Even if the Seattle Seahawks miss the playoffs in each of the next three seasons, the 2025 draft will go down as a roaring success. General manager John Schneider acquired two players in Grey Zabel and Nick Emmanwori who proved crucial in bringing the Lombardi Trophy home to the Northwest. There’s not a team in the league that wouldn't relish that type of return in one draft class.
But Schneider added nine other players in 2025, and if the class is going to be remembered as one of the greatest in franchise history, there’s a pretty good chance it will be the fifth round that puts it over the top.
The Seahawks had three picks in the fifth round. Early on, they got Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills. Toward the end, Schneider chose wide receiver Tory Horton from Colorado State. And then, with the second-to-last pick in the round, he surprised some draft experts by grabbing Robbie Ouzts, a tight end out of Alabama.
The 2025 fifth round could determine the difference between a Seattle Seahawks championship and a dynasty
None of those players logged more than 300 total snaps in the 2025 regular season. They were each slowed by injuries. Mills arrived injured and didn’t see the field until Week 15.
Horton played his best game in week nine, scoring two touchdowns against Washington, before the tibia he had fractured early in the season worsened to the point that he could not play further. And Ouzts, who began the year as the starting fullback in Klint Kubiak’s new offense, missed time with two different injuries during the season.
In training camp this year, both Mills and Horton look fully healed. And very dangerous. It is still very early, but they are showing all the signs of playing the way Schneider expected when he chose them.
Horton and Mills were both projected to be day two picks before injuries late in the college season bumped them down a few rounds. They were genuine bargains in round five. Schneider had built a sound enough roster that he did not need them to produce immediately. He could afford to wait.
At defensive tackle, he had his elite starters in Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II. He had quality depth in Jarran Reed. Brandon Pili was on hand to help out as well. Schneider could afford to spend a fifth-round pick on Mills.
In last year’s Super Bowl, Mills recorded his first NFL sack. Reports from training camp suggest he is showing signs of being yet another dominant lineman, using his long arms and natural leverage to make plays at and behind the line.
Horton’s speed and length were bound to intrigue NFL GMs. Toss in back-to-back thousand-yard seasons with 16 touchdowns, and he was easily a third-round talent. But a knee injury midway through his final year caused concern. As a rookie, he was just beginning to show his formidable skills as both a receiver and return man when his tibia fracture flared up. Like Mills, he looks very fast in camp.
Ouzts is the most worrisome story right now. He is having trouble staying on the field, and the Seahawks' recent acquisition of blocking fullback Brock Lampe could put his job in jeopardy. He needs to get healthy and show what he can do.
But Horton and Mills appear to be roster locks. Mills could see a lot of playing time this year as Reed cuts back due to age. For all their explosiveness, Seattle is still looking for a complement to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside. Horton seems ideally suited to claim that role.
Weirdly, his injury last year may have left Seattle even stronger in the long run. John Schneider may have made the deal for Rashid Shaheed at last year’s trade deadline regardless of Horton’s status.
But it seems logical to at least wonder if that trade would have happened had Horton not gone to the IR. Seattle ended up winning the Super Bowl and now has both Horton and Shahid on board to add offensive firepower.
There were other solid players drafted in the fifth round last year. Both Jordan Philips and Elijah Roberts became good rotational defensive linemen, as Mills seems to be now. Oronde Gadsden had a nice season at tight end for the Chargers.
I think Horton and Mills have higher ceilings than any of those players. If they do indeed live up to their promise this season, they join Zabel and Emmanwori in making up a foundational draft class. If Ouzts can return, so much the better.
Schneider’s 2025 draft class is shaping up to be a textbook on how to manage a roster. He accumulated more picks than other teams – eleven in all. He hit big on his early ones. If it turns out he also hit on at least two of his three fifth-rounders, Seattle’s formidable roster gets even scarier.
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