Who wants to see the same mock over and over again? If you’re a Seahawks fan, that’s pretty much what you’re getting at the moment.

If Troy Fautanu makes it to #16, it’d be a fantastic pick for Seattle. He is the player most regularly mocked to the Seahawks and for obvious reasons — the need to improve the O-line, Fautanu’s aggressive playing style plus his history with Ryan Grubb and Scott Huff. He’s one of the best players in the draft. Arguably, one of the ten best. I’m not convinced he’ll last to #16.

If both he and Taliese Fuaga are off the board, as I keep suggesting — that might be the trigger point for the Seahawks to move down.

I do think there will be opportunities to trade back in a draft where a group of top offensive tackles, cornerbacks and pass rushers (all premium positions) are projected to come off the board in the teens. It could tempt a team like Green Bay, with two second round picks, to be bold and move up nine spots using #58.

That said, you can’t guarantee a great offer. It isn’t that helpful that Houston just agreed to move down from #23 to #42 for a second rounder next year (essentially, a third round value). Thus, the Seahawks might not get the great offer they’re perhaps hoping for.

In this mock I wanted to go through that scenario and bring a different name to the table — someone nobody talks about for the Seahawks but who actually fits them in quite a big way.

You’ll also find a ‘Seahawks seven rounder’ looking at who else the Seahawks picked in this class, explanations for all the trades I made and a blurb on Seattle’s first round selection.

Round one

#1 Chicago (v/CAR) — Caleb Williams (QB, USC)
It’s never been a question that the Bears would take Williams here.

#2 Washington — Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU)
The Commanders will select Daniels and look to replicate some of the Ravens’ success with Lamar Jackson.

#3 New England — Drake Maye (QB, North Carolina)
The minute they signed Jacoby Brissett, it felt like they were setting up to draft someone who needs a year’s grace. That’s what Maye needs.

TRADE — MIN #11 – ARI #4
#4 Minnesota (v/ARI) — JJ McCarthy (QB, Michigan)
The Cardinals’ GM made it clear today he wants to trade down. The Vikings, who are analytically driven, trade into this spot to get a quarterback who excels in the things analytically driven front offices focus on.

#5 LA Chargers — Marvin Harrison Jr (WR, Ohio State)
They have a major need at receiver.

#6 New York Giants — Malik Nabers (WR, LSU)
The Giants have long needed an X-factor difference maker at receiver.

#7 Tennessee — Rome Odunze (WR, Washington)
I watched an interview with new Head Coach Brian Callahan not so long ago, where he spoke about modern NFL teams needing great receivers. He’ll let his dad coach-up the O-line and save that need for round two. Odunze is a WR1.

#8 Atlanta — Jared Verse (DE, Florida State)
I think Verse or Chop Robinson, rather than Dallas Turner, will be the first pass rusher taken.

#9 Chicago — Taliese Fuaga (T, Oregon State)
They’ve added weapons, now they have an opportunity to really bolster their offensive line to protect their #1 pick at quarterback.

#10 NY Jets — Brock Bowers (TE, Georgia)
The Jets clearly aren’t thinking long-term and are just going all-in this year, probably to try and save jobs. Bowers would give them another dynamic weapon for Aaron Rodgers.

#11 Arizona (v/MIN) — Dallas Turner (DE, Alabama)
He’s a scheme fit and he has outstanding physical traits but I thought his tape was massively underwhelming.

#12 Denver — Chop Robinson (DE, Penn State)
The Micah Parsons comparisons are not hyperbole.

#13 Las Vegas — JC Latham (T, Alabama)
He’s just too huge, strong and athletic not to go in the top-15.

#14 New Orleans — Troy Fautanu (T/G, Washington)
There’s absolutely no doubt that Fautanu is one of the best players in the draft.

#15 Indianapolis — Joe Alt (T, Notre Dame)
Chris Ballard made a point of going onto the field at the combine to get a good look at the offensive linemen. They need to protect Anthony Richardson. Alt is a bit overrated — but teams will see a solid, safe pick.

TRADE — PHI #22 – SEA #16
#16 Philadelphia (v/SEA) — Terrion Arnold (CB, Alabama)
The Eagles must get younger and better at cornerback and they move up to make sure it happens. Arnold and Quinyon Mitchell are really close battling to be CB1.

