I love what Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider did with his first three picks in the 2025 NFL draft. Grey Zabel and Nick Emmanwori should be difference makers from day one, and Elijah Arroyo has every chance to join them, though perhaps not until a little further into his career.
Later, it’s more of a mixed bag. That’s not surprising. Schneider made a lot of picks, and the draft is always more art than science. He loaded up on the offense, which he probably would have done even if four starters – including the quarterback – hadn’t walked out the door. I don’t begrudge that, though I do quibble with some specific selections.
A year or two down the road, we’ll all think back to this draft and either see it as the beginning of a rebirth or one of the final chapters in the long, successful John Schneider-Pete Carroll reign in Seattle.
If it’s the former, no one will care about a few misses in the draft that brought eleven new players to the club. But if it’s the latter, we’ll all be sifting through the wreckage in search of explanations.
What players did Seahawks' John Schneider miss on in the 2025 draft?
If we end up sifting through wreckage, I wouldn’t be surprised if we also point to several players that Schneider could have taken and didn’t. Since I liked the early picks, the following four names are not among the elites. They are simply excellent prospects who I think have a better than fifty-fifty chance of surpassing the players the Hawks did choose.
Charles Grant - Offensive tackle (chosen by the Raiders in the third round)
The Seahawks drafted three college tackles. None of them are likely to play tackle in the NFL, except in emergencies. That’s OK. Seattle has two clear starters at tackle, a reasonable swing, and a young developmental player. But other than left tackle Charles Cross, how sure are you about any of them?
Grant is a legit tackle who will play there in the pros. He is not a can’t-miss prospect. He’s a little light and didn’t face elite competition at William & Mary. But he is athletic, and he can move. He developed into an excellent college left tackle. With professional training and coaching, he could easily start in a year or two, which happens to be when current right tackle Abraham Lucas’s rookie deal is up.
Cards on the table – if Schneider wanted Grant, the player he would have given up was Jalen Milroe. I’d be OK with that, but I know others are enamored with the Milroe pick.
Jackson Slater - Guard (chosen by Tennessee in the fifth round)
With what he did this year, Schneider has drafted six guards in the past three years. Only two of them – Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes – played a lot of guard in college. With a couple more prospects coming late in this year’s draft, it’s beginning to feel like – at least as far as this position is concerned – Schneider is just throwing numbers at the problem in hopes that somebody will emerge.
Here's a thought. Takes a proven, quality college guard. That’s what you’re getting in Sacramento State’s Jackson Slater. Though he does offer positional flexibility in the same way top pick Grey Zabel does, the idea is to put him at guard and leave him there. He moves exceptionally well, which would fit right into Seattle’s new offense. And he does not give up power.
He slid in the draft primarily because he is recovering from a knee injury, but had Schneider taken him, I suspect Zabel and Slater would be the Hawks’ starting guards by 2026 and wouldn’t relinquish those jobs for about a decade.
Slater was drafted one spot after Troy Horton, who I admit is an intriguing prospect. I still would have opted for the lineman.
Aeneas Peebles - Defensive lineman (chosen by Baltimore in the sixth round)
I’m still not sure why Peebles dropped as far as he did. Defensive tackles were flying off the shelves throughout the draft, but Peebles, who had a fine year with Virginia Tech after putting in four seasons at Duke, couldn’t crack the top 200.
Schneider probably lost interest after he chose Rylie Mills one round earlier. I can understand that logic. Still, I would have taken both of them. Leonard Williams is 30. Jarran Reed and DeMarcus Lawrence are even older. Seattle does have Byron Murphy II and several other young developmental players, but you can never have enough linemen.
Macdonald has spun gold out of active players like Mills and Peebles, who can slide on the line. Peebles is a bit undersized, which makes Mills a better bet. But still, I would have doubled up.
Robbie Ouzts may turn out to be a solid H-back, but is he clearly an upgrade over Brady Russell? I’m not so sure. If he is, then passing on Peebles was the right move because Schneider would have had to give up that player.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt- Running back (chosen by Washington in the seventh round)
I love how Schneider approached the seventh round. He spent two of his three picks on players who could have an impact. Of course, Damien Martinez and Ricky White III are long shots. They wouldn’t have lasted until the seventh if they weren’t. But they both have good ceilings, especially White as a special teamer.
I wish Schneider had maintained that philosophy and gotten the closest thing this draft had to Isaiah Pacheco. Arizona’s Croskey-Merritt barely played last season, but his talent is undeniable. He is a flat-out game-breaking runner who is exciting whenever he has the ball.
Though he may be far from a complete back, he can make plays. Alongside Martinez, he would have given Seattle a double dose of running backs for the future.
Mason Richman, another guard prospect, may be a serviceable backup. Or he might get lost in a numbers game. Even if he sticks, I’d rather swing for the fences with a low-floor-high-ceiling playmaker in the seventh round.