— I think the Seahawks will really like the top-four tight ends and will explore finding a way to come away with one of Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, Elijah Arroyo or Mason Taylor. They will need to be creative because Warren and Loveland probably won’t last to #18 and Arroyo and Taylor probably won’t last to #50.
— A lot of focus has been on how the Seahawks can spend a lot of picks with five in the top-92. I think it might be a case of them feeling like this is a great opportunity to be aggressive and make sure they add quality players they want, rather than just seeing who lasts to them. They had lots of picks to build a foundation in 2022 and 2023 and they’ve become a good not great team. Now, it might be about using their stock to trade up and pursue difference makers.
— I can’t shake the thought that the Seahawks could play a game tomorrow and would be able to field a player at every position except left guard. Have they known, all along, that they’ll be getting the player to fill that particular void at #18? Could it be Grey Zabel? Is Tyler Booker still an option despite his combine testing numbers? Yesterday Tony Pauline told us he’s hearing Zabel, while Mike Mayock, who had Zabel going 13th to Miami, mocked Booker to the Seahawks.
— In 15 drafts as Seattle’s GM, John Schneider has taken an offensive or defensive lineman nine times with his first selection. On five occasions, his first two picks were both trenches players. It’s not unrealistic that this happens again.
— If they don’t go trenches early, I still believe Emeka Egbuka and Malaki Starks are strong options. Both are highly talented, underrated players with outstanding character. They are the ideal combination of talent and professionalism. They are ‘Seahawks’ types, even if they ultimately don’t end up in Seattle. Donovan Ezeiruaku and Matthew Golden also fit that billing.
— A wildcard ‘shock everyone’ first round option could be the aforementioned Elijah Arroyo. Depending on the medicals, he’s as good a chance as anyone of being a good starter within this class.
— There are two very intriguing physical comparisons to note. Tate Ratledge has an almost identical explosive physical profile and size/frame to Will Fries. They also both played right guard. Ratledge recorded a far superior 10-yard split and 40-yard dash though. Could the Seahawks view him as a more athletic, cheaper alternative who will likely be available in round two? Then there’s Georgia team-mate Jared Wilson. His testing profile and measurables are identical to New Orleans’ starting center Erik McCoy, a player who excelled under Klint Kubiak last year. Just a couple of things to remember for next week.
— The Seahawks have seemingly done a lot of due diligence with their official-30 visits. I believe this is to try and create complete profiles on players with question marks. Let’s run through what I mean below, while acknowledging it’s completely possible any of these players can ‘wow’ the team during their trip and address any doubts…
— Nick Emmanwori is an excellent athlete but this article noted some character question marks. Getting to know him better, seeing how he fits in the building, trying to get a complete profile on Emmanwori would be a useful exercise if the Seahawks shared some of the concerns in that article, where he’s described as possessing some “football immaturity” and being “naturally contrarian to most everything.”
— Princely Umanmielen has flashes on tape but there are big questions about his consistency and effort. It goes without saying that this is a player you need to get to know, especially if he suddenly provides value if he falls into round three.
— Tetairoa McMillan felt like he coasted through his final year at Arizona, didn’t play anywhere close to his best football and a video emerged recently from a few years ago showing him talking about not watching tape. It’s a handy use of an official-30 visit to try and work out whether he’s someone who fits the culture you are harnessing.
— Shemar Stewart’s production doesn’t match his physical talent and not doing anything at pro-day or on-field workouts at the combine left a sour taste. He was well worth an official visit. A reminder — I went through all the players with similar physical tools to Stewart and then looked at who succeeded in the NFL. On average, the freaky athletes who excelled had 24 college sacks per player. Stewart had just 4.5. He’s a tantalising prospect but his college production suggests he might be more likely to end up like the number of physical dynamos who disappoint. You need all the info you can get on him to work out if he can deliver on his supreme athleticism.
— Mykel Williams feels like a bit of an enigma. Once considered a potential #1 overall pick this year, another season of injury and inconsistency tempered his stock. He could go in the top-10 still or he could last to the end of the first round. He’s tricky to work out and his testing numbers at pro-day didn’t blow the roof off. What is he at the next level?
— Did they get Jalen Milroe in to put him on the whiteboard and see how he handled the information thrown at him? It could be the same for Tyler Shough who also made an official visit. Klint Kubiak’s scheme puts a lot of responsibility on the center for protections. Did they test Jared Wilson out in that regard too? Can he handle these duties early in his career?
— It could be a particularly pivotal meeting for Milroe. Everyone appreciates he has unbelievable physical tools. He needs to convince teams he can do the basics well too. Pretty much the entire internet is unusually aligned on how to view his short/intermediate passing and processing. If coaches come away feeling like they can teach him their scheme and develop him over time, he could be the high pick everyone is suddenly projecting following his invite to the draft. I do think this is more due diligence on Seattle’s behalf and you’d imagine they at least gathered some intel from Alabama when they had Ryan Grubb and Scott Huff on staff during the season with their connections.
— One other note on Milroe — remember, recent quarterbacks who finished their final college seasons with a QBR of 80 or above have typically been drafted in the first round. Milroe achieved that mark in 2024. For more information click here.
— Shavon Revel Jr, Will Johnson, Chase Lundt, Dylan Fairchild and Jihaad Campbell all have existing injuries. They were likely brought in for medical evaluations. It’s possible they also wanted to check with Mykel Williams and Tyler Shough too.
— On the other visits I’m not sure what it means. Bryce Cabeldue, Mason Taylor and Ty Robinson are all seemingly high character, clean and productive and don’t play positions where they’d necessarily need a lot of schematic testing. Maybe they just really like this group and want to finalise their grades? They all fit.
— In a few years we will look back on this defensive tackle class and while it might not be littered with elite stars, we’re going to see a lot of these players ended up being very solid starters in the NFL. I wonder if this could lead to teams rushing to select offensive tackles in round one, knowing the depth at defensive tackle stretches deep into round two?
— Will Howard will go earlier than people think. That might be one of the surprises of the draft. I think some teams will really like him. He’s another quarterback who had a QBR of +80 in 2024.
— Players projected to go on day three that I think are interesting: Kurtis Rourke, Jarquez Hunter, Tahj Brooks, Kyle Monangai, Jackson Hawes, Jack Nelson, Bryce Cabeldue, Garrett Dellinger, Connor Colby, Drew Kendall, Eli Cox, Clay Webb, Nazir Stackhouse, Jay Toia, Jeffrey Bassa, Chandler Martin, Shemar James, Robert Longerbeam, Maxen Hook, Marques Sigle, Keondre Jackson, Jordan Hancock
