Seahawks 2024 7-round mock: A trade explosion in honor of John Schneider
Seattle adds situational and developmental players
Cedric Gray, Round 4, Pick 118, Linebacker
The Hawks' situation at linebacker is far more pressing than at corner, as only Drake Thomas is under contract past this season. A three-year starter at North Carolina, Gray projects as a weakside backer. He was third in college football with 145 tackles as a junior. Teams learned to avoid his side of the field if at all possible in 2023, but he still led the Tar Heels with 121. In three seasons, he compiled 30 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, 13 pass breakups, and five interceptions. Gray fits the bill for Seattle here.
Ben Sinnott, Round 5, Pick 129, Tight End
The consensus places the versatile Kansas State senior as the fifth-ranked TE and the 104th prospect overall. The 6'4" 250 lb junior 40 time, 4.68, is more than adequate for the position, but his agility and explosiveness stood out. He ranked at the 95th percentile or better in the broad jump, vertical, and three-cone drill. Over the past two seasons, he hauled in 79 catches for 1,116 yards and 10 scores. He can line up inline, in the slot, as an H-back, and even earned All-Big12 honors as a fullback in 2022 and 2023. Sinnott can do it all.
DeWayne Carter, Round 5, Pick 149, Defensive Tackle
The redshirt senior was a three-time team captain at Duke. In those three seasons, he accounted for 109 pressures, 14 of those being sacks, and 57 stops in the run game. He's projected as the consensus 118th overall pick and is noted as an exceptional run defender. Most analysts state he needs to improve his tackling technique, but there's no disputing his 11 pass breakups over the past three seasons. That's more than the top four DL prospects combined.
Brenden Rice, Round 5, Pick 150, Wide Receiver
I know, we have the best receiver corps in the league. I also know that Tyler Lockett has a $30 million cap hit in 2026 with just $4 million in dead money. The USC senior is the consensus pick at 109, while PFF ranks him at 125. At 6'2" and 208 lb he's a far bigger target than Lockett, although he also excelled as a returner. His game took a major leap forward after transferring from Colorado for his final season, as he racked up a dozen touchdowns on 45 catches. You may remember his dad; scored a few TDs with the Hawks at the end of his career. His name is Jerry, maybe Gary, something like that.
Christian Jones, Round 5, Pick 154, Offensive Tackle
The 6'5" 306 lb senior played left tackle for the Texas Longhorns in 2021, then shifted to the right side for the past two seasons. The draftniks say he needs to improve his footwork to stay outside at tackle in the pros, but his blocking has improved in both pass sets and the running game every year. He's the consensus 121st overall prospect, according to the big board at nflmockdraftdatabase.com.
Isaac Guerendo, Round 5, Pick 155, Running Back
The 6'0" 221 lb redshirt senior can move. He ran a 4.33 40 at the NFL combine and proved himself in his single season at Louisville after battling injuries throughout his career at Wisconsin. That's the one big caveat for the multi-talented back; from 2019 through 2021, he missed 25 games due to injuries (hamstring twice, then a Lisfranc injury).
However, he didn't miss a game in the past two seasons. He averaged 23.9 yards as the Badgers top kick returner in 2022 and 6.0 yards per carry in the last three seasons. Why pick a running back? Uh, have you seen the Seahawks' history of injuries at the position? Check that list of return specialists linked previously if you still need convincing.