Seattle Seahawks 2023 Mock Draft: A final guess

Round 1 Pick 20

TRADE: Seahawks trade pick 20 and a 2024 6th round pick to New Orleans for picks 29 and 71

Round 1 Pick 29: John Michael Schmitz, Center, Minnesota 

With the New Orleans Saints hoping to add more ammo for Derek Carr, they give up picks 29 and 71 to move up to number 20 with Seattle. The Seahawks still get the best center in this draft, while acquiring another valuable pick at 71.

With Schmitz, the Seahawks are getting probably the most dominant prospect at the center position in years, which fills a massive need for Seattle. We saw it in the Super Bowl with Jason Kelce and Creed Humphrey. A truly elite center can unlock an offense to historic levels like we saw from Philly and KC. 

Geno Smith was playing like a top 5 QB in the first half of the season, when Austin Blythe was healthy and allowing Geno to step up and dominate in the middle. With Schmitz at the position, I expect the running game to be even better, but Geno could be a legitimate MVP candidate.

While Wisconsin's Joe Tippmann may be a better scheme fit, having blocked in the Badgers zone blocking scheme, John Michael Schmitz is the overall cleaner prospect, and I project him to be the better player over the next 4-5 seasons. As with many players in this draft, due to the extra Covid year, we’re looking at a ton of 23-25 year old’s that are in this draft. While that may be a concern at certain positions, Schmitz being a 24 year old plug and play impact center is perfect for a team trying to win a championship in Pete’s final years.