The Seattle Seahawks have several gaps to fill on their roster, and the 2025 NFL draft is a great opportunity to do so. With 11 picks this year (yes, 11 and more on that in just a minute), John Schneider has every chance to fill every one of those and add to future drafts as well.
There's a very good reason the Seahawks' general manager is often referred to as "Trader John." He's made over 30 trades during the draft. That many trades in just 14 drafts is, if my math is correct, a lot of trades. I see no reason that Year 15 would be any different for the Seahawks. So that's exactly what I did - several times.
As I have in all my mock drafts since a pig bladder was first inflated for amusement on a Sunday afternoon, I used Pro Football Focus (subscription required) to run my draft. Details can be found in the first draft I ran. For the tl;dr crowd, it allows trades and is reasonably realistic. And since the Seahawks have trade bait, I made some trades.
The Seahawks land a dream team after some crafty trades
Well, they did in my 54th mock draft, anyway. Don't worry, 12s, I'm not going to make you suffer through drafts numbers 2 through 53, although that would increase my word count. I will mention, though, that I went in a very different direction.
Suffice to say, I got a little trade-happy. While I did get a few good picks for next year and some nice ones, like Kenneth Grant and Benjamin Morrison, I ended up with too many mediocre players.
So I went back to the PFF drawing board and lucked out with my first pick. From there, the dominoes fell neatly into place. I wound up with better future draft capital, and three players I expect to be stars for the Seahawks for years to come. And some solid role players, too. So, let's dive in.
Colston Loveland, Tight End, Michigan. Round 1, Pick 18. 6'6", 248 pounds
This is Seattle's first assigned selection. When the consensus number 2 TE in the draft fell into my lap, I wasn't about to pass him up. With 4.70 speed and the ability to line up inline, split out, or in the slot, Loveland will fit Klint Kubiak's new offense perfectly.
He caught 101 passes over the past two seasons at Ann Arbor. As you may recall from A.J. Barner's reputation coming into the draft last year, the Wolverines don't throw a whole lot. Barner finished third on the Seahawks with four touchdown catches, and his former teammate is much more versatile.
Drafting Loveland allowed me to trade Noah Fant and Seattle's pick number 82 for Jacksonville's #70 this year and their 2026 second-round selection. And that cut $8.9 million off Seattle's salary cap. But that came after I traded away Sam Howell.
That became an almost-kind of QB swap, as I sent Howell to the Giants, along with this year's 50th and 92nd picks. In return, the Seahawks got the 2025 32nd overall pick and New York's fourth-round picks in both 2026 and 2027. According to overthecap.com, this trade would be a win for Seattle as they gain about $3 million in contract value and the equivalent of pick number 121. All I know is I got the next guy out of it.
Nick Emmanwori, Safety, South Carolina. Round 2, Pick 34. 6'3", 220 pounds
I'll tell you right now that PFF doesn't like him nearly as much as virtually any other draft site. This pick received a grade of "F." Cool, bro, I'll take failures like this every year. Our own Jonathan Eig noted the supremely athletic Emmanwori is consistently seen in mock drafts as Seattle's first pick. The first-team All-American ran a 4.38 40 and posted a 43" vertical leap at the NFL Combine.
I think I remember a guy who played safety for Seattle who was the same size - okay, maybe five pounds heavier. I'm not saying that the former Gamecock could be the next Bam Bam, but nfldraftbuzz.com sure thinks so: "Think a more explosive version of Kam Chancellor with better man coverage skills." Over the past two seasons, he posted 159 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and six interceptions, with two of those pick-sixes. Yeah, I'll take that.
Jaxson Dart, Quarterback, Mississippi. Round 2, PIck 52. 6'2", 223 pounds.
Here's another guy who gets more love outside of the halls of Pro Football Focus. The Consensus Big Board at nflmockdraftdatebase.com shows he's the third-ranked QB overall and a consensus late first-round selection. For the Seahawks to nab him in the second round is a steal.
I mean, he's only the fourth quarterback in SEC history to top 12,000 yards of total offense in his career. Bonus points if you know who's second on that list.
Dart got better every year. He improved on 2023's excellent numbers - a 23:5 TD/INT ratio and 3,300 yards - to a 29:6 TD/INT ratio, 4,200 yards, and a passer rating of 122.3. Yes, the Seahawks already have Sam Darnold. While I hope he's the answer at QB, he has exactly one good year out of seven in the NFL. No quarterback is a can't-miss prospect, but I'll take my chances with Dart here.
Tate Ratledge, Guard, Georgia. Round 3, Pick 70. 6'6", 308 pounds.
No more trades, 12s. I know, that's pretty weak for a John Schneider draft. But I'm happy with the results. So whether Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, or even Jaxson Dart is calling the signals, they'll need some blocking up front. That starts with the senior out of Athens who surrendered only two sacks in 1,177 pass-blocking snaps.
That's just sick, in the best way. Even PFF says he's the number 2 guard in the draft.
Ty Robinson, Defensive Tackle, Nebraska. Round 4, Pick 137. 6'5", 288 pounds.
I'll admit that drafting the senior Cornhusker was a reach at this spot, but the talent is getting thin along the defensive front by this point in the draft. Due to COVID, he wound up playing 60 games in the Big 10, a solid proving ground for linemen in the NFL.
Last year, he racked up 37 tackles - 12 of those for a loss - along with seven sacks and four pass breakups. He can slide out over the tackle just as easily as he can play inside. And we know how much Mike Macdonald loves that versatility.
Dont'e Thornton Jr., Wide Receiver, Tennessee. Round 5, Pick 172. 6'5", 205 pounds.
Unlike Robinson, the lightning bolt out of Knoxville by way of Eugene was drafted exactly where he should be. He isn't the most consistent player out there, as he only had 65 catches over 47 games in his collegiate career. But when he did catch the rock - oh, it was on. Thornton averaged 21.9 yards per catch for his career. As a senior, he had 26 catches for 661 yards and six scores. Oh, and he runs a 4.30 40—two words, 12s: deep threat.
Connor Colby, Guard, Iowa. Round 5, Pick 175. 6'6", 309 pounds.
It seems like the Hawkeyes crank out more offensive linemen than any other 10 schools combined. The native Iowan is just the latest in that tradition. Throughout 50 starts, he's played at left tackle and both guard spots. He settled in at right guard, playing there exclusively for the past two seasons, where he allowed just three sacks and four QB hits in 17 games.
Bilhal Kone, Cornerback, Western Michigan. Round 7, Pick 223. 6'1", 190 pounds.
What, you never heard of this guy? That may change. After two years at Iowa Central Community College, he transferred to Indiana State. His final two years were spent at Kalamazoo. Over five years, he registered 36 pass breakups, leading WMU in that category in his final two seasons. With 4.43 speed and equal skill in man and zone coverage, he has a solid chance to stick with the team.
Zah Frazier, Cornerback, University of Texas - San Antonio. Round 7, Pick 234. 6'3", 186 pounds.
It took him some time to make the starting lineup - he only got into 17 games in his first two years at UTSA, all as a backup. But he made a name for himself once he cracked the starting lineup. In 12 games (10 starts), he was targeted 38 times and gave up just 18 catches.
He did allow a score, but the six interceptions he snagged, along with nine other pass breakups, more than made up for it. That gave him a passer rating allowed of just 37.7. Yeah, I'd love to see what he can do in camp.