The Seattle Seahawks are off to a better start than expected in 2022. But in 2023 they could draft the class that helps put them back in the Super Bowl. This year’s rookie class is so far and so great. Pete Carroll and John Schneider chose wisely in the 2022 draft.
I used Pro Football Network’s mock simulator for this exercise. One reason I like this one is that it offers trades that you can accept or reject. In this case, I was offered multiple trades for multiple picks and I took two of them. One was with the Seahawks first choice which was slated to be number 6. The other was a second-round choice.
The first trade which sent Seattle’s number 6 pick to the Dolphins seemed a good one. Seattle moved back to number 11 but also picked up pick 54 and, most importantly, Miami’s first-round pick in 2024. Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were off the board prior to pick 6 so the trade made sense.
Seahawks choose their QB of the future in the second round in this mock draft
The second trade was with the Chargers. Seattle only had to move back one selection – 54 to 55 – and Seattle picked up a fourth-rounder in 2024. Unless Seattle really had a player they liked at pick 54 (which would seem odd) then moving back one yet picking up a future pick made too much sense if you have watched the Seahawks draft over the last 12 years.
But let me be honest and say the reason this mock draft looks the way it does currently is completely due to how great Geno Smith is playing this year. He is still young enough (he’s only 32 years old) to bring back for at least 2023 and help groom whoever the Seahawks do choose at QB in the draft. But the way this draft played out in the simulator, Seattle might have the perfect choice fall to them for Geno to groom who also would not be ready to play in 2023. Here’s who Seattle chooses in next year’s draft for our first mock for the 2023 draft.
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.
Seahawks choose their quarterback of the future in the second round
I have to admit that at this point, I am not completely blown away by Richardson. But hey, who the heck am I? Just some shlub typing away at my keyboard currently. My issue with Richardson isn’t his raw athletic ability but his lack of being able to truly be consistent when throwing the ball. Maybe some of this is coaching as he clearly should get better coaching in the NFL.
But Richardson does have elite size and a cannon for an arm. He can also pick up yards – lots of them – with his legs. He probably needs at least a year of seasoning before even being thought of as an NFL starter but this is why this pick makes sense for the Seahawks. Geno Smith could start at least another year and Richardson could learn from him.
Seahawks choose their center of the future in the second round
Austin Blythe is a perfect center for the 2022 Seahawks. He knows the blocking scheme for Shane Waldron extremely well after having played with the same kind of scheme with the Rams too. But Blythe probably isn’t a long-term answer for Seattle at center simply because Blythe will be 31 years old at the beginning of the 2023 season. Not old at all for a human but getting long in the tooth for an interior NFL lineman.
That said, Schmitz is a fantastic prospect who would be a great fit in the Seahawks’ scheme as Schmitz’ best fit would be with a zone-blocking team. He is massive for a center at 6’4″ and 320 pounds and has exceptional upper body strength. He’s the kind of guy you want battling the likes of Aaron Donald, for instance.
Seahawks choose Jamal Adams’ replacement in the second round
Hi. Have you met Jamal Adams’ eventual replacement? Let me introduce you to Mr. Skinner from Boise State. Skinner is 6’4″ and 220 pounds and likes to hit and hit hard. He is excellent against the run but he also has great speed. Skinner also participated in track and field and ran an 11.30 100-meter dash. He’s fast and he’s strong and he likes to hit. Or as The Draft Network wrote, “He has a Kam Chancellor-like playing style.” Enough said.
Seahawks choose help for Ken Walker in the third round
If an NFL team wants to run the ball well, they need a few things. One is a good offensive line, obviously. But a second one would be to have multiple backs who can gain chunk yards and therefore keep all the running backs healthy. Seattle was going to have that this season until Rashaad Penny went down with another injury.
Ken Walker, however, has proven he can be an RB1 for a long time and he just needs some help. Tucker is explosive as he was a 100- and 200-meter champion in track in high school. At Syracuse, the 5’10” and 210-pound back set a rushing record for the college in 2021 with 1,496 yards rushing. He can also catch, though, as he has 60 receptions in three years for the Cuse.
Seahawks choose pass rush help in the fourth round
Baldonado is an extremely raw player. He is a native of Italy and played three years of football before moving to the United States just a few years ago. This probably explains his inconsistency as he had 9 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2021 for Pittsburgh but so far in 2022 has just .5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. But with the correct coaching, Baldonado could join a pass-rushing rotation of Uchenna Nwosu and others and be a force.
Seahawks choose Gabe Jackson’s replacement in the fourth round
Seattle has to decide what it is going to do with the interior of its offensive line. Blythe at center could be replaced and so could Gabe Jackson at right guard. Jackson might even be replaced by Phil Haynes by the end of this year. Barrington probably won’t be ready to start right away but he is a smart player with a frame in which he can gain weight. He is currently 6’6″ and 300 pounds but could probably get to 320 and be just as athletic.
Seahawks get secondary help in the fifth round
Williams has decent size at 6 feet and nearly 200 pounds and also plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He is ultra-aggressive, a great tackler and likes to hit. He would be a physical fit in the Legion of Boom as making receivers feel his presence with crushing tackles is kind of his thing.
But one worry about Williams is that he needs to make sure he learns good technique that allows him to stay with fast receivers downfield. Williams isn’t slow but he also doesn’t have elite speed. He would be immediately fantastic in run support, though. Plus, the Seahawks getting a defensive back in the fifth round has turned out pretty well for them over the last decade.
Seahawks get more tight end help in the sixth round
Geno Smith is making the tight end group look a lot better than Russell Wilson did over the last couple of years. Will Dissly is signed for a few more years and Noah Fant is signed through 2023. But Mallory is a good receiver who can create explosive plays. He isn’t a good blocker and may never be but with the correct coaching, he would be serviceable.
In this mock draft, the Seahawks wound up with 10 picks. That includes five in the first two rounds. Seattle is still in a bit of a rebuild even though the 2022 team currently sits 5-3 and far better than most expected up until this point. But some of the 2023 picks should be good enough to make Seattle a force for the next five years or more.