Seattle Seahawks 2023 Mock Draft: Trusting Jalen Carter…but with some insurance 

The second gamble for the Seahawks

TRADE: Seahawks trade pick #20 and a 2024 6th round pick to Minnesota for pick #23 and #87

Round 1 Pick 23: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas

At least give me a second to defend the pick before you exit this article!

Let me start by saying I am historically in the camp of never drafting a running back with a first-round pick. I do not believe it is the best use of such a valuable asset, but this is a unique situation. Bijan is arguably one of the best running back prospects to enter the draft in a long time, ranked higher than even Saquan Barkley and Leonard Fournette. He is basically a combination of a supercharged version of Josh Jacobs as a running back and a B+ version of Christian McCaffrey as a receiving option. At 6 ft and 215 lbs, Robinson is a similar size as those two (taller than both, 5 pounds heavier than CMC, and 5 pounds lighter than Jacobs) while having stronger combine and pro days numbers. He’s an elite blue-chip prospect that’s available at pick 23. 

He fits the culture, the scheme and the identity of what Pete Carroll wants the Seahawks to become. With Bijan on board, Seattle has undoubtedly the best 1-2 punch at running back in the league. Between Kenneth Walker and Bijan Robinson, there’s no reason to think Seattle can’t put together the best running offense in the league, but I think there’s even more value to Bijan that makes this pick work. 

While he wasn’t asked to do it frequently, Bijan was a tremendous receiving threat at Texas. In his three-year career, Robinson caught 60 receptions for 805 yards (13.4 avg) and 8 TDs. Seattle has a current void at the slot wide receiver position with Marquise Goodwin gone and Dee Eskridge a big question mark at best. While we will add at the WR position in this draft, using a talent like Robinson in a Christian McCaffrey-like weapon role could unlock this offense to a whole other stratosphere. 

Imagine an offense with DK and Lockett, but you also are giving Kenneth Walker 15-16 carries a game, and giving Bijan Robinson 12 carries in the backfield, as well as 6-7 receiving or sweep opportunities. If the offensive line holds, you’re talking about 4 elite options for Shane Waldron to play with, and they can all be on the field at the same time. 

I believe in Bijan as a blue chip weapon. I truly think there’s a path where we see him ascend to a Marshall Faulk level of domination, and it’s worth the risk after a minor trade back to pick 23. Seattle nabs two top 5 potential talents in the first round of the draft.