If anyone watched ESPN's coverage of the 2025 NFL draft, they likely noticed one thing. Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. could not believe no team was picking quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Not only in the third or fourth rounds, but in round one. Every team in the draft, including the Seattle Seahawks, of course, passed on Sanders multiple times before he was chosen.
Seattle did take a quarterback in the person of Jalen Milroe. Milroe and Sanders are significantly different players. Sanders is a pure pocket passer, but not one who escapes and creates explosive plays with his legs. Milroe is inaccurate on short and intermediate throws, but can run like Lamar Jackson.
Sanders, although he was not chosen until the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns, is probably closer to being NFL-ready, but Milroe might have the higher upside due to his elite athleticism. Kiper liked both quarterbacks, but he liked Sanders a lot more.
ESPN's Mel Kiper likes the Seahawks draft but not as much as Shedeur Sanders' Browns
Still, and to be fair, Kiper liked what the Seahawks did in the 2025 NFL draft quite a lot. He gave the team his second-best overall ranking among all draft classes. Not coincidentally, the team that Seattle trailed was the team that chose Sanders, the Browns.
In his write-up of each team's class, Kiper wrote of Cleveland and Sanders, "The other main reason I gave the Browns an A+ shouldn't be a surprise. They got quarterback Shedeur Sanders at No. 144 to finish their seven-pick draft. He was my No. 5 overall prospect in the class and clear QB1."
About Milroe and the Seahawks, Kiper said, "Quarterback Jalen Milroe isn't ready to start, but he has unbelievable traits and could help the running game in 2025. I thought he had a chance to go at the top of Round 2."
Cleveland was the only team with an A+, and the Seahawks were the only team with an A. Three teams received an A-.
Kier raved about the choices of offensive lineman Grey Zabel and safety Nick Emmanwori for Seattle. The pundit sees Zabel as a Week 1 starter, and Emmanwori is capable of solidifying the back end of the Seahawks defense. In reality, the safety might need to work his way into a rotation that likely will have Julian Love and Coby Bryant as starters.
The hidden gem of the draft could be tight end Elijah Arroyo. Kiper had him as the third-best tight end of the draft class, but the Seahawks did not have to take him until pick 50. He could be immediately impactful as a receiver.
While Kiper named the Seahawks as the second-best draft class behind Shdeur Sanders' Browns, Seattle's NFC West rivals did not fare nearly as well. The San Francisco 49ers were tied for 13th-best with a B, while the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams tied for 20th with a B-. The Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals received the worst grades with a C.