The Seattle Seahawks chose cornerback Julian Neal out of Arkansas in the third round of the 2026 NFL draft, but karma didn't seem to be trending toward him landing in the Pacific Northwest. At least one hat company must not have seen the move happening.
According to a tweet from NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Neal was sent 31 hats before the draft, and he was to wear the hat of the team that took him immediately afterward. The issue was that the team missing from the collection was the Seahawks.
Instead, Neal asked his aunt to go out and find a Seattle hat to buy so that he could wear it in case general manager John Schneider's team was the one to pick him. To be fair, the unnamed hat company should be ashamed. Neal was chosen by the Seahawks, but he couldn't have worn the company's merch because there was no merch to wear.
Julian Neal might not have gotten the hat, but he has the chance to shine for the Seattle Seahawks
So while the universe appeared to think the nearly 6'2" cornerback wasn't going to be a new part of the Super Bowl champions, he was. Now, he just needs to prove he should stay that way. Seattle needs to replace Riq Woolen, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, but is Neal the guy?
He ran a 4.49 40-yard dash and had a 40-inch vertical jump, so he has the athleticism needed to be a professional football player, but he struggles in other areas that he will need to prove to head coach Mike Macdonald that he has improved before being trusted with real snaps.
Neal can be manipulated by receivers on fake and deep posts, so he will need to show he can provide sticky coverage no matter what a receiver tries to make him think they are doing. If he does get beaten, he will have to prove that he has make-up speed, something some doubted he had before the draft.
AWESOME: New #Seahawks CB Julian Neal said the company responsible for sending all 32 NFL hats messed up, and didn’t send any.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 25, 2026
So he asked his auntie to go buy only ONE hat instead — a Seahawks hat — and then Seattle drafted him!
You couldn’t write this in a Hollywood script!… pic.twitter.com/h1o9unud2Q
Still, with his size, he should be quite good against the run, and he was a very good open-field tackler in college. Those aspects of his game are going to allow him to have the benefit of the doubt should he struggle in coverage at times in training camp. If he can stop the run, he is going to get looks.
He also has long arms, so he should be able to control the narrative of a receiver's route. In other words, Julian Neal might be the closest the Seattle Seahawks have come to drafting a young Shaquill Griffin.
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