Brady Henderson has published a typically excellent breakdown of the Seahawks draft, with a few very interesting nuggets included. I wanted to touch on a few things we should remember for next year.
Tackling is important at cornerback
Brady noted, as he did during our recent conversation, that San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson was a target with the 32nd pick. He was selected by the Dolphins at #27.
Johnson’s ‘missed tackle percentage’ in 2025 was 5.6% — fifth best among a deep cornerback draft class. Julian Neal wasn’t far behind (7.3%) and neither was Colton Hood (6.6%) — a player touted as a possible alternative had the Seahawks not been able to select Jadarian Price.
Other players I’d discussed before the draft, such as Hezekiah Masses and Chandler Rivers, both struggled in this area. They are both good players but with 15.3% and 16.2% missed tackles respectively, they ranked among the worst in the class. This possibly made them less appealing.
In future, when considering cornerback options for the Seahawks, this is something I will keep in mind. Especially with higher picks (rounds 1-3). Andre Fuller’s rate was a 10.9% and Michael Dansby’s was an eye-watering 21.4%. Clearly the later you go in the draft, it’s not a deal breaker.
It’s possibly not such a key factor at safety either. Bud Clark missed 14.5% of his tackles. That ranked 94th among draft eligible safeties.
Zone-blocking fit is key for offensive linemen
The Seahawks have really benefitted from zoning-in (no pun intended) on a specific blocking scheme and tailoring their decision making to outside zone. Last year, Grey Zabel and Bryce Cabeldue were among the top graded zone-blockers eligible. This year, they selected Beau Stephens.
His zone grade of 89.5 was third overall in the class. Brady notes there were certain members of the Seahawks’ front office who liked him more than Keylan Rutledge. For what it’s worth, Rutledge’s zone grade was a 77.4.
I never thought it was likely the Seahawks would take Chase Bisontis early (66.0 grade) and while they passed on Emmanuel Pregnon, who had the top zone grade in the class, there may be other reasons for that. It may never have been their intention to spend a high pick on an interior O-liner and they just saw a great opportunity to trade back into the fifth round to get Stephens.
I know there were people who viewed Stephens as a day-two talent and he possibly lasted deep into day three due to limitations in his physical profile.
Still, the Seahawks made their move, and having great clarity on what they want in their offensive system is something we probably need to be aware of. It seems clear they want players who played well in zone coming into the league.
Thoughts on the EDGE rushers they reportedly liked
Brady mentioned three names — Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas and Michigan duo Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham. It’s hard to decipher what that means we should look for, other than to say all three play with a lot of ‘juice’.
Thomas (20.3%) and Moore (19.8%) had strong pass-rush win percentages but Barham (13.1%) did not. Thomas’ max-speed via GPS (19.6mph) was second only to Keyshawn James-Newby among the names I have data for — but his max-speed over 0-10 yards (14.4mph) was the lowest on my list. He also only ran a 1.63 10-yard split at 241lbs.
Size also doesn’t seem to be a big factor. Barham was 240lbs at the combine, so he’s in the same range as Thomas.
It might simply be a mentality thing. I thought Moore was average on tape but he was physical and played with a lot of effort. Thomas was relentless. Barham played with a lot of physicality and was a terror vs the run.
One thing I would note — a year ago there was a feeling the Seahawks would be interested if Jalon Walker fell into range (he was drafted 15th overall by the Falcons). He was a linebacker/EDGE hybrid who played with a great level of aggression and motor. He was 243lbs at his combine.
I know, speaking to people in the league, there were discussions about how best to use R Mason Thomas at the next level — and whether he needed to be more of a hybrid. That is what you’d be getting with Barham for certain.
It’s possible the Seahawks are on the look out for that type of rusher. It’s perhaps not a surprise — Aden Durde has first-hand experience with Micah Parsons in that role in Dallas.
It doesn’t mean they’ll exclusively look at these types — but it appears they do have some interest in hybrid type rushers and that’s something to remember going forward.
Special teams matters
The fact that Brady name-checked Kendrick Law as an alternative to Emmanuel Henderson Jr was interesting. It made it clear that the Seahawks were specifically targeting a player with special teams in mind.
It’s hardly a big revelation that they value special teams. Being supremely balanced across the three units on the roster is a key reason why the Seahawks are Super Bowl Champions. It’s not something we spent much time looking at though before the 2026 draft. That’ll be different next year — I’ll be sure to dig around, and ask around, to find out who provides the best special teams value later in the draft.
Final thoughts on Jadarian Price
I’m trying to get more data for the running back class, to find an angle on the fact he ran a surprisingly slow 1.61 10-yard split.
What I do know is his GPS max-speed over 0-10 yards last season was 17.1mph. That compares favourably to the rest of Seattle’s class:
Michael Dansby — 18.2
Andre Fuller — 17.9
Emmanuel Henderson Jr — 17.5
Jadarian Price — 17.1
Julian Neal — 17.0
Bud Clark — 16.8
Price is heavier than all of the names above apart from Julian Neal (they both weighed 203lbs at the combine). Emmanuel Henderson Jr, Bud Clark and Andre Fuller all ran 1.56 10-yard splits, while Neal ran a 1.59.
It’s not something I’m overly concerned about. A running back needs to combine vision, burst, decisiveness and power when they receive the football — they aren’t just sprinting off a standing start. I never watched Price on tape and thought he lacked initial quickness. The one area I think he can stand to improve is lower body power for short yardage plundering.
