The Seattle Seahawks' season is done, of course, and now general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll just need to focus on making the team better. That could come in free agency, but the focus should be on the NFL draft. The biggest question, though, is does Seattle take a quarterback with their first pick.
My guess currently is no. Just like I do not think Seattle will be without Pete Carroll coaching the team next year. But in the mock draft that follows, I do have Seattle addressing a position of need early.
I did take an early trade. For those looking just at the draft picks and rounds, you might miss this part. The reason I use Pro Football Network's mock simulator is it does offer interesting trades. The one I chose had the Seahawks moving back from pick No. 16 in the first round to No. 27 (and that certainly would not be the first time general manager John Schneider traded back since 2010), but I was able to pick up a second-round choice to replace the one Seattle gave away in the trade that brought Leonard Williams to Seattle in the middle of this season.
Seattle Seahawks go defense early and often in 2024 NFL mock draft
Many 12s believe that the Seahawks should have gone with an interior defensive lineman in the 2023 NFL draft but Seattle instead went with cornerback Devon Witherspoon. While taking someone like Jalen Carter might have been good, he did have his red flags entering the draft that scared several teams away. Plus, Witherspoon looks like a long-term difference-maker at cornerback. He was excellent in every facet of the game this season.
But that doesn't change the fact that the Seahawks need a defensive lineman this year as badly as last. Plus, Seattle could lose Leonard Williams to free agency and he was by far Seattle's best defensive lineman at the end of the season. Jarran Reed had a good year in terms of pass rush, but he wasn't great against the run. No Seattle defensive lineman was.
Newton might still need to gain a little weight, but the Illinois product is 6'2" and 295 pounds and extremely strong. He has the base to be able to hold up and attack the run. He will also supply high-end interior pass rush. The reason he could fall into the later part of the first round is he doesn't have the longest arms. But he does have strong arms and can use them to move offensive linemen where he wants them to go.
Seattle Seahawks 2024 mock draft: Rounds 2 and 3
The Seahawks might need to completely rebuild their linebacker group this offseason. Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, and Devin Bush are all free agents. While there is zero reason to bring Bush back, Brooks and Wagner would be excellent re-signings. The issue could be money, though, especially when it comes to the younger Brooks. So let's assume Seattle brings back Wagner or Brooks, but not both.
The 6' and 230-pound Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. should be good enough to be a Week 1 starter in 2024. He has excellent athleticism who can cover tight ends and running backs well. That is something that Seattle lacks, obviously, as Wagner and Brooks are good tacklers but not good in coverage. Trotter also was well-coached at Clemson in how to attach the run.
As can be said about the Seahawks needing to rebuild their linebacker room, they may need to do the same with their safeties. Both Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams carry cap hits north of $20 million in 2024 and both underperformed in 2023 and should be released. USC's Bullock has good size at 6'3" and 190 pounds, needs to gain a little strength (which he should do once in the NFL), but is a very good tackler and knows how to use his length efficiently in coverage.
Haynes might not be an immediate starter, but given a little time he should develop into a long-term starter who is extremely nimble on his feet at 310 pounds and is a good athlete. He needs to be coached a bit better but he has all the tools to be a very good guard. The UConn product may not get a lot of playing time until 2025 but the wait would be worth it for the Seahawks.
Seattle Seahawks 2024 mock draft: Rounds 4 and 5
The tight end group is Seattle's third position unit that could be decimated in free agency. Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson are free agents whose pass receiving skills would like be better used by an offensive coordinator who is a bit more creative with players who can block and catch. Seemingly by design, Seattle OC Shane Waldron wasted his tight ends this year.
Bell is more like Fant than Will Dissly. He is an excellent receiver and can use the middle-deep of the field to get explosive plays. He needs to be a better blocker, but that technique should be able to be taught in the NFL and turn the 6'3" and 240-pound Florida State product into a versatile and productive NFL tight end.
Brady Cook still needs to declare and not back outof the draft, but he would be an excellent prospect to sit and learn for a year under Geno Smith. Cook is 6'2" and 205 pounds, so he does need to add some girth to hold up to an NFL-style beating that he would get as a quarterback. But sitting for a season would allow him to do that.
Cook is a good athlete with a good arm. He can take off and run when needed, but he has the arm strength to fit the ball into tight windows. Cook also developed into a good leader and helped Missouri to a top-ten ranking this year. While his ceiling isn't the highest, he still should be capable to taking meaningful snaps. Plus, he doesn't appear to get rattled and that kind of calm should help him win games late.
Seattle Seahawks 2024 mock draft: Rounds 6 and 7
The Seahawks seem to draft well in later rounds better than most teams. John Schneider and Pete Carroll have found as many gems in the fifth round alone as lots of other teams took in the first or second round. Stone Forsythe has turned out to be a decent backup offensive tackle and Seattle chose him in the sixth round in 2021. Chris Carson was a good running back when healthy and he was taken in the seventh round in 2017.
I point this out because while many teams might be looking for depth only in rounds 6 and 7, the Seahawks won't rule out those rounds producing a potential starter. The two guys that follow might not be immediate starters, but they could also play meaningful snaps as rookies.
Eboigbe offers the one thing that Seattle has to have moving forward and that is a run-stopper. There is also no doubt the Alabama product would have been extremely well-coached in college in how to play between gaps and keep his offensive line counterpart occupied. Eboigbe might not ever help much with interior pass rush, but Seattle needs guys who can slow the run and that's what Egoigbe can do.
Brooks had a big dip in play this year. So much so that he might have fallen from a second or third round choice to the bottom of the draft. Partly was his coverage where he allowed 26 of 34 targets thrown his way to be completed. But Georgia Tech did not offer Brooks much help and in 2022 Brooks allowed only 7.5 yards per reception and had a quarterback rating allowed of 53.8. He has skills and his lack of great 2023 might help the Seahawks because they might grab him in the seventh round.