Top players from the 2023 CFP championship for the Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks CFP Championship targets: Numbers 9 and 8

No. 9- Chris Smith, S UGA

While Quandre Diggs had a massive interception that kept the Seahawks alive on Sunday, his potential $18 million dollar cap hit next year and potential $14 million in savings if released has to be looked at. If Seattle goes that route, there are a few tremendous safeties available in the draft, including Georgia’s Chris Smith.

Ok, a team full of NFL future stars, the stats don’t pop out, but Smith has had a strong season not getting beat over the top. He will be incredibly challenged against TCU after his secondary had a rare rough go in the Peach Bowl. If he can lead his secondary to a big rebound, they’ll likely be champions again.

While he’s not the top-ranked safety, he’s solid and could be a day one starter for Seattle, and would likely be available in the 3-4th round.

No. 8- Steve Avila, G TCU

A big reason why TCU has been so dominant on offense this year is because of the underrated play of their offensive line. The leader of the trench behind the 5th ranked offense in the country is guard Steve Avila. The 6-4 330 lbs senior does not have the measurables of a dominant guard, and yet he’s been one of the best interior offensive linemen in the country for the past three seasons.

An average to slightly above average pass blocker, Avila makes his hay laying waste to the defense in the run game. To be honest, if he’s an NFL guard, it’d sure be nice to have a mobile quarterback. At the end of the day, if you draft Avila, you’re focusing on being a run-first team that wants to overwhelm and wear teams down.