It was a busy weekend for the Seattle Seahawks. They made 11 picks, nine on offense. As a whole, it’s a loaded group of young talent set to compete for contributing roles in all three phases here in the coming months.
Round 1 (No. 18 overall): Grey Zabel, IOL, NDSU
Things kicked off for GM John Schneider on night one, adding North Dakota State OL Grey Zabel. Projected to make his living at guard on Sundays, Zabel is a technically efficient and powerful lineman with the alignment versatility to make an impact up and down a front five. If games started today, he’d likely align to the inside shoulder of LT Charles Cross.
Round 2 (No. 35 overall): Nick Emmanwori, SAF, South Carolina
Day two saw Schneider add three playmakers, different in their own unique ways. First, safety Nick Emmanwori out of South Carolina, whose herculean athletic profile saw him light up the NFL combine just a few months back. While his athleticism and explosiveness are off the charts, fine tuning the small details in his game should allow him to thrive within a young and talented Seattle secondary.
Round 2 (No. 50 overall): Elijah Arroyo, TE, Miami
Round 3 (No. 92 overall): Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Miami TE Elijah Arroyo and Alabama QB Jalen Milroe rounded out Schneider’s haul on day two, and both players should earn snaps this fall. While Arroyo projects immediately as a featured weapon through the air, Milroe’s electric ability with the ball in his hands should see him earn touches in red zone or short down-and-distance situations. His creativity as a playmaker will expand Seattle’s playbook, and will provide an entirely different type of athlete to counter than Seahawks starting QB Sam Darnold.
Round 5 (No. 142): Rylie Mills, DT, Notre Dame
Day three saw Seattle take seven players off the board, with a few notable names and highly projectable skill sets considering their potential roles for HC Mike Macdonald. First is IDL Rylie Mills, who had some top-100 buzz in the weeks leading up to the draft. The leader up front for a Notre Dame unit that made the CFP title game, there was a clear drop-off in production for the Irish when Mills went down against Indiana in the opening round of the 12-team showcase. When healthy, he’s a contributor right away on run downs with an improving pass rush repertoire at three-tech.
Other Day 3 Picks
Colorado State’s Tory Horton and UNLV’s Ricky White III add depth to a talented WR corps headlined by Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, while Miami RB Damien Martinez should push both Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet for touches. Keep an eye on the RB situation for Seattle, as it will remain an interesting storyline to watch as the summer progresses.
Schneider also added bodies up front in Kansas’ Bryce Cabeldue and Iowa’s Mason Richman, both of whom slot in as interior depth. Of the two, Cabeldue stood out during the pre-draft process and had an excellent week playing guard at the East-West Shrine Bowl in January.
The team also added a second player from the Crimson Tide offense in FB/H-back Robbie Ouzts, whose ability to serve as an extension of the offensive line should assist in relocating edge rushers and outside ‘backers in the ground game.
Overall, it was a heavy offensive draft for Schneider, who balanced high floor (Zabel) with high ceiling (Emmanwori) while adding depth at key positions on either side of the ball. While each of the 11 picks won’t all develop into stars or All-Pro types of contributors, that amount of darts at the proverbial dart board presents hope that at least a handful of players will evolve into core contributors in rapid fashion.
