After releasing Tyler Lockett and trading away DK Metcalf, the Seattle Seahawks had to reload at wide receiver. While I'm happy with the players they added, there's no way Seattle is done at this position. These five players are the best fit for Seattle's 2025 draft.
I'm more than happy that the Seahawks added Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling this offseason. Both come with caveats, though. Kupp has missed 18 games in the last three seasons and will turn 32 before training camp opens. As with Sam Darnold and Demarcus Lawrence, the payoff with Kupp could be big. Unfortunately, so could the disappointment.
Meanwhile, MVS has been spectacular at times, but he's also inconsistent. More than half of his 411 yards (and all four of his TDs) came in three games last season. In his final three games with the Saints, MVS caught just five of 17 targets. Then again, he had Spencer Rattler as his QB, so... maybe he deserves a pass there.
Seahawks can add wide receiver depth at multiple slots in this draft
With that in mind, and knowing that Jake Bobo is still ready to strike in the red zone, the Seahawks need to add some profound depth to the receiver room. They may need contributions this season, let alone in the next couple of years. The odds that either Coop or MVS will still be in Seattle in a few years are razor-thin. So, the Seahawks need some guys who can catch the ball in this draft.
For this article, I'll use Seattle's current draft slots. In most mock drafts, John Schneider makes multiple trades, playing the picks like a roulette wheel. Which, come to think of it, explains some of his more dubious first-round selections in the past. For my picks, I'll use the mock draft simulator from Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Including the massive draft capital they picked up with the Smith and Metcalf deals - I prefer to laugh about it than cry - Seattle has 10 picks in the draft. John Schneider has the 18th overall pick, plus two selections in both the second and third rounds and five picks on Day Three.
For our purposes, I'll give two options that the mock has available in each of the second and third rounds, and one on the third day of the draft. At that point, it's a crap shoot anyway.
For those of you who have used PFF for your own draft and wondered why the draft you're so proud of got a poor grade from PFF, relax. The grades are simply stupid. They often ignore the needs of the team and randomly reward the worst overall drafts imaginable.
Exhibit A: Just for fun, I drafted the following players using the Seahawks' actual slots before the Smith and Metcalf trades.: CB Will Johnson, Edge Princely Umammielen, and LB Chris Paul.
Not bad, right? PFF agreed as I got grades of A, A+, and A for those picks. The fun came when I took four QBs in my remaining five picks. Jaxson Dart, Kyle McCord, Kurtis Rourke, and Tyler Shough all came to Seattle to play. I did pick up center Jake Majors before Shough, as I thought they might want some company. I got a C for Rourke and a C- for Shough and still pulled an overall grade of A for that travesty, ranked in the top 32 percent of all public drafts. So yeah, ignore your PFF grade.
Okay, time for the wide receivers. Although Seattle has the 18th pick, there's no way I'd use the first-round selection on a wide receiver. Yes, the team needs depth, but they have critical needs elsewhere. In every mock draft I've run, the players available at number 18 are too similar to the wideouts already on the team. So Day 2 is where it starts.
As it turned out, I got lucky a few times in my mock drafts, while at others, I had to reach a bit. As it turned out, picks 50 and 52 were a complete dead zone at the position. The top wideouts are long gone at that point, and the second tier would be drastically overvalued there. I know, I sound like John Schneider pontificating about guards. But as you'll see, the picks fell in place in rounds three and five.
5 great additions for the Seahawks at wide receiver
Tre Harris - Ole Miss
- Intangibles: 6'2", 205 pounds. Pick 82, 4.54 speed, 145.3 passer rating.
- Consensus pick: 62.
Seattle would be lucky if he fell to the third round, and he'd be a bit of a reach at pick 50 or 52. But Schneider could certainly trade back a few slots and still pick up one of the draft's top 10 wideouts.
Harris is noted as both a deep threat and a threat in the red zone for opposing defenses. His 40 time is nothing special, but both vertical and broad jump marks were in the top 25 percent of all receivers at the Combine. 60 catches on 76 targets, 1,030 yards, and seven scores, yes, please.
One negative: he isn't rated as having the best route tree. Don't they coach that at Oxford?
Jalen Royals - Utah State
- Intangibles: 6'0" and 205 pounds. Pick 82, 4.42 speed, 116.4 passer rating.
- Consensus pick: 84.
PFF rates the Mountain West Conference star above Harris. He missed the last four games of 224 with a foot injury, but that 4.43 40 mark should put the injury concerns to rest.
Like Harris, the bulk of his experience is as an outside receiver. Just 13 percent of his snaps were in the slot over the past two seasons. He led all FBS wideouts in 2023 with 15 touchdowns and added six last year in seven games. He runs crisp routes and has come up big against the most formidable opponents, notably a 211-yard torching of Boise State.
PFF compares him to Jermaine Kearse. Thanks, we'll sign him today.
Savion Williams - TCU
- Intangibles: 6'4" and 222 pounds. Pick 92, 4.48 speed, 110.7 passer rating.
- Consensus pick: 86.
The first thing that stands out is the size. His 40 time isn't freakish, but he does rank in the top 20 percent in the initial 10-yard burst. He's a prototype X receiver, but he also has experience lining up in the slot.
Williams hauled in 101 catches for 1,184 yards and 10 scores over his final two seasons in Fort Worth. He drops too many balls, nearly 12 percent per PPF. However, his contested catch rate of 88.9 percent is elite. Maybe he needs to let the defender catch up to him on every play. He's very dangerous out of the backfield and on gadget runs, to the tune of 51 carries for 322 yards and six touchdowns—finally, a guy who can run the jet sweep.
Tory Horton - Colorado State
- Intangibles: 6'2" and 196 pounds. Pick 92, 4.41 speed, passer 93.9 rating.
- Consensus pick: 105.
Horton was my one reach pick. As with Harris, the Seahawks could trade back several slots and still be in a good position to nab him early in the fourth round. A knee injury cut his final season short at just five games, so it may be enough to scare a few teams off.
It shouldn't scare off Seattle. His NFL Combine performance showed no lingering effects from his October knee surgery. His collegiate career totals: 265 catches for 3,615 yards and 27 touchdowns. He's a dangerous returner, too, with 26 punt returns for 423 yards and three scores in his three seasons at Fort Collins. Add his sure hands and silky moves, and he's a perfect fit for the Seahawks.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. - Tennessee
- Intangibles: 6'5" and 205 pounds. Pick 177, 4.30 speed, 131.7 rating.
- Consensus pick: 170.
I gambled here and won, snagging one of the fastest players at the Combine in the fifth round. He saw limited targets in two seasons at Oregon and his first after transferring to Knoxville, with just 39 receptions in three seasons. That being said, he got the most of those opportunities with 765 yards and four scores.
His senior season was remarkable. He led all FBS schools with 25.4 yards per catch, adding six TDs to his resume. He's another of those players with a "limited route tree" that does nothing but torch opposing corners. Granted, that would be a concern picking him at 18, but in the fifth round? At worst, he's a bigger, faster, younger Marquez Valdes-Scantling. At best? Well, let's just get him on the Seahawks and see how it plays out.