#17 Jacksonville — Brian Thomas Jr (WR, LSU)
After losing Calvin Ridley, the Jaguars secure a dynamic weapon at receiver.

#18 Cincinnati — Byron Murphy (DT, Texas)
With the way he’s looking during workouts, someone will take him early.

#19 LA Rams — Amarius Mims (T, Alabama)
The Rams are going with a ‘bigger the better’ approach to their O-line.

TRADE — BUF #28 – PIT #20
#20 Buffalo (v/PIT) — Quinyon Mitchell (CB, Toledo)
The Bills, like the Eagles, move up to secure a cornerback. Mitchell is the real deal.

#21 Miami — Laiatu Latu (DE, UCLA)
After suffering injuries at the position late in the season, the Dolphins secure another dynamic edge rusher and go for value here.

#22 Seattle (v/PHI) — Darius Robinson (DE, Missouri)
The Seahawks get the best deal they can to move down then make a surprise choice — adding ‘alpha’ Robinson who shone at the Senior Bowl and for Missouri. This is the type of pick the Ravens/Steelers would make and they get back to that approach here. The trade compensation is explained below.

TRADE GB #25 – ARI #23
#23 Green Bay (v/ARI, MIN, HOU, CLE) — Olu Fashanu (T, Penn State)
The Packers desperately need a left tackle of the future. Fashanu is talented but needs technical refinement, which is why he drops. Green Bay jump the Cowboys to make sure they get him.

#24 Dallas — Tyler Guyton (T, Oklahoma)
He could go much earlier than this but one of the tackles is going to slip a little.

#25 Arizona (v/GB) — Jordan Morgan (T/G, Arizona)
Morgan can play guard or tackle and the Cardinals are happy for him to start inside.

#26 Tampa Bay — Adonai Mitchell (WR, Texas)
The talk is the league sees him as a future #1 target and the Buccs could do with adding weapons to be as dynamic as possible.

#27 Arizona (v/HOU) — Graham Barton (T/G/C, Duke)
The Cardinals continue to improve their O-line with the versatile, athletic and consistent Barton.

#28 Pittsburgh (v/BUF) — Jackson Powers-Johnson (C, Oregon)
After trading down in the first, the Steelers add JPJ — who they’re said to be big admirers of.

#29 Detroit — Nate Wiggins (CB, Clemson)
He’s been described as a poor man’s Devon Witherspoon and we know the Lions liked Witherspoon a year ago.

#30 Baltimore — Edgerrin Cooper (LB, Texas A&M)
The Ravens need some dynamism next to Roquan Smith after losing Patrick Queen and as a WILL, Cooper can pin his ears back and play in attack mode.

#31 San Francisco — Jer’Zhan Newton (DT, Illinois)
The 49ers love to replenish their interior D-line in the draft and they’ve lost Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw this year.

#32 Kansas City — Ladd McKonkey (WR, Georgia)
He’s had a perfect draft process so far and you wouldn’t bet against him going earlier than this.

Round two

#33 Carolina — Keon Coleman (WR, Florida State)
#34 New England — Roger Rosengarten (T, Washington)
#35 Arizona — Malachi Corley (WR, Western Kentucky)
#36 Washington — Ben Sinnott (TE, Kansas State)
#37 LA Chargers — Junior Colson (LB, Michigan)
#38 Tennessee — Kingsley Suamataia (T, BYU)
#39 Carolina (v/NYG) — Cooper DeJean (S/CB, Iowa)
#40 Chicago (v/CHI) — Cooper Beebe (G, Kansas State)
#41 Green Bay (v/NYJ) — Braden Fiske (DT, Florida State)
#42 Houston (v/MIN) — Troy Franklin (WR, Oregon)
#43 Atlanta — Kool-aid McKinstry (CB, Alabama)
#44 Las Vegas — Michael Penix Jr (QB, Washington)
#45 New Orleans (v/DEN) — Xavier Legette (WR, South Carolina)
#46 Indianapolis — Xavier Worthy (WR, Texas)
#47 NY Giants (v/SEA) — Kamari Lassiter (CB, Georgia)
#48 Jacksonville — Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (S, Texas Tech)
#49 Cincinnati — Jacob Cowing (WR, Arizona)
#50 Philadelphia (v/NO) — Brandon Coleman (T/G, TCU)
#51 Pittsburgh — Roman Wilson (WR, Michigan)
#52 LA Rams — Spencer Rattler (QB, South Carolina)
#53 Philadelphia — Javon Bullard (S, Georgia)
#54 Cleveland — Payton Wilson (LB, NC State)
#55 Miami — Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE, Texas)
#56 Jacksonville (v/DAL) — Ruke Orhorhoro (DT, Clemson)
#57 Tampa Bay — Ennis Rakestraw Jr (CB, Missouri)
#58 Green Bay — T’Vondre Sweat (DT, Texas)
TRADE #59 Denver (v/HOU) — Bo Nix (QB, Oregon)
#60 Buffalo — Zach Frazier (C, West Virginia)
#61 Detroit — Ricky Pearsall (WR, Florida)
#62 Baltimore — Tyler Nubin (S, Minnesota)
#63 San Francisco — Jalen McMillan (WR, Washington)
#64 Kansas City — Mekhi Wingo (DT, LSU)

