I’ll admit it. I do a lot of mock drafts. They are mostly for fun, but the ones that come closer to the actual event can be informative as well. For a team like the Seattle Seahawks, whose first pick doesn’t come until number 32, you begin to get a better sense of which players are likely to be on the board as you do more and more mock drafts.
You also learn something about yourself. Like whether you are disciplined and able to stick to a plan. Or whether you are more likely to reach for the shiny toy without even thinking about the ramifications.
Yes, mock drafts can be a Rorschach Test. Or they can just be fun. What follows is a bit of both.
The Seattle Seahawks reach for upside in new mock draft
To keep the drafts interesting, I like to vary the theme. Like “all-defense.” Or “focus on small school prospects.” The last one I did had a heavy emphasis on trading back.
Given John Schneider’s situation this season – just four picks, but one in each of the first three rounds – I think there is a better than 50/50 chance he will trade back on days one or two to pick up additional assets, perhaps in next year’s draft. I would not be at all surprised to see him swap the 32nd pick for something later in the second round and a high-value pick in 2027.
But that won’t be happening today. There are no trades allowed. This is actually my least favorite mock to do, but it is also often the most instructive. It forces me to focus on what kind of value Seattle is likely to get with its four picks. And it forces me to make philosophical decisions on different types of players.
I admit that when I was finished, I was kind of surprised at the general drift of the choices I made this time. Well, you’ll see what I mean soon enough. On to the picks….
Round 1, pick 32: Chase Bisontis, Guard, Texas A&M
I’ll get to Bisontis in a minute, but first, let me explain something really unexpected that happened in this particular mock. I have been routinely choosing a cornerback with Seattle’s first pick. It’s not just because I think they could use a corner after losing Riq Woolen to free agency.
It’s because this is a very good year for corners. I have six rated as first-rounders or high second-rounders. Often, I am able to trade back and still get a cornerback I like very much.
But not this year. They were all off the board by pick 32. And I could not trade back, which I may have wanted to do, because, as you know, this is a “no-trade” mock draft.
On the flip side, if all my corners went early, some players fell. The player who fell the most was Ty Simpson. The Alabama QB was still on the board. This just doesn’t seem realistic to me. Simpson’s stock is rising rapidly. Some analysts now have him going in the top five. He might fall, but there’s no way he is falling to 32
So, for the record, if Ty Simpson is available at 32, I am either drafting him or else seeing if I can get a king’s ransom from some QB-needy team who wants to trade up. Since I don’t think this is realistic, I just ignored him.
That may sound like Bisontis is nothing more than a consolation prize. That is not the case. He is an excellent guard prospect. Very good size at 6’5”, 315 pounds. He has short arms but otherwise tests out near the top of his class in every significant metric. Speed, agility, power, and burst numbers are excellent.
Right guard Anthony Bradford is scheduled for free agency in 2027. He has not been a good pass blocker, and though he is a very good straight-ahead power mauler in the run game, he does not have the speed and agility to excel in Seattle's zone-oriented running attack. Bisontis is ideal for that.
He is experienced, he is tough, and he can move. The biggest concern is that he has played on the left side for his entire college career, and that is where Grey Zabel is ensconced. But I bank on the Seahawks figuring that out and getting their best linemen on the field.
Round 2, pick 64: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M
I took Bisontis’ defensive teammate Cashius Howell at the end of round two, even though he is a little smaller than the edge rushers Mike Macdonald has tended to favor both in Seattle and in Baltimore. At 6’2”, 253 pounds, Howell has enough size to challenge NFL linemen, but his arms fall well below the ideal, and that will hurt him in the eyes of some scouts.
Howell has been undervalued for a long time. Without any Power Five offers coming out of high school, he settled on Bowling Green and immediately showed why his smaller size was not an issue. After 9.5 sacks in 2023, he moved to Texas A&M. In his senior year, against plenty of future professional linemen, Howell accumulated 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss in 13 games.
He is a very fast, explosive edge rusher who has learned to use his smaller size to his advantage, rarely letting tackles get a clean shot at him. The real question is whether he can develop into the versatile edge that Macdonald favors, or whether he is destined to be a pass rush specialist. Either way, he has value for a defense.
Round 3, pick 96: Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
This pick takes some explaining. In Rashid Shaeed and Tory Horton, Seattle has speed. Oh, yeah, and there’s that JSN guy. He’s fast, too. Why add an undersized speedster like Branch? Because Branch is not like most 5’9”, 180-pounders who have to play the slot in the pros.
In addition to the excellent hands and explosive wiggle that will make him an effective slot, he also has blazing straight-line speed, which will allow him to line up outside and run deep. Most importantly, Branch has remarkable strength for a smaller receiver.
His 20 bench press reps would equal some linebacker prospects. His combination of speed, agility, and strength allows him to play off bigger, more physical corners.
And when he gets the ball in his hands, watch out. Branch does a lot of what Rashid Shaheed can do. I am thinking that John Schneider’s decision to re-sign Shaheed at a pretty decent number means Seattle intends to use him a lot more than they did last year. Coming mid-season, Shaheed didn’t have much impact as a runner or receiver. His contribution as a returner was vital.
I look for Shaheed to be more involved in the offense this year as both a runner and receiver. A player like Branch can help fill in on returns and can be a dangerous weapon when on the field with Seattle’s other pass catchers.
Round 6, pick 188: Nick Barrett, DT, South Carolina
This is not intentional, but I always seem to end up with one of Nick Emmanwori’s defensive teammates from South Carolina. Barrett was a late bloomer who is seen primarily as a nose tackle or a 3-technique.
He does not have the explosive first step of an elite interior defender, but he is a run-stopping wall. Though he will not beat interior linemen as a pass rusher, he has the power to collapse the pocket and set up the edge rushers.
Mike Macdonald has not used a player in this role very often in Seattle. His Baltimore defenses always featured mammoth men in the middle of the line. Jarran Reed has served this role for the Seahawks, but he does it more with quickness than with sheer bulk and force.
Barrett would probably end up competing with Brandon Pili for this role. Rylie Mills is a natural successor to rangy big men like Leonard Williams, but Seattle benefits from having a real power player rotating into the middle of its line.