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Seahawks wrap up stunning 2025 draft with a special teams standout

Seahawks add to the smoke with their final pick
Todd Vandenberg
Todd Vandenberg

12th Man Rising

Ethan Miller/GettyImages

The Seattle Seahawks wrap up their phenomenal 2025 draft with their 11th overall selection. Seattle ticked off every box on their list of needs by taking a wide receiver who excels on special teams play.

Once you reach the seventh round of the draft, every pick is a something of a throw at the dartboard. That's not to say that John Schneider asked for a blindfold and had Jody Allen spin him around three times before he made Seattle's final selection. Even with pick number 238, there's a method to the madness of this draft. Yes, even with all of the trades.

I'll admit I wasn't too sure of John Schneider's status in Seattle coming into this draft. I stand by my assertion that he cost the Seahawks the chance to sign a solid guard among the free agents. That being said, he more than made up for it with a spectacular draft. Schneider kept the pedal to the floor to the end with his 11th and final selection.

Seahawks continue drafting very specific skills with their final pick of the draft

The Seahawks took UNLV's wide receiver Ricky White III with their final pick. At 6'1" and 184 pounds, White isn't exactly a physical specimen - well, not by NFL standards. He's not a speed merchant, either, with a 4.61 time in the 40-yard dash. All he does is produce.

He began his collegiate career at Michigan State, where he set a freshman record with an eight-catch, 196-yard annihilation of archrival Michigan. He redshirted the following year and transferred to UNLV. He led his team in receptions in each of the following three seasons, racking up 218 catches for 3,143 yards and 23 touchdowns.

The academic All-American was a team captain in both 2023 and 2024, and was named to the All-Mountain West Conference first team as a wide receiver.. But the real reason the Seahawks took him was his prowess on special teams. He blocked four punts last year, leading the entire Football Bowl Subdivision. That was more blocked punts than any other FBS team recorded.

Two of those blocks turned into touchdowns. He also returned a few punts - literally a few, just three - but took one of those to the house for another score. So no, he isn't big; he isn't particularly fast, either. But what he is is a football player. And that fits the description of every player the Seahawks drafted this year.

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Todd Vandenberg

Todd Vandenberg

Todd Vandenberg has been a baseball fan since the Tigers Mickey Lolich won game seven of the 1968 World Series against Bob Gibson and the Cardinals, a football fan since witnessing the Miami Dolphins 16-10 win over the J-E-T-S in December of 1970, a fan of the Seahawks since Pete Carroll arrived in 2010, and a movie fan since his big brother took him to the drive--in for Godzilla vs The Thing. Yes, little Todd was disappointed that the "Thing" was a giant moth, and not James Arness as a walking carrot. He's written for 12thManRising since 2017 and joined Netflix Life in 2024. He's currently dabbling with a screenplay about Garo Ypremian kicking a touchdown.