The trades explained

For the purpose of this mock, I’m looking at a scenario where the trade market in round one isn’t red hot — with the Houston/Minnesota deal influencing negotiations. If dropping down 20 spots only nets you a future second rounder, that could be used as leverage by teams looking to move up.

Minnesota (#11) trades with Arizona (#4)
The Vikings give up #23 and next year’s first round selection to move up to #4 so that they can select quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Cardinals are making it very clear they want to move down. The Vikings know if they trade up to #4, they’ll be guaranteed one of the top quarterbacks.

Philadelphia (#22) trades with Seattle (#16)
The Eagles give up a fourth round pick (#120) plus a 2025 third rounder to move up six spots for Terrion Arnold. It’s critical the Eagles upgrade at cornerback and this kind of move would enable them to have their pick of the crop. Nobody was willing to give the Seahawks a second rounder to move down, so they take the best offer they can get and that includes getting more stock for next year.

Buffalo (#28) trades with Pittsburgh (#20)
The Bills give up two fourth round picks (#128, #133) and a sixth (#189) to move up eight spots for Quinyon Mitchell. After watching the Eagles trade up for Terrion Arnold, the Bills don’t hang about and make a similar move to ensure they land Mitchell.

Green Bay (#25) trades with Arizona (#23)
The Packers chuck the Cardinals a fourth rounder to jump the Cowboys in order to get Olu Fashanu.

Denver (#76) trades with Houston (#59)
The Broncos give up their third rounder in 2025 to move up 17 spots to select Bo Nix. Many people believe Nix is ideally suited for Sean Payton’s system but the #12 pick is far too early for him. Payton’s Saints were very aggressive trading away future picks and they did it last year in Denver too — giving the Seahawks their third rounder in 2024.

Thoughts on Seattle’s top pick

I’m guessing it’s going to be one that a lot of people aren’t fond of but Darius Robinson is a more likely Seahawks target than perhaps people think.

Firstly, we know they’ve placed a major focus on character. They are not compromising and haven’t for the last two drafts. Take the pick of Derick Hall. The official team website revealed they had a first round grade on him. Hall had fantastic traits and showed an aggressive playing style on tape. He also had A++ character. He was all football, all the time.

You might read that and think about Hall’s difficult rookie season and feel it was a bad judgement call by the Seahawks. Park that for a second and focus on the mindset of the team. It feels like they are trying to find ‘alpha’s’. Devon Witherspoon was definitely one. Hall, whether he played poorly last year or not, most definitely was one too. At the time of the pick I mentioned he reminded me of James Harrison the former Steeler. For what it’s worth it took a bit of time for Harrison to settle into the league. Hall looked like a Raven/Steeler.

I’ve spent a lot of time studying Robinson this week. Firstly, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s an A++ character. They call him ‘Mr. Mizzou’ at Missouri. Watch any of his interviews at the combine and he just excels. On tape he is all-out effort on every down. There’s no ‘snaps off’ with him. He was highly productive last season — getting a sack against every SEC opponent he played against for a super-tough Missouri team.

John Schneider mentioned in a recent interview that it mattered to him for a player to play in his team’s Bowl game. Robinson did, helping the Tigers beat Ohio State in a dominant defensive performance (he had another sack in that game).

