Given the abundance of trades Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has made in past drafts, this may seem like madness. In this case, it worked. Read on for the incredible not-true story. I mean, it's a mock draft, people.
The phrases "draft day trade" and "Seattle Seahawks John Schneider" go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or peanut butter and chocolate. Or you know what's really good, - sorry, I got distracted. Anyway, most 12s know the history of the Hawks and trades. Since he came to Seattle in 2010, Schneider has made at least one trade every year during the NFL draft. Even those single events contain multiple picks, as in 2015 when Seattle traded four picks to get Tyler Lockett. Pretty solid move, as none of the four draftees Washington selected amounted to much.
Not to say Schneider's been a total genius. 2015 was also the year they traded Max Unger for Jimmy Graham. Blecch. But when it works, it works. Take 2019 as an extreme example. I think Schneider must have gotten double miles with every trade that year, as the Seahawks swung nine trades during the draft weekend. Three of those trades came on day one, although the only outcome of any import was the selection of L.J. Collier. Double blech. Day two proved to be a bit more propitious, as the Hawks landed DK Metcalf for a third and fourth-round pick. Super win, John!
Seattle Seahawks make no trades but still land a stud on day one
So to say I'm bucking the trend is an understatement. Considering that the Seahawks have 29 player contracts that expire after this season, they have a lot of needs. So maybe it's not the best year to stand pat with seven draft picks. But sometimes you have to shake things up, and since this is a mock draft, why not? It's not like John Schneider is goofy enough to actually do that. I do think he'd be pretty happy if the draft turned out this well, though.
In my mock, the Hawks stick at number 16 on day one and land defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. I managed to get Murphy in this previous mock draft, so feel free to jump there for the deets. For the tl;dr set, the 6'0" 297 Texas junior racked up 45 pressures while lined up in the A or B gap (stats per Pro Football Focus, subscription required). That's ridiculous production from those spots. It's no surprise that he's the consensus top-ranked defensive tackle in the draft, according to the NFL Mock Draft Database. He's most often compared to Aaron Donald. Yes, please.
Seahawks get just one player on day two, but make the most of it
Yeah, yeah, I know, 12s. There's no way Schneider sits on his hand and doesn't pick up the phone a dozen times on day two and trade up to the second round. That would be after he already made a dozen calls on day one. But in this psychotic little experiment, the Seahawks general manager and Executive VP goes with his gut and sticks with the 81st overall selection.
Good thing, too as the Hawks double down on the defensive line and take Michigan defensive tackle Kris Jenkins here. He's ranked fourth on the consensus big board linked above, and fifth by Pro Football Focus. According to PFF, the run-stop percentage for the 6'3" 299 lb senior ranks at the 99th percentile. That's great news for the turnstile that has been the Seahawks' run defense. As much as I like Jarran Reed he's only under contract for this season. Johnathan Hankins at the other tackle position is a short-term solution at best, so the Hawks need another defensive tackle in this draft.
Considering his dad (Kris Jenkins Sr.) was a four-time Pro Bowler, there's every reason to believe Kris Jenkins 2.0 has the tools to turn into a similar player. His dad was also a second-round pick and weighed just 285 pounds when he came out of Maryland. After two seasons as a first-team All-Pro, he battled injuries for a couple of years, returned to the Pro Bowl twice, and eventually transformed into a 360 lb nose tackle. If Jenkins can match his dad's career, that would be a major win for the Hawks.
Hawks head coach Mike Macdonald is quite familiar with him, as Jenkins got 350 snaps as a sophomore when Macdonald was the Wolverines' defensive coordinator in 2021. According to NFL Draft Buzz, Jenkins tested out as another physical freak, much like Murphy. Both men tested among the strongest linemen in the draft. While Murphy lined up almost exclusively at the A or B gap, Jenkins got 418 of his 1,129 total snaps over the opposing offensive tackle and 126 as a defensive end. Murphy and Jenkins would be one heck of a dynamic duo. You decide who's Supes and who's Bats.
Day three selections address the offensive line
I was able to get standout center-guard prospect Jackson Powers-Johnson in a couple of my other mock drafts. In this instance, he was gone before selection 16 rolled around. Sometimes the dice roll your way, and sometimes - well, I'm not gonna cry about getting Byron Murphy. But as happy as I was to get him and Jenkins, the Seahawks have to get help at guard. We're not sure if Anthony Bradford is the answer, and I'm pretty sure Tremayne Anchrum isn't a long-term solution.
So with the 102nd pick of the 2024 draft, I selected Kansas tackle Dominick Puni. The 6'5" 313 lb redshirt senior played exclusively at left guard in 2022, then moved to left tackle last year. In 1,593 snaps in his two seasons as a Jayhawk, Muni allowed just one QB hit and zero sacks. He began his collegiate career at Central Missouri, but lost the 2020 season to the COVID shutdown, then was redshirted with an injury in 2021.
