The Seattle Seahawks had 11 choices in the 2025 NFL draft, and that implies not all of them are going to make the active 53-man roster. If that were the case, that wouldn't be good for the team. Nearly 20 percent would be first-year guys, and that would mean a lot of on-field mistakes will be made.
Being a late-round pick means a player has an even smaller chance of being on the roster. There can be seventh-round steals, such as running back Chris Carson was for Seattle in the late 2010s, but those are rare. In other words, 2025 seventh-round choice Ricky White III was always going to struggle to make the team.
Part of this is because he did one thing exceedingly well in college at UNLV. He was a productive receiver, sure, but he was a special teams superstar. He led all of college football in blocked punts in 2024 with four, but making a professional career based on elite special teams play alone is tough.
Rookie Ricky White III struggling to make the Seattle Seahawks 2025 roster
So far in training camp, White has been passed on the wide receiver depth chart, but the chances he is getting on special teams have diminished, too. It would help if he were great at returning punts and kicks, but he isn't. Plus, fellow rookie Tory Horton has been a standout as a receiver, but also returning kicks.
His ascension toward likely being WR3 by midseason and Horton's success on special teams mean White is probably going to end up on the practice squad. It doesn't help that free agent signee Steven Sims also excels on special teams.
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There is probably no path for Ricky White III to make the team as only a receiver. He is 6'1" and 185 pounds, and has two 1,000-plus yard receiving seasons in college, but he was drafted because of his punt-block prowess. He would need to prove he could transpose that success in college to the NFL. That's tough to do in one training camp.
His best hope is that he has an exceptionally good preseason. If he can do something special in each game, he might hang on, but he will have few chances to do so.
There has been little mention of him in training camp as a receiver, even with a revamped group. He certainly wasn't NFL-ready in that aspect. Still, if he can find a way to block a few punts in the preseason, maybe he still has a chance.