Seahawks 7-round 2023 NFL mock draft: No QB until 2nd round

Seahawks choose a great pass rusher in the first round

There are a bunch of different possibilities for Seattle in 2023. Denver and Russell Wilson are not playing anywhere near where they hoped prior to the season. The Broncos did win in Week 8 but their last six games are brutal. Maybe Seattle ends up with a top-10 pick in 2023 based on the draft choice they got from Denver in the Wilson trade. Or maybe Seattle’s great start to the season devolves and Seattle ends up with a losing record.

One way or another, Seattle is probably going to have a high pick. With their first one, they are able to get Murphy from Clemson and he is an absolute monster. Murphy is 6’5″ and 275 pounds yet can be a pure edge rusher. But he doesn’t only defend against the pass. Murphy can blow up running plays as well.

In 30 college games, Murphy has 17.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss. He also has 5 passes defended. That last number isn’t large but is proof of Murphy’s immense athletic ability. If the Seahawks can get Murphy (which they do with pick 11 in the mock simulator), they get a player who will disrupt all facets of an offense.

Seahawks choose a shutdown CB in the first round

Smith gets taken by Seattle at number 23 in the lock. He might very likely go much higher than that but he needs to test really well at the NFL combine. Pete Carroll, however, would love to get Smith. Smith is 6’1″ and should be about 200 pounds when next season begins. He is a physical corner and is very good in man coverage. He has good speed but not great, however, he overcomes that with physicality and technique.

Smith had 3 interceptions and 11 passes defended in 2021 but this year teams haven’t thrown his way as much. He does have 1 interception and 4 passes defended but his numbers probably won’t grow much for the rest of the year. Teams don’t like testing Smith and that should translate to the NFL as well.