The Seattle Seahawks currently sit at 6-3 with a decent chance (if they play well) of going 7-3 before a rough four-game stretch. Where Seattle picks in the 2024 NFL draft is still unknown, of course. A good guess is that Seattle chooses between picks 18 and 25.
Based on that, the five players that follow could be available in that range. Lots of things could change - and will - before the draft depending on injuries and how players do at pro day and at the combine, but based on Seattle's potential needs these players would be good fits. And no, there are no quarterbacks involved.
Seattle might very well take a quarterback with their first choice in the 2024 draft, but at pick 18 or after the Seahawks are unlikely to get one of the best three QBs available. More realistic, Seattle goes in a different direction. If that happens, one of these five guys might be wearing a Seattle uniform in Week 1 next season.
Seattle Seahawks could choose safety Kamren Kinchens, Miami
The Seattle Seahawks are going to have to make some decisions at safety next offseason. The team currently has Julian Love, Jamal Adams, and Quandre Diggs and together they will account for $56,279,166. That is far too much. Diggs hasn't had a great season, unfortunately, and if Seattle released him they would save $11 million. His contract might need to be reworked whether he is released or not.
Diggs is also going to be 31 years old. Not ancient for a human being, but for a free safety who is expected to cover a lot of ground quickly, that age starts to get a little worrisome. Miami's Kamren Kinchens is able to skate through the deep middle with ease. Kinchens also knows how to take the ball away. He has 10 interceptions combined in the last two seasons and has returned 2 picks for touchdowns.
Kinchens is also capable on playing in the box as well and doesn't mind dishing out punishment. He is 5'11" and 200 pounds so he has decent size for a free safety. Depending on how early Seattle chooses in the first round, and how knowing how much Pete Carroll likes his safeties, Kinchens could be Seattle's first pick in 2024.
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Seattle could take guard Graham Barton, Duke
Graham Barton plays left tackle at Duke but most draft sites appear to think he is a better fit along the interior of the offensive line as he lacks really long arms. His height is fine as he is 6'5" and he weighs 315 pounds. So he could certainly add another 15 pounds of muscle to his frame and not lose any quickness along the interior.
He will have had plenty of experience in college as he is a three-year starter and plays on a Duke team that is fairly versatile offensively. Barton should be as pro-ready as almost any other guard/center coming out of college. He might just need a bit of time to learn the interior line spots in the NFL, but he is highly intelligent (he does go to Duke, after all) and should have no issues learning the spots.
The question is where to play Barton, and a lot of that depends on whether the Seahawks are able to re-sign left guard Damien Lewis. Lewis was graded, per Pro Football Focus (they make you pay for the site), among the best guards in the NFL in 2022, but this year he hasn't played as well.
Or maybe Barton right guard and rookie Anthony Bradford flips from right to left next year. Adding Barton and losing Evan Brown (assuming he is replaced by rookie Olu Oluwatimi next year) and Lewis means Seattle's offensive line stays really young but Barton would be as talented as any interior lineman Seattle would have.
Seahawks might choose edge rusher Jared Verse, Florida State
A team cannot have too many edge rushers, right? The Seahawks have a couple of young ones that appear to be potentially very good. Or maybe second-year pro Boye Mafe is already really good. Rookie Derick Hall has already shown he can set a hard edge against the run but he probably needs a full year of what NFL life is like to know how to be great.
Seattle lost Uchenna Nwosu to injury this year, but he will be back and he signed an extension this year for three more seasons. So Nwosu, Mafe, and Hall should form a good trio of edge rushers, but Seattle needs a rotation of four or five. Darrell Taylor is a restricted free agent in 2024, but he stinks against the run and hasn't been as good rushing the passer in 2023. Seattle should just let him go.
Jared Verse has gone from FCS player to Florida State transfer and has made himself into a terrific player. There are zero questions about his work ethic as he seems to live in the weight room (heck, maybe he does; I don't know him personally). He also produces on the field.
In 2022, he had 17 tackles for loss and 9 sacks. His numbers are down a bit this year, but he is drawing a lot more attention. Florida State's rotation is better too so Verse doesn't have to do as much. He definitely has the size to make an impact at 6'4" and 260 pounds.
Seattle could take edge rusher Bralen Trice, Washington
Trice might be around a little longer in the draft than Verse if the Seahawks continue to win games in 2023 and have a mid-20s draft pick. The Washington product is the same size as Verse, but a little faster. What he lacks is a lot of versatility in his pass-rush moves. He is pure speed-to-power, but NFL offensive linemen will be able to adjust to that fairly quickly.
Trice's speed though is impressive so the raw skills are there for him to develop into an excellent pass rusher eventually. He should be able to help against the run immediately, however. He is more like Derick Hall than Boye Mafe at this point. Seattle clearly has a size they like as both Mafe and Hall are pretty close to also being 6'4" and 260 pounds - Mafe is actually that and Hall is just a little lighter.
Trice has saved some of his best football for the latter part of this year. In his past three games, he has 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. I point this out because every game Washington plays is more important than the last as the Huskies remain undefeated and are hoping for a college playoff berth. That Trice isn't diminishing under the bright lights of the big games says a lot about his drive on the football field.
Seattle might decide to go with linebacker Barrett Carter, Clemson
As current contracts stand right now, the Seattle Seahawks are in a heap of trouble at linebacker in 2024. Inside linebackers Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, and Devin Bush (Bush, of course, has not played much at all this year due to Brooks and Wagner being good) are all unrestricted free agents. Brooks is the best of the younger linebackers and could command $10 million or more in free agency. If Wagner wants to come back, Seattle should bring him back but that could cost Seattle another $7 million or so.
My point in all that is Seattle might need to add a linebacker in the draft, and Barrett Carter is a pure inside linebacker from Clemson who will have been well-coached in college and has a lot of quickness. Carter is a fantastic athlete who is pretty good in coverage and great against the run. In 2022, for instance, he had 8 passes defended and 10.5 tackles for loss.
Carter is 6'1" and 225 pounds so he will need to add some muscle to hold up to NFL punishment. He is an excellent tackler with good technique, but unless he gains a little size he might not be able to play 17 NFL games yet.
The question about Carter is how well he tests at the NFL combine and how many teams value a linebacker first more than Seattle might. I am assuming he will be great at the combine, but we saw inside linebackers fall in the 2023 draft. If Carter falls to Seattle, he could be a Pro Bowler by year two and a 10 year starter.