The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2026 NFL draft with four picks and came out of it with eight. Most of those came on Day 3, though, so many of the players won't be expected to be massively impactful. The group was missing an edge rusher, however.
Seattle has a need at the position after losing Boye Mafe in free agency. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals for three years and as much as $60 million. General manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald still have options, though, and one of those includes Jadeveon Clowney.
Asked about the lack of drafting an edge rusher in the post-draft press conference and whether the Seahawks would chase a player at that spot in free agency, Schneider simply said, "Yeah. We may."
Seattle Seahawks should sign Jadeveon Clowney with the 2026 NFL draft over
Of course, those three words alone mean nothing, but the GM could have implied the opposite. He might have just said that the team is happy with who they currently have at the position, and plans to move forward with those. Then, if Seattle did add another edge rusher, that would simply be extra.
Macdonald, however, would probably prefer another proven high-end pass rusher, as Seattle's rotation currently exists with Derick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, and DeMarcus Lawrence. The team also has Jared Ivey, Jamie Sheriff, and Connor O'Toole, but none of the three have shown they can be counted on for consistent production.
Jadeveon Clowney has, and he has done so in a Mike Macdonald system. Clowney played for the Ravens in 2023 when Seattle's head coach was the defensive coordinator for Baltimore. That season, the edge rusher had 9.5 sacks. He played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 and produced 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
He might now be 33 years old, but as he played at a high level last season and knows Macdonald's scheme, Clowney would be a natural fit for the Seahawks next season. Seattle could then address getting younger at edge rusher (Lawrence is also 33 years old) in the 2027 NFL draft when Seattle is expected to have at least 11 selections, including comp picks.
The question is whether the Seattle Seahawks have the same amount of talent they had last season when they won the Super Bowl, and, on paper, they don't. The NFC West is brutal, and any slippage by one team among Seattle, the Los Angeles Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers can send them spinning toward third place.
Jadeveon Clowney, assuming he is asking for around $6-7 million in free agency, would make sense for Seattle to sign. For one year at least, the returning star (he played in the Pacific Northwest in 2019) would be an excellent addition.
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