The Seahawks have several major needs to address in the 2024 draft. In my first mock draft, John Schneider pulls off a huge trade and reloads for now and the future. Welcome to the (fake) John Schneider era of the Seattle Seahawks!
Ah yes, all the signs of the approach of Spring are in the air. Crocuses are blooming, Daylight Savings Time arrives next Sunday, and the interwebs are filled with thousands of mock drafts. This won't be as pretty as a crocus or as life-altering as a time change, but it may give you a few reasons to smile, 12s. I know it would make me happy if the Seahawks draft played out like this.
It should be obvious that I'm no draft expert; I mean, you have read some of my articles before, right? For a deep dive into the history of the Seahawks drafts, you can take the plunge here. Granted, the shine has dimmed a bit on the 2022 draft. But if Abe Lucas and Riq Woolen can return to their rookie form, the reputation of that class will bounce right back. The 2023 class wasn't exactly a bust, either. Okay, let's see what magic we can make for the Seahawks rookie class of 2024.
The Seattle Seahawks will kick off the 2024 draft with a massive trade
First, a bit of background. This is the first of three mocks I'll present; at least three, because it's fun. I ran all of my drafts on Pro Football Focus (subscription required). By the way, their draft simulator is freely available, but you can only run three rounds without a subscription. If you do subscribe, you can run all seven rounds, make trades, and set the parameters for the opposing teams. For example, you can make them really stupid and not draft according to their needs at all. You know, just like the Jaguars or Cardinals over the past five years. The same article ranked the Hawks 14th overall.
Okay, time to cut to the chase. My first move as the completely fake John Schneider was a trade, because, duh, John Schneider. This move would probably rank with his boldest ever, as my version of the Seahawks worked a trade with the Ravens for quite a haul. Maybe PFF's AI thought, "Hey, it's Mike Macdonald's team, we'll give him some love." Yes, you can force trades in their simulation, but none of my trades in any draft were forced. For Seattle's first-round pick, number 16, I received Baltimore's first-round pick at 30, their second and fourth-round 2024 picks (numbers 62 and 144 overall), and their fourth and fifth-round picks for 2025.
Yes, it's a big drop from 16th to 30th, but the Seahawks have multiple needs. They have to find reinforcements for the interior line on both sides of the ball and more pressure from the edge. They need depth at linebacker, heck, maybe a pair of starters. And yeah, if they're lucky, they could find their signal-caller for the next ten years, or at least a developmental quarterback. So yes, I was happy to swing a five-for-one package.
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Seahawks select national Champion J.J. McCarthy with their first pick
I was even happier when I landed Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with that 30th pick. Yes, all the top prospects at the position were gone by then, as were several of the defensive linemen in the draft. That's fine by me. The NFL Mock Draft Database has McCarthy ranked as the 24th overall selection after the combine. It's a great site, as it combines over 100 mock draft sites into a consensus ranking. You can run your own mock draft on their site as well.
As for McCarthy, it's true that he's been dismissed as a game manager to some degree. It's also true that he started 13 games as a true sophomore in the Big 10, throwing for 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He added five scores on the ground as well. As a junior, McCarthy connected for 22 TDs against just four picks, all while connecting on 72 percent of his passes. Oh, and he helped his team win a national title, too.
It's worth noting that in these times when players routinely spend six years in college, McCarthy just turned 21 in January of this year. That's almost three years younger than both Michael Penix and Bo Nix. Even with a year as an understudy to Geno Smith, he'd still be only 22 through almost the entire 2025 season.
And what kind of game plan does Mike Macdonald see for the Seahawks? I believe he said something like, "...We are going to run the football, we want to have the answers for the quarterback...and get the ball to our playmakers." Several of the top QB prospects declined to throw at the combine, but McCarthy showed the second-strongest arm of the day, behind only Tennessee's Joe Milton. Milton could throw a football through a closed barn door; his only problem is he wouldn't hit it on half of his tries. McCarthy's got the goods and would be a great pick at 31 for the Seahawks.
Round two sees the Hawks beef up the linebacker corps
It would be a bit odd for the Seahawks to hire a defensive mastermind like Mike Macdonald, and then not draft any defensive players. So we addressed that with our first bonus selection from the Ravens, selecting linebacker Edgerrin Cooper from Texas A&M. Pro Football Focus rates him as the second-best backer in the draft, while the consensus big board - the same site cited above - ranks him number one. His projection shows him going in the late 40s to early 50s, so snapping him up at 62 would be another solid value selection.
