ersery (T/G, Minnesota)
I think he’s too sluggish with his footwork to stick at left tackle but the options aren’t great if you want to improve at the position.

#37 Chicago (v/CAR) — Dylan Fairchild (G, Georgia)
The Bears continue to rebuild their offensive line.

#38 NY Jets — Mason Taylor (TE, LSU)
They need to add talent here and Taylor is really good.

#39 Las Vegas — Emeka Egbuka (WR, Ohio State)
A reliable target for Shedeur.

#40 Chicago — Kenneth Grant (DT, Michigan)
People keep saying he’ll go in the top-20 but I didn’t see that on tape.

#41 Jacksonville — Tyleik Williams (DT, Ohio State)
The only thing he lacks is length. I love the intensity and motor he plays with.

#42 New Orleans — Xavier Restrepo (WR,Miami)
There’s just something about Restrepo which makes me think he’ll go earlier than people are projecting.

#43 San Francisco — Jake Majors (C, Texas)
The 49ers really need to do something to fix their offensive line. Majors is such an athletic, physical center. He’s had a great 2024 season.

#44 Dallas — Deone Walker (DT, Kentucky)
He has an unorthodox body shape and runs hot and cold but the Cowboys need someone who can create impact at defensive tackle.

#45 Arizona — Nic Scourton (DE, Texas A&M)
Players like Scourton — bigger defensive ends — always get mocked in round one. Then like AJ Epenesa and Boogie Basham, they go in round two.

#46 Indianapolis — Benjamin Morrison (CB, Notre Dame)
If it wasn’t for the injury, he’d probably be a first round pick.

#47 Cincinnati — Derrick Harmon (DT, Oregon)
For me he’s more of a third rounder but the Bengals tend to draft defensive linemen I’m not crazy about.

#48 Atlanta — Donovan Ezeiruaku (EDGE, Boston College)
Ezeiruaku has been consistently good this season rushing the edge.

#49 Miami — Kevin Winston Jr (S, Penn State)
Without the injury, he would go earlier.

#50 Seattle — Jordan Burch (DE, Oregon)
They gave Dre’Mont Jones every chance to succeed, which suggests they are keen on a player with his skill-set. Burch is highly athletic, incredibly so for his size, and could be a cost-effective replacement.

#51 Denver — DJ Giddens (RB, Kansas State)
He’s a poor-man’s Alvin Kamara and Sean Payton knows how to use a player like this.

#52 Tampa Bay — Grey Zabel (T/G, North Dakota State)
I really enjoyed his tape and for me, he’s destined to be a success in the NFL.

#53 Houston — Armand Membou (T/G, Missouri)
Athletic, aggressive lineman who can be tried at right tackle or guard.

#54 Carolina — Tre Harris (WR, Ole Miss)
Maybe the Panthers spend some money on their defense and focus on weapons in the draft?

#55 LA Chargers — Josaiah Stewart (EDGE, Michigan)
Harbaugh reunites with a player perfect for his system, as the Chargers gradually move away from Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.

#56 Green Bay — Jared Ivey (DE, Ole Miss)
He showed what he can do against Georgia.

#57 Pittsburgh — Ty Robinson (DT, Nebraska)
Big, nasty and athletic. My kind of player. An AFC North kind of player. Don’t be surprised if he rises after the Senior Bowl and combine.

#58 Baltimore — Billy Bowman (S, Oklahoma)
Bowman plays like a Raven.

#59 Washington — Devin Neal (RB, Kansas)
I still think they’re looking for the guy at running back and Neal can be the guy.

#60 Philadelphia — Alfred Collins (DT, Texas)
He’s had an excellent season and finally delivered on his potential in college.

#61 Buffalo — Danny Stutsman (LB, Oklahoma)
A very consistent, hard-nosed linebacker who fits the Bills.

#62 Buffalo (v/MIN) — Shavon Revel (CB, East Carolina)
The third defensive back in this round who could’ve gone earlier but for injury.

#63 Detroit — Carson Schwesinger (LB, UCLA)
Few players have improved their stock as much as Schwesinger this season.

#64 Kansas City — Xavier Scott (CB, Illinois)
He’s such a sparky playmaker. I really enjoyed watching him.

Thoughts on the Seahawks

In 13 of John Schneider’s 15 draft classes he took an offensive or defensive linemen with his first or second pick. In five of his drafts, the top two picks were both linemen. Despite the complaints over the years, Schneider has mostly stuck to the Ron Wolf mantra of drafting for the trenches. There’s just been some painful deviations and missed opportunities when they didn’t stick to it.

The point is, Schneider does like to draft for the lines. This draft class is ideally suited to match his preference, so the chances are this will be another draft where they focus on the O-line and D-line.

This is all the more critical given Seattle’s need to reinforce and improve the offensive line in particular.

As discussed in my off-season predictions video yesterday, I don’t think the Seahawks are motivated to make major roster changes. I think they’ll most likely set out to upgrade the areas they know they need to target.

We’ve talked about the offensive line all year. A lot of fans and media have discussed Jim Harbaugh’s approach with the Chargers. He took Joe Alt fifth overall because he wanted to make a statement about the kind of team he was building. He could’ve had Malik Nabers instead, arguably the most talented player in the class. Nope. Harbaugh wants the identity of his team to be the O-line.

It would be quite a thing if the Seahawks, having experienced the season they’ve just had, decided to wait on improving their line in favour of taking a player at a different position. Admittedly, sometimes a player falls to you and you’ve just got to pull the trigger. You also can’t force bad value. Joe Alt was expected to go in the top-10, so the Chargers weren’t reaching a year ago. The Seahawks can’t reach.

However, if they feel an O-line pick at #18 is a reach, they can always trade down. There are a clutch of guards (or tackle converts) I have graded in a similar range.

I do think they need to add at least one key veteran starter at guard or center and then add another with a high draft pick, though.

Tyler Booker has long felt like an obvious pairing. The Seahawks reportedly liked JC Latham last year, presumably to kick inside to guard. He was massive, like Booker. The Rams have turned to bigger linemen and I’d like to see the Seahawks do the same, especially if running the ball more effectively is a priority.

Booker’s tape is very good, with evidence of finishing plays, getting out on the move, handling blocks with aplomb and he’s played with a high level of consistency. I think he’s ideally placed, more so than any other lineman in this draft, to start quickly. The Seahawks have needed a classic plug-and-play left guard for ages. That’s Booker.

He also has a tremendous amount of football character and leadership — something the Seahawks have paid a lot of attention to in recent drafts.

With their second pick, I have them taking Jordan Burch from Oregon. He’s a fantastic athlete for a 6-6, 290lbs lineman. He has the physical potential to be an extremely good defender. I’d say maybe even the upside to be special, with the right coaching. I want the Seahawks to try and find special in these rounds again.

They seem to want this kind of player, thus why they’ve persisted with Dre’Mont Jones. If they cut Jones to save cap-space, Burch could be a good replacement.

It’s not a great draft class at the top-end but there’s value to be had in rounds 3-5, particularly at safety, linebacker, running back, receiver and tight end.