5 early contenders to be the Seattle Seahawks first-round pick in 2024

Seahawks first-round pick contender No. 5

Taliese Fuaga, Offensive tackle - Oregon State

Two drafts ago, I did not expect the Seattle Seahawks to be in a position to need to take an offensive tackle anytime soon. In the 2022 NFL draft, Seattle chose left tackle Charles Cross in the first round and right tackle Abraham Lucas in the third round. Cross has not made a Pro Bowl yet but he has been pretty good, though slightly inconsistent.

The bigger concern is Lucas. He clearly is struggling with a knee injury that seemingly happened in college and an injury that does not seem to get better long-term with any amount of rest. Not only was he able to play in just six games, he also had to be rotated out many times. Lucas allowed 17 quarterback pressures in 182 pass block snaps. This probably wasn't from lack of ability but lack of fitness. The likely outcome with Lucas is he is never able to stay healthy for long stretches at a time and he needs to be replaced.

If this is so, the Seahawks should look for high-end talent early in the 2024 draft. Fuaga should be available at 16. He is big enough to play right away at 6'6" and 335 pounds and he gave up just one sack in the last two years. But he has the same kind of mentality as Lucas which means Fuaga has a mean-streak and will take personal offense to any defender trying to beat him.

Other OL options:
- JC Latham, Alabama
- Amarius Mims, Georgia

Read more from 12th Man Rising