PFF (again, subscription only, sorry gang) graded the 6'3", 230lb Cooper at 87.6 in run defense, 86.4 in pass rush, and 85.5 in coverage for an overall grade of 90.8. That's a bit higher than their projected number-one linebacker prospect, Payton Wilson. Hey, it's PFF, go figure. Actually, Wilson grades much higher in pass coverage and missed fewer tackles, so that's likely the basis of their slotting.
Cooper didn't do much to boost his draft prospects at the combine, though. Not unless you consider a 4.51 40 much. That was the fourth-fastest of all players at the position. Sure, it would be nice if he'd been the fastest, but he's got an entire season of stellar play to prove he's worth the draft capital. All he did was lead the SEC with 17 tackles for a loss, after all. He added eight sacks, forced a pair of fumbles, recovered two, and notched 84 tackles overall. Yes, he could ball for the Hawks, that's for sure.
Hawks add more defense to round out day two
The Seahawks play with their own money to complete the second day of the draft. They'll use both to continue their revamp of the defense. You may see a theme here but don't get too comfortable. The proto-AI fake John Schneider is a man of mystery. A lot like the real man, since we aren't sure what he'll do as the man with the final say on Seattle's draft picks.
I don't know who John Schneider will select with his first of two third-round picks, but I took a player many 12s will know very well: Washington's Edge Bralen Trice. PFF ranks the 6'4" 274lb Husky as their ninth edge player to come off the board, but still 67th overall. The NFL draft database sees him in a much better light. They rank the UDub junior sixth among pass rushers off the edge and the 38th overall pick. Again, that's the consensus of over 100 draft sites.
Another site that likes Trice more than a little bit is nfldraftbuzz.com. He was named the Huskies defensive MVP as a redshirt sophomore in 2022. As much as they like Brice, PFF shows him with slightly better stats. For 2022, the former site credits Brice with 67 total pressures, including 15 QB hits and eight sacks. PFF shows him with 70 pressures, including the same QB hits but one more sack and a couple more hurries. He dialed it up a bit in 2023 with 80 pressures, 19 of those QB hits, and eight sacks (according to PFF). He showed up in run support last year as well with 28 stops. Trice would be a welcome addition to the Hawks' already dynamic duo of Boye Mafe and Uchenna Nwosu.
Just three picks later, I had Seattle stay west to shore up the defensive line. Weird, I stayed in the Pac-12 when almost no one else is. Anyway, with the 81st overall selection, I took Oregon's defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus. He can play at the edge or 3-technique, as he showed throughout his collegiate career with the Ducks. While some sites list him as an edge defender, he ran with the defensive tackle group at the combine. At 6'3" and 283 pounds, that makes a lot more sense than to classify him as a speed edge rusher. among that group, he turned in the second-fastest time, only behind Florida State's Branden Fiske.
In 2022, Dorlus lined up outside the tackle on 60 percent of his snaps. Last season that dropped to just 27 percent of his snaps, as he played at the 3 and 4-technique spots - the classic defensive tackle alignment - for 412 of his 587 snaps. No matter where he lined up, he was a problem for the opposing offensive line. PFF assigned him overall grades of 79.2, 74.8, and 76.9 in his final three seasons in Eugene. As we've seen from Macdonald's lineups in Baltimore, he likes players who can assume multiple roles in his defenses. I think he'd love to add Brandon Dorlus to his chessboard.
Day three belongs to the Seahawks offense - mostly
With the health of right tackle Abe Lucas still in doubt, the Hawks would be smart to address their depth at the position. Other than Charles Cross, Stone Forsythe is the only other tackle currently signed through 2024. With my first pick of day three, I selected tackle Christian Jones of the University of Texas.
Oddly enough, the NFL Mock Draft Database slots him exactly where I got him, with the 119th overall pick. 6'6" and 321lbs, Jones played five seasons for the Longhorns, all at right tackle except for the 2021 season. He showed steady improvement from year to year, topping out with a PFF grade of 75.2 as a fifth-year senior. While he'd be unlucky to unseat either Cross or a healthy Lucas, he has been equally adept in the passing and running game and would add that much-needed depth to the line.
With the final added pick in this year's draft from the Ravens, I stayed on the offensive line but moved one spot over. With the 134th pick, my second in the fourth round, I took Kansas State guard Cooper Beebe. PFF and the consensus board agree that he's the fourth-ranked guard in the draft. Meanwhile, NFL Draft Buzz rates the 6'3" 322lb Wildcat as the second guard to be drafted. PFF graded him above 80.5 in each of the last three seasons, with a grade of 83.9 last year. His run-block grade of 79.0 is decent, but that pass-blocking grade of 90.4 is an eye-opener.