Although he's listed as 22.5 years old by PFF, that seems a bit unrealistic, given that he was a freshman in 2018. Other sources list his birthdate as February 24, 2000, so we'll go with that. Most sources, including Pro Football Network, list Muni as a day two draft prospect. PFF ranks him as the 96th overall prospect, the consensus Big Board at number 89, and NFL Draft Buzz at 87. According to the draft gurus, one of his few weaknesses has been pass protection at tackle. The stats, eight hurries with zero hits or sacks, don't exactly bear that out. But that's why he's generally projected to move inside as a pro. Suits me, and the Seahawks, just fine.
Just a bit over a dozen picks later I drafted a true mauler at guard, Kansas State's Cooper Beebe. There must be something in the water out there, or maybe it's all that wheat and beef. For the record, Beebe's Wildcats beat Muni's Jayhawks last year, 31-27, after pounding them 47-27 in 2022. Should make for some good-natured rivalry on the Seahawks. As for the 6'3" 322 lb Beebe, the consensus Big Board ranks him as the fourth interior line prospect and the 61st overall prospect. He's already on our radar at 12th Man Rising, as you can read on Lee Vowell's profile of the potential week one starter.
He grades out at the 100th percentile in pass blocking and the 92nd in run blocking, according to NFL Draft Buzz. That could be why they rank him as the 45th overall prospect. As their scouting report states, "His combination of power, smarts, and technique sets him apart as a premier guard prospect," and "NFL teams on the hunt for a plug-and-play guard with elite pass-blocking chops will see Beebe as a cornerstone piece, ready to step in and elevate their offensive line unit."
Depending on your source, he either gave up one or two sacks in the past three seasons combined. Even Pro Football Focus, which ranks him the lowest of any draft site, cites his high football IQ as a prime factor in their projection for a long NFL career. In the fourth round, that's a win!
Day three continues with a jump back to defense. Mostly.
In every other mock draft I've run so far, I almost always missed this player because I waited too late to make the call. PFF thinks taking edge Jalen Green with pick number 179 was far too high. I think it's the perfect spot to take a low-risk, high-reward prospect. And surely, no player in the 2024 draft matches that description better than the 6'1" 245lb redshirt senior edge rusher. PFF rates him as the 195th overall prospect, while the consensus Big Board projects him as an undrafted free agent. They do cite over a dozen mock drafts with him going in the sixth or seventh round, though.
So why draft a guy who played for the James Madison Dukes, a team that didn't even play in the Football Bowl Subdivision until 2022? As I wrote in an earlier mock draft, Green flashed far too much potential to risk letting him go until a later round. Potential, heck. 18 sacks in nine games is an incredible production, even if it was in the Sunbelt Conference. A knee injury cut his season short, but in the sixth round, yes, I'm taking the risk on a player this dynamic. There was no way I could miss him in another mock draft.
I followed that selection with another pass rusher, a player that will be more familiar to most 12s. Washington State's Brennan Jackson placed right behind Green in PFF's edge rankings, but all the way up at 173 by the consensus Big Board. In his past two seasons, the 6'4" 264lb fifth-year senior logged 75 total pressures with 11 QB hits and 15 sacks. Every writeup, including the one on NFL Draft Buzz, cites his motor and effort as the key to success in the NFL. As one scout was quoted on the NFL's draft profile, "Plays as hard as anyone in the conference. I think coaches will like him just a little bit more than scouts will, and maybe they will be right." Yep, I'll take him.
And that brings me to my final selection of the virtually unbelievable no-trade mock 2024 Seahawks draft. With the 227th pick, I bucked all the experts and selected a running back, South Dakota State's Isaiah Davis. Yes, I am well aware our own Lee Vowell wrote that running back is one of the positions that Seattle can pass on draft day. I get it, and I agree. Well, mostly. Unfortunately, the Seahawks have proven time and again that you can never have too many running backs.
Our projected third back, Kenny McIntosh, missed his entire rookie season last year. The year before that, Rashaad Penny played in just five games - heck, he deserves an entire chapter in the book of RB injuries. Chris Carson's brilliant career was derailed by injuries. Does the name C.J. Prosise ring any bells? Speaking of 2017, how fun was it when the Hawks started four different running backs, including third-down specialist J.D. McKissic?
In light of that, I'm perfectly comfortable spending a seventh-round pick on a player as explosive as Davis. Yes, I've taken him before, and if he's available in the seventh round again, I'll snap him up the next time, too. He averaged an elite 3.97 yards after contact, and his 25 carries of 15 yards+ ranked third in the NCAA. NFL Draft Buzz projects him as a short-yardage dreadnought with the potential to develop into a three-down back. Yes, he needs to work on pass protection; that alone is why he's projected as the 180th selection by the consensus Big Board. But in the seventh round, he's still a great value and a win for the Seahawks.