Mel Kiper’s latest two-round mock has Seahawks picking interesting players
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks have several needs in the 2022 NFL draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr. thinks Seattle fills several of them in the first two rounds.
Seattle, as 12s know, has three of the top 41 picks in the draft, numbers 9, 40 and 41. Even picks 40 and 41 should be high enough for the Seahawks to get some impact players. If they choose wisely, of course. And I only throw that last bit out because John Schneider and Pete Carroll have struggled a bit with high picks over recent years.
But Kiper believes that the Seahawks not only have a real chance of making the offensive line better for years to come but Seattle also potentially grabs its quarterback of the future.
With pick number 9 overall, Kiper thinks Seattle takes offensive tackle Evan Neal from Alabama. (And to be fair, I wrote an article recently about how Seattle should avoid choosing Neal. But Kiper knows more than I do.)
Seattle Seahawks add their QB of the future in Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft
The good thing about Neal is that he can play either tackle spot and Seattle currently needs a left and right tackle. Neal starting off in the NFL playing right tackle so he can get used to the speed of the game might be a good idea. He can always be flipped to the left side once he proves he can be a good player.
It gets really fun in the second round, though. Kiper thinks with pick 40, the Seahawks go with Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder. I have a feeling Ridder won’t be around at pick 40 but he could be a good, if not great, QB for Seattle.
Ridder can move around in the pocket well, can get out and run with speed when needed, and doesn’t turn the ball over. For a young quarterback, this skill set will be needed. A quarterback that might throw a lot of interceptions isn’t going to play much. Ridder would help Seattle win games because of his ball control.
Next. 3 potential landing spots for Tyler Lockett. dark
With pick 41, Kiper projects Georgia linebacker Quay Walker to Seattle. Walker is a tall linebacker – he is 6’4″ – and ran a 4.52 40 at the NFL combine so he is plenty fast. He isn’t likely to chase down quarterbacks much so he is definitely an inside LB. But Seattle needs to add another after releasing Bobby Wagner.