According to PFF, throughout 892 pass-blocking snaps in 2022 and 2023, he allowed a total of two QB hits, two sacks, and 14 hurries. Draft Buzz says he was even better with just 12 hurries, two hits, and one sack. Over 90 percent of his snaps were at left guard. PFF doesn't think guards are worth much, as Beebe is ranked 141st overall, while Draft Buzz sees him going at 73, and the consensus board at 59. Beebe is a solid value at a position of major need for the Seahawks, no matter where he's ranked.
The Seahawks plug more holes in rounds five and six
With the first selection of the fifth round - number 151 overall - I went for a bookend for Beebe, picking up Michigan's Zak Zinter. PFF has him ranked right behind Beebe, while Draft Buzz has him as the fourth-best guard overall. The consensus board has him ranked a few spots lower, but even they see Zinter as the 98th pick of the draft.
Zinter doesn't grade as well as Beebe in passing sets. That's a bit surprising, as in 707 pass-blocking sets over the past two seasons, he surrendered just two sacks, 1 QB hit, and 11 hurries. He checked into the combine at 6'6" and 309lbs, but he was listed at 322 pounds at Ann Arbor, He could add those pounds back and plug in at right guard, where he played all but one of his last 2,298 snaps for the Wolverines.
I had to break that bothersome trend on offense if I didn't want to get fired by Coach Mike. So with the Seahawks' sixth-round selection - number 194 overall - I traveled about as far south as you can go and still stayed in the lower 48. No, I didn't take a player from Florida International University - I did say about it, after all. But I did take Miami Hurricanes safety James Williams. The "U" - man, I hate that stupid nickname - has two of the top 12 safeties in the draft, according to PFF. Williams may be the other guy, but he's still pretty good. The consensus board has Williams ranked as the eighth-best safety, but he's a banger.
At 6'4" and 231 pounds, he may remind you, dear 12s, of a certain Seahawks legend. Williams didn't exactly blaze the track at the combine, running a 4.65 40. Granted, a 4.65 today is in truth, relatively slower than Kam Chancellor's 4.69 14 years ago. But that time pushed Chancellor all the way down to the fifth round, as you no doubt remember. No, I am in no way saying that Williams is the next Bam Bam Kam. There is no next Chancellor, period. But Williams is another versatile player that Macdonald could move all over the field.
Over the past three seasons, he's been on the field for 1,771 snaps. 753 of those were lined up as the deep safety, 645 in the box, 254 in the slot, 84 on the line, and the last 34 at cornerback. Draft Buzz pictures him as the 120th pick, while the consensus board slots him at 122. PFF sees him at 162; at 194, he'd be a solid pickup for Seattle.
With their final pick, Seattle selects...
Alright 12s, your long national nightmare is drawing to a close. Hey, don't blame me, blame Baltimore for taking that five-for-one deal. Time to close out my first mock draft of 2024 by jumping back to the offensive side of the ball. In case you missed it, both Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson are free agents. Will Dissly is a likely target for a cap-cut casualty as well. Cutting Dissly would clear nearly $7 million in cap space. With Tyler Mabry as the only other TE under contract, the Hawks need to either re-sign Fant or Parkinson or look to the draft.
I'm no expert, but I can tell you this much: a seventh-round draft pick would be much cheaper. So with the 233rd overall pick of the 2024 draft, I selected Tanner McLachlan of the Arizona Wildcats. The consensus board lists him 13th among tight ends, while PFF ranks him tenth. Draft Buzz sees him as the 11th-ranked tight end. The 6'5" 244lb redshirt senior ran a 4.61 40 which placed him third among all TE prospects.
The league's own draft site at nfl.com ranks McLachland as the 7th-best performer at the combine and the 10th overall prospect. Over the past two seasons, when he stays in on pass protection, he's allowed a total of six pressures and one sack. Of his 55 targets this season, he made 45 catches and had zero drops. Yeah, I think the Seahawks could use a guy like that.
There you have it, 12s. We added two picks this year and two more next year. We got our quarterback of the future, added depth to both lines - including replacing both guards - and beefed up the pass rush. We filled gaps at linebacker and safety and added a tight end as well. Now we all know, just as with any draft, we'd be lucky if half of these players panned out. But they all address needs, and that's the name of the game. At least it is until the next draft. Spoiler alert- it looks a lot different.