Dante Fowler is 12th top-10 pick since 2013 to join Seahawks
What makes Fowler different from most of Seattle's past top-10 pick additions
By signing Dante Fowler Jr. on Tuesday, the Seahawks made the point that they can kick that edge rusher can down the road again by choosing a stopgap over the rookie options available in the draft. Comparatively, whoever Seattle chooses to be the running back will have a bigger role in 2026 than a number four edge rusher, so the Seahawks felt better by drafting Jadarian Price to avoid Najee Harris.
It’s like if you’re trying to lose weight but allow yourself a cheat day, some people want a sweet and others prefer a savory. You might have a sweet tooth, but if the better option available to you today is a basket of fries then you can save the Shamrock Shake for next week when it’s back on sale.
To Seattle, Price/Fowler beats Cashius Howell/Harris.
Fowler was never as good as DeMarcus Lawrence before, so he’s not going to be as good as Lawrence next season, but he is three years younger and therefore a lack of “juice” at 31 is not necessarily an issue. This breakdown of Fowler’s recent performances with the Dallas Cowboys by All-22 Films was just posted and gives Seahawks fans an idea of how good Fowler—who signed a one-year, $5 million deal—could be next season:
Seattle has somewhat of a history of adding former blue chip draft picks, including two of their best acquisitions in the last few years.
Seahawks and former top-10 picks
Being a top-10 pick is interesting in that a) yes that person is extremely talented because out of thousands of college football players, he rose to prominence for a good reason and b) if you’re bouncing around the league for any reason, it’s usually because something went wrong.
Sometimes adding a former top-10 pick feels like that “too good to be true” disaster from the Tom Hanks movie The Money Pit (aka Jamal Adams):
Fowler is the 12th player drafted in the top-10 since 2013 to end up with the Seahawks, either as a signing, trade, or draft pick. And the 14th since John Schneider became the GM in 2010. I’ve also added two more who fell just outside the top-10, bringing the total to 16:
2010: OT Russell Okung, RB C.J. Spiller
2011: None
2012: None
2013: G Luke Joeckel, EDGE Dion Jordan, EDGE Ziggy Ansah, EDGE Barkevious Mingo, G D.J. Fluker (11th), DT Sheldon Richardson (13th)
2014: EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
2015: EDGE Dante Fowler, DL Leonard Williams
2016: None
2017: S Jamal Adams
2018: QB Sam Darnold
2019: LB Devin Bush
2020: None
2021: None
2022: LT Charles Cross
2023: CB Devon Witherspoon
2024: None
2025: None
Did I miss anyone?
The only top-10 picks over the past seven drafts to end up with the Seahawks were the two that they drafted themselves, Cross and Witherspoon. Those have worked out.
But the Seahawks were able to sign Darnold in 2025 because things didn’t work out for him at four previous stops.
Perhaps more surprising is that Seattle is the third career team for Leonard Williams, a player who has been nothing other than amazing since he got to the Seahawks. And he was let go by two of the worst ORGANIZATIONS (Jets, Giants) in the league. How they couldn’t realize that Williams was one of the few decisions they got right and let him go for almost nothing is probably also why those franchises never succeed.
The rest of the names on the list were pretty much huge disappointments, most prominently Adams, Clowney, Richardson, and Ansah.
I think even with Luke Joeckel you just knew this guy was not made for the NFL.
Richardson was actually the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year (same year that former Seahawks RB addition Eddie Lacy was OROY) but that only emphasizes why it’s considered one of the worst draft classes in NFL history.
Fowler joins Seattle with a bit of a different story than most of these players because despite being labeled as a bust by some (and he’s certainly a bust as far as the Jaguars, the team that drafted him, is concerned) he’s had a couple of 10+ sack campaigns, he’s been to a Super Bowl (with the Rams in 2018), and he’s one of Dan Quinn’s all-time favorite players.
As a matter of fact, Fowler was drafted the same year as Leonard Williams and though he missed his entire rookie season, he only has 3 fewer career sacks than Williams; I’d call this more of a weird nugget than an “oh wow, he’s so good” declaration, but Fowler is one of just six 2015 first round picks signed with a team today.
And two of those are backup quarterbacks (Mariota, Winston).
Two of the other four are on the Seahawks defensive line.
I love the Fowler signing. If he stays healthy, his floor will be enough to counter the loss on Mafe, if only for this year. His ceiling