The Seattle Seahawks have just four picks in the upcoming NFL draft, but you can bet that general manager John Schneider and his scouts are working just as hard as they did last year, when Seattle made eleven selections.
They are scouting prospects on all three days of the draft because they have at least one pick on each day, and they are scouting players who are not likely to be chosen at all so that Schneider is ready to pounce on undrafted free agents once the final pick is in.
The publicly available information on which players Seattle has met with suggests they are especially interested in replacing positions at which they suffered losses in free agency last month. Running back, cornerback, safety, and edge rusher prospects account for a significant majority of the Seahawks’ pre-draft interviews.
The most intriguing prospects the Seattle Seahawks have met with prior to the draft
But these interviews are shaky reference points. First and foremost, we don’t know all the prospects Schneider and his team have talked to on an informal basis. Just as importantly, although we can assume the fact of the meeting spoke to an initial interest, there’s always the chance that said meeting did not go well.
We’ll be looking at individual players and positions of interest in this final push toward the draft, but for today, I thought it would be fun to check out Seattle’s most interesting interviews thus far. These players all have traits that give them very high ceilings but also make them potential bust candidates.
Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina
Of the players discussed here, Kilgore has the fewest questions. He has all the physical tools you could want and seems, at first glance, to fit into the type of secondary Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde have built.
At 6’1”, 210 pounds, he has the size to play in the box as a safety. His 4.4 40 speed and long arms suggest an ideal perimeter corner. Most of his other testing scores, from bench press to broad jump, range between above-average and elite.
Then you get to his tape, and you find an excellent tackler who willingly takes on linemen and ball carriers. Add to that the logo on his helmet – South Carolina. Kilgore played primarily in the slot in 2025, but took turns at virtually every position, including playing an edge position on the line at times. In other words, Jalon Kilgore was the Gamecocks 2025 version of Nick Emmanwori.
And that is where the problem may lie. Kilgore is not Emmanwori. No one in the NFL is at this moment. Athletes like Emmanwori are lightning in a bottle, and trying to force Kilgore into that mold because of certain similarities would be a huge mistake.
Here’s what Seattle needs to determine in a meeting with Jalon Kilgore. Where does he see himself playing in the NFL? As a box safety, he could be an ideal Coby Bryant stand-in. But if he is not content to play a more limited role, he could struggle. He is a very good prospect, but there are still areas of concern, especially in his ability to mirror quicker receivers in space.
D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
Kilgore was a 30-visit for Seattle. They met with Ponds at the Combine. Everything I have read and heard about teams that have extensively scouted the Indiana cornerback suggests he is one of the scouting community’s favorite players in this draft cycle.
He has elite coverage skills and plays with the toughness of a linebacker. His 42” vertical leap is just one indication of how much athleticism he brings to the field.
He needs that leaping ability because the overwhelming question about D’Angleo Ponds is whether he is big enough to thrive in the NFL. 5’9," 182 pounds is a lot to overcome. Ponds has the speed, the strength, and the skill set to be a first-rate starter, but can he really cover the likes of Mike Evans and Puka Nacua in NFC West showdowns?
Other small corners have made it, but it’s a tough road. If I’m meeting with Ponds, what I’m most interested in is getting a sense of his resilience. He is going to get bullied for a while in the NFL. Does he have the character to fight through all that as he figures out how to go up against the best in the world? If the answer is yes, then Seattle is getting a very special player.
Micah Morris, Guard, Georgia
Morris was another Combine interview. Based on public records, he is the only offensive lineman with whom Seattle has had a formal interview. With questions looming over the right guard spot, it is understandable why Schneider would be looking at the position.
Anthony Bradford has graded out as a decent run blocker and a below-average pass protector throughout his career, and he is slated to hit free agency next year.
Morris may be the most mysterious prospect in the entire draft. On paper, he is a prototype. A massive frame. Pretty good agility. He was a star in high school. And it wasn’t as if he was a bust at Georgia. He was a very good player on an elite team. Players with his profile should be projected to go on day one or two in the draft. So why is Morris commonly projected as a late-round pick?
The simple answer is that his technique is seen as lacking. Scouts question his hand placement and footwork. Most agree that he will need some polishing to thrive at the next level. But there do not appear to be any other red flags (like the medical concerns that caused a similar prospect, Tre Smith, to fall in the 2021 draft).
The thing that scouts seem to be at least partly concerned about is whether Morris has that killer instinct you need in an interior lineman. These are usually the toughest – at times, dirtiest – players on the field, and Morris has not convinced the NFL that he has that attitude.
I have no way of knowing what Seattle’s conversation with Morris was like, but I do know the first question I would ask him if I had the chance. Why does he want to play football? Is it simply because he has the physical tools to do it, or is there something else? That answer may determine where he gets drafted and how high he climbs in the NFL.