What if John Schneider decides to be aggressive at next week’s draft?
With the NFL Draft less than ten days away, we are seeing mock drafts left and right. It’s an exciting time for fans as hope and opportunity for their teams to strike gold are within reach. For the Seattle Seahawks and their fans, this is no different. In the past week, I have seen tight ends, wide receivers, offensive linemen, heck, even quarterbacks being predicted to go to Seattle with their first round pick. It just shows how unpredictable and exciting this year’s draft is going to be.
In my mock draft this week, I wanted to take a look at a potential avenue that very few have looked at, which is John Schneider being ultra aggressive and making three different trades in the draft, with two being used to go up and get his guy. With that being said, here’s this week’s Seahawks mock draft where Schneider gets to truly cook.
TRADE #1:
Seahawks trade pick #18, #92 and a 2026 3rd round pick to the Miami Dolphins for pick #13 and a 2026 5th round pick
Round 1, pick 13 – Colston Loveland, tight end, Michigan
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
I believe that the Seahawks want to select a TE with their first round pick. This is a deep draft at the position, but there are a clear top two that are easily first round grades, Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland. While Warren definitely has some Rob Gronkowski comparisons, Loveland shows a lot of Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta to his game.
In this mock, Warren went No. 10 to Chicago, and Seattle needed to move up ahead of Indianapolis if they wanted to get their hands on Loveland. In doing this deal with Miami, Seattle is giving up a late third and the potential of whatever next year’s third round picks could look like. In return, Seattle is getting a true blue chip prospect that allows offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to run his 12 personnel with a dynamic Michigan combo in the TE room.
When healthy, Loveland was the best offensive player on the Wolverines national championship team, and was still productive in a brutal offensive situation at Ann Arbor this year, before injuries ended his season. Expected to be healthy by training camp, a receiving trio of Loveland, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp is one of the more underrated in the league.
In my opinion, the talent is worth the cost. There’s only so many stars in this draft. Go get one of them.
TRADE #2:
Seahawks trade pick #50 and #137 to the Atlanta Falcons for pick #46
Round 2, pick 46 – Josh Conerly Jr, offensive lineman, Oregon
Sitting at pick 50, the Seahawks may get lucky and be able to wait for a talented offensive lineman to drop to them. Armed with their war chest of picks, I don’t see how they can afford to take that risk. In their trade with Atlanta (who only have five total picks) they get to move up slightly and select their offensive lineman they want. In this scenario, that is Conerly Jr. out of Oregon.
The Rainier Beach star and local product, Conerly gets to come home and have a chance to properly grow and develop into a dominant guard. He’s raw, and as we all saw in the Rose Bowl, needs to get stronger as he was thoroughly dominated by Ohio State’s veteran edge group. There’s no denying that tape, but there are also 13 other games that show a guy who’s got the talent to flirt with being a first round pick.
He was exceptional last year in Oregon’s multiple running schemes, including the outside zone. I’m not saying needs a red shirt season like what we saw this year from Christian Haynes, but if given a year to physically develop, Conerly could be a franchise IOL after being such a successful tackle at the college level. I think he can be a starter at some point this season, but you’re drafting him for the long game and what he could become.
TRADE #3:
Seahawks trade pick #52 to the Los Angeles Chargers for picks #55 and #158
Round 2, pick 55 – T.J. Sanders, defensive tackle, South Carolina
After two trade ups, John will take advantage of a chance to recoup a pick by trading back with the Chargers a few spots, and collecting a fifth round pick. At pick 55, Seattle turns back towards the defense, and continues to build one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, selecting T.J. Sanders.
A star defensive tackle for a dominant South Carolina defense last year, Sanders was a big reason that others had so much success. When he wasn’t eating up blockers and taking away running lanes, the 6-4 297 lbs redshirt junior also has a knack for getting to the quarterback, totaling 8.5 sacks in the last two years for the Gamecocks.
Adding Sanders to such a loaded defensive line may feel like overkill, but as the Eagles showed in the Super Bowl, you can never have enough guys that can get to the quarterback or shut down the running game.
Round 3, pick 82 – Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
To be honest, I actually considered another trade here, but that would be a bit much. I do think that Cincinnati edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is very much in play to be traded at the draft. I also think Seattle could be looking at his services and pick 82 feels like a fair compensation.
If Seattle can’t get Hendrickson, then Jack Sawyer feels like a fair consolation pick. Built in a similar mode and style as his Ohio State brother Sam Hubbard (Hendrickson partner in crime in Cincinnati) Sawyer can come in and do a lot of the things that have made the Bengals duo successful.
Good at everything, not great at anything, Sawyer brings a winning mentality and intangibles, and first round motor to go with third round measurables. Again, Seattle has a good edge group, but I believe Sawyer can help complete a defensive front seven that can hold its own with almost anyone.
Round 5, pick 158 – Jack Kiser, linebacker, Notre Dame
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
With the acquired pick from Los Angeles, the Seahawks add to their thin linebacker depth, addition Kiser out of Notre Dame. A defensive star during the Irish’s playoff run, Kiser is a sure tackler that surprised a lot of people with his coverage skills against the likes of Georgia, Penn State, and Ohio State receivers and running backs.
He’s a perfect third linebacker for head coach Mike Macdonald, while helping improve Seattle’s special teams unit.
Round 5, pick 172 – Mitchell Evans, tight end, Notre Dame
Sticking with the Irish, Seattle gets another tight end, this time Mitchell Evans. Evans is your classic solid to good tight end that seems to come out of Notre Dame every couple of years. A talented blocker that can help to an extent in the passing game, the addition of Evans as the team’s blocking tight end creates a young and talented group that compliments each other, but also allows the Seahawks to move on from Noah Fant’s contract.
Round 5, pick 175 – Jabbar Muhammad, cornerback, Oregon
At the end of round five, I wanted to get Seattle another slot defensive back. The slot has been a great spot for Devon Witherspoon, but I’d like to see him continue to move all around the field, and Seattle could benefit from another trustworthy option in the slot.
Similar to Josh Conerly Jr, Muhammad was having a spectacular season, before a nightmare Rose Bowl performance against all world wide out Jeremiah Smith tanked his draft stock. A 5-8 DB, even with the skill set that Jabbar possesses, simply will not match up with the size and gifts that Smith has in his arsenal.
In the right situation though, Muhammad looked the part of someone that will play in the slot for six to eight years in the league.
Round 7, pick 223 – Rayuan Lane III, safety, Navy
Continuing to add to the secondary, Lane III had a fantastic season for a sneaky good Navy team. An absolute ball hawk that struggled a bit tackling on defense, there’s room for growth with Lane. What Lane can provide immediately, is being one of the better special teams gunners in college football.
Special teams is an area where Seattle has to get demonstrably better in 2025, and adding talent to that unit really needs to be looked at in this draft.
Round 7, pick 234 – Tommy Mellott, quarterback, Montana State
Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
With the last pick in the draft, Kubiak and the Seahawks get to take a shot at creating their version of Taysom Hill, drafting Tommy Mellott from Montana State.
The Water Payton award winner this year as the FCS MVP, Mellott had 46 total touchdowns and only two interceptions while totalling almost 4,000 yards (over 1,000 on the ground). At 6-0 207, Mellott is not Hill size-wise (6-2 221), but Mellott’s 4.42 40 time is serious speed from such a talented athlete.
I think Mellott is worth the investment to see what kind of swiss army knife you can turn him into.