We asked and attempted to answer five NFL draft-related questions about the Seahawks offense.
Now let’s turn our attention to the defense.
Doesn’t the offense feel like more of a priority high in the draft?
The defense certainly seems to have fewer holes than the offense heading into the draft with middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV and defensive tackle Jarran Reed re-signed, longtime Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence brought on to replace Dre’Mont Jones and starters returning at every other spot.
The Seahawks have $101 million for 2025 allocated to the defense and $85 million to offense, via OvertheCap.com.
Coach Mike Macdonald said at the league meetings the Seahawks feel having 10 picks in the draft — and five of the first 92 — allows for flexibility to try to take the player at the top of their board when those picks arrive.
“So if that person’s on defense and we’re really excited about him, we have a great vision for him, then let’s rock ‘n’ roll,” Macdonald said. “Let’s go get him and see how he fits in and let him go compete and let’s go. But that’s the case on offense as well. You don’t have to take a guy at a certain position.
“I think actually you get in trouble when you do that sometimes. … If you get caught chasing positions and (say) ‘hey, we’ve only got a couple players here,’ or on the same token, ‘hey, we are good here, we’re good at this position, let’s not take this guy.’ I’ve been burned by that a few times in my career and I just learned my lesson. So we won’t operate like that.’’
Sounds like a message to Seahawks fans to expect anything on draft day.
Will the Seahawks dip into a deep defensive tackle group?
If there’s an area where the Seahawks may not have an immediate need, but one where they could be tempted to take a player up high, it’s the interior defensive line.
The Seahawks used their first pick on the line a year ago, taking tackle Byron Murphy II 15th overall. Along with re-signing Reed, the Seahawks are in the middle of the heavy investment made to Leonard Williams, who plays all over the line.
The tackle class could still prove tempting.
As NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein recently wrote: “There hasn’t been a draft with more than 11 defensive tackles taken inside the first 100 picks since 2016 (when there were 14), but this year could match that total. There should be four first-rounders who could all become stars — (Michigan’s) Mason Graham, (Michigan’s) Kenneth Grant, (Oregon’s) Derrick Harmon and (Ole Miss’) Walter Nolen, but the most impressive part of this group is how many quality starters it is likely to produce. The position is not only deep but also filled with more pass-rush potential than we usually see.”
General manager John Schneider remembers well how the Seahawks were seven deep on the defensive line during the Super Bowl winning season of 2013.
The Eagles’ dominance of the Chiefs’ offensive line in the Super Bowl reinforced the value of a strong and deep defensive front.
The 339-pound Grant could really be appealing if he falls to 18.
Is edge rusher more of a need than might be perceived?
In the long term, it just may be.
The Seahawks enter the draft with a proven foursome of edge rushers in Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall.
Lawrence will be 33 later this month and is coming off a Lisfranc injury, Nwosu has battled a string of injuries the past two seasons, and Mafe can be a free agent at the end of the season.
The edge-rusher group may not be quite as loaded as the tackle position, but it’s still regarded as a good group with as many as seven potentially going in the first round.
More than a few mocks have had the Seahawks taking Marshall’s Mike Green, Georgia’s Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams or Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, who reportedly was in for a pre-draft visit this week.
Hearing any of those names called by the Seahawks shouldn’t be considered as a surprise.
Will the Seahawks consider cornerback a priority?
They sure could, despite the presence of Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, and re-signing Josh Jobe, who emerged as the other starter in three-cornerback sets last season.
Like every other member of the rookie class of 2022, Woolen can be a free agent next March unless he signs an extension before then. To get the kind of deal he’d want from the Seahawks, he will need to be more consistent than he was in 2024.
“If he sat right here, he’d just tell you just play-to-play focus on just kind of the checklist of what you need to do — play-in, play-out,” Macdonald said at the league meetings of where Woolen needs to improve in 2025. “We all know what his strengths are, but when he’s at his best, he really unlocks our defense, because he takes away the side of the field. We can push coverage away from him.“
Jobe is on a one-year deal.
Add that up and the Seahawks could look to add competition at cornerback for this year and roster flexibility for the future.
It helps that the cornerback class is regarded as strong with Pro Football Focus listing seven among its top 44 available prospects.
How about safety?
Sure.
This is another position group considered as being pretty good after two years in which no safeties were taken in the first round.
Two or three could be taken in the first round this year, including South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori, whose size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) draws comparisons to Kam Chancellor. The Seahawks did their research on Emmanwori, reportedly having him in for a pre-draft visit.
The Seahawks have Julian Love and Coby Bryant back as the starting safety tandem. Macdonald likes to use three-safety sets if he feels he has the personnel to pull it off. At the moment, it’s unclear who that third safety would be after they released Rayshawn Jenkins and didn’t re-sign K’Von Wallace, the two who held that role much of last year.
“The three-safety stuff, I think that’s because we had three great safeties, so hey, let’s figure out a way to get these guys in the field at the same time,” Macdonald said at the league meetings. “They earned those opportunities, and they (current players) go earn them, then we’ll figure out a way to get them out there.”