Robinson was the star of the Senior Bowl 1v1’s, winning in numerous ways. His length, power, quickness, motor and repertoire all shone. He lined up inside and out and just created carnage all week in Mobile:

I interviewed Mekhi Wingo at LSU, one of his best friends. Wingo told me that Robinson basically was his mentor and taught him how to be a pro. Several players have taken the time to speak highly of him during this draft process on their social media accounts and he gives off a vibe that he could quickly develop into a heart-and-soul leader for whichever team drafts him.

How good is he as a player and how would he fit in Seattle? I think his tape shows some similarities to Jadeveon Clowney. He’s not the same twitchy athlete as Clowney but they have that same ungainly ability to just wreak havoc. He’s also bigger than Clowney at 285lbs — but they share that same ability to move across the line and win in different ways. I do think Robinson has the ability to wreck games — perhaps not in the most refined, cultured way — but he’s a D-liner. It’s supposed to be a bit rough and ready.

In terms of his fit — I appreciate the Ravens don’t have anyone like this. Yet for a coach in Mike Macdonald who wants to mix between three and four man fronts, it’s hard to see why Robinson wouldn’t fit. He’s an ideal inside/out type. Putting him in the same defensive front as Leonard Williams would create ‘F-the-game-up’ opportunities — at a time when San Francisco and the Rams might be losing some of their ability to do that from the inside, with Arik Armstead now in Jacksonville and Aaron Donald retiring.

Further to this, it does feel like the Seahawks are lacking that one monster on the defense who just brings everything together. Think Kam. That guy who everyone looks up to and knows — he’s going to be the most violent, aggressive, committed player every week. The player other teams fear.

Kirby Smart definitely felt that way about him:

Remember what we highlighted yesterday. Seattle’s mantra in the draft for the last two years was ‘stick to the board’. It’s been high character. Don’t reach for specific positions or needs. It feels like the trenches are now more important in terms of resource spend.

Robinson could be the final piece to an angry, aggressive, disruptive D-line that nobody wants to play. He could become the alpha on this team. He could easily be one of the top players on their board. There aren’t many players like this guy.

Seahawks seven round projection

Here’s a mock for the rest of Seattle’s draft:

R1 — #22 Darius Robinson (DE, Missouri)
R3 — #81 Trevin Wallace (LB, Kentucky)
R4 — #102 Trevor Keegan (G, Michigan)
R4 — #118 Cade Stover (TE, Ohio State)
R4 — #120 Dominique Hampton (S, Washington)
R6 — #179 Jarrett Kingston (T/G, USC)
R6 — #192 Tyrice Knight (LB, UTEP)
R7 — #235 Emani Bailey (RB, TCU)
2025 Philadelphia R3 pick

I used the Sportskeeda Mock Draft Simulator for this and tried to ignore players who wouldn’t obviously be available (eg Malachi Corley in round four).

Trevin Wallace would give them a very athletic, hard-hitting middle linebacker to add to the depth and competition at that position. He could be the long-term future at the position.

I’ve taken Schneider’s words on the radio last week literally about guards and determined that he, Scott Huff, Ryan Grubb and advisor Steve Hutchinson will be able to ‘find a guard’. Trevor Keegan had 44 starts for an award-winning Michigan line that they picked from a year ago (Olu Oluwatimi). He had 37 starts at left guard. I thought he had an excellent combine. It’s this type of player, who should be available early on day three, that makes me think Schneider has confidence he can find guys who fit.

The Seahawks need another pass-catching tight end and Cade Stover fits the mentality, agility testing and character traits they look for (he also has excellent catching technique).

Dominique Hampton is physical, intelligent and versatile and would be a great pick in round four. Jarrett Kingston offers the ability to play multiple positions on the offensive line. Tyrice Knight offers more depth at linebacker plus special teams value and Emani Bailey has the makings of a terrific third down back.

The Seahawks didn’t get a great offer to trade down from #16 but adding another pick this year and getting a third rounder in 2025 from the Eagles might help them — especially if they need to start thinking about being aggressive to land a quarterback of the future.

It’s a different mock to most — but the picks, I think, make sense based around the philosophy and the type of player the Seahawks have been drafting for the last two years. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.