NFL Draft Round 5 Grades: Seahawks select lightning fast corner

The Seattle Seahawks added serious speed to their stable of cornerbacks by drafting Nehemiah Pritchett with their trade into the fifth round.

John Schneider did the John Schneider thing and traded back in the fourth round. By moving down 18 spots in the fourth, he added the first pick of the fifth round, in addition to swapping out a seventh-rounder for a sixth. How much value did he add with this move? Quite a lot as it turns out.

Seattle needed to add depth at cornerback with the possibility of moving into a starting role for 2025. As we've noted previously, the Seahawks currently have 33 players on the roster whose contracts will expire after this season. Sure, they'll extend some players - Julian Love first, please - but there's a lot of room for growth on this roster. Cornerback is no exception.

Seattle Seahawks add Nehemiah Pritchett to the mix at CB

Cornerback is one of the Seahawks' greatest strengths with superstar Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen as starters. Michael Jackson and Tre Brown are both good enough to start for most teams and have done so for Seattle numerous times. As the Seahawks know too well, you're always one injury away from disaster in the NFL. That's why I'm 100 percent on board with the selection of Pritchett with the first pick in the fifth round.

The 6'0" 190 senior out of Auburn has speed to burn. He ran a 4.36 40 with a 1.49 10-yard split. That's world-class top-end speed and acceleration. His passer rating allowed over five seasons in the SEC was an elite 66.2, per nfldraftbuzz.com.

He recorded 26 pass defenses in his career. He needs some work in run support, but he only allowed a 46 percent completion rate in 2023. He's got the ability to step in and contribute immediately on special teams, and could certainly succeed if pressed into duty in the defensive backfield on day one.

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