Here are some thoughts on where I think the Seahawks are at, following main section of free agency and with just over a month to go until the draft…
— With the current state of the roster, especially the lack of additions to the offensive line, it seems pretty obvious at this stage that the Seahawks will go O-line at #16 or trade down.
— I think it’s less likely that they’ll take a quarterback after the Sam Howell trade but wouldn’t rule it out completely. I think it’s possible the Seahawks share the apparent league consensus view that there’s a top-four in this quarterback class and that other players, such as Michael Penix Jr and Bo Nix, are day two picks. With no second round pick currently, and no guarantee they’ll be able to trade down, they couldn’t afford to go into the draft without an adequate backup quarterback. Now they’re hedged against missing out in the draft.
— The lack of interior offensive line investment in free agency speaks to the strength and depth of the O-line positions in this draft. Free agent additions and re-signings at linebacker and tight end also speak to the weaker depth at those two positions. The Seahawks signed former seventh round pick Tremayne Anchrum for depth purposes today — but it changes very little in terms of the draft.
— The willingness to move down from #78 to #102, coupled with already spending their second round pick on Leonard Williams, perhaps speaks to their desire to trade down and acquire extra picks. Day two feels like a strong area for adding players and it’s hard to imagine they’ll be comfortable picking at #16 and then having to wait until #81. That said, there’s always a chance a ‘can’t miss’ player lasts to #16 — or a good trade offer isn’t forthcoming. After all, once you trade out of the top-20 in this class, there’s going to be a drop-off in talent.
— I think when we’re projecting what they’ll do in round we shouldn’t overthink it. The strength of round one is offensive tackle. John Schneider has often bemoaned the lack of good, quality offensive linemen coming into the league. They have needs on the offensive line. If they stay at #16, it’s almost certainly going to be an O-liner.
— Is pass rusher an alternative? It could be, purely based on the fact there are four good edge rushers in the draft plus a defensive tackle in Byron Murphy that a lot of people like. However, the investment in Leonard Williams plus the fact the Seahawks already have four edge rushers on their roster that they’ve already invested in, suggests O-line is a lot more likely.
— A respected source mentioned to me over the weekend that when Jaxson Kirkland — once a highly rated offensive tackle — suffered injuries and saw his college career stall, he was moved inside by Scott Huff to play guard. Kirkland was an athletic, tall guard at Washington (he’s 6-7 in height). It was put to me that the Seahawks could do the same with Abraham Lucas. Many evaluators projected Lucas to guard at the next level. I never agreed with that and thought he was tailor-made for right tackle. However, if the injuries prevent him from playing his best football at the edge, a move inside could be a way to manage the situation. This would afford the Seahawks an opportunity to draft a right tackle at #16 if they don’t move down. With Lucas competing at guard and a new highly drafted right tackle on the roster, this could be a way to upgrade Seattle’s O-line.
— Further to this, Nate Kalepo played left guard for Washington in 2023. He’s 6-6 and 327lbs — so he also has a similar frame to Lucas. He was an offensive tackle convert from High School. There’s really no reason to believe Lucas isn’t a fit at guard for Scott Huff and it’s possible they’re earmarking him for that role.
— I think Seattle’s 1a and 1b preferences for the #16 pick are Taliese Fuaga and Troy Fautanu. They both have the athletic qualities, the aggressive playing style and personality that the Seahawks are looking for up front. I suspect both players would be used at right tackle. Although Fautanu is regularly touted for a move inside to guard — he’s played fantastic football at tackle and I think there’s every chance they would play him on the right side, at least initially. Both players would be great picks. The only problem is, sadly, I’m not convinced either lasts to #16.
— If both of these players are gone, that could be the trigger to trade down. They could also look at Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton as right tackle alternatives. I suspect J.C. Latham won’t last to #16. If they do trade down, don’t be surprised if they still draft a right tackle and follow through with the plan above. Roger Rosengarten could be a day two target, among others. Penn State’s Caedan Wallace could be an option.
— If they trade down, it could simply be a ‘BPA’ scenario with no strict position in mind. John Schneider’s comments last week about guards being ‘overpaid and over-drafted’ doesn’t suggest they’ll be rushing to the podium for Cooper Beebe or Jackson Powers-Johnson (who I think many teams will view as a guard because of his 330lbs frame). That said, both players might be sufficiently good enough to be taken. I’m a huge fan of Beebe and see some similarities to Quenton Nelson. Trading down, though, could present a situation like a year ago where receiver wasn’t a huge need but they took Jaxon Smith-Njigba anyway based on grading. So everything could be on the table if they move down, especially if they get more than one extra pick.
— If the Seahawks don’t address the O-line early — and trade down to add more picks — let’s not forget that it’s a deep draft at all three offensive line positions. They’ll be able to get stuff done here.
— My guess is they’ll like Michael Penix Jr but possibly not as a first round pick. There does seem to be a fairly general consensus that he will be a day two selection. If the Seahawks grade him in round two, they almost certainly won’t reach. Thus, they’ll probably only feel comfortable taking him if they trade down from #16 and get a pick in a range where they feel comfortable selecting him.
— To recap — my prediction as of today is they go offensive tackle at #16 if they stay put and if they trade down, it could open up a pure ‘BPA’ scenario with multiple positions being on the table. I think Fuaga and Fautanu will be key targets and if they’re gone, the likes of Mims and Guyton could come into play. I think they feel it’s going to be tricky to draft a quarterback in a range where they’re comfortable taking one in this class and that’s why they made the move for Howell. Abe Lucas could be moved to guard and there’s evidence that Scott Huff likes to use players like Lucas in that position anyway.
I discussed some of these topics in a video published yesterday, check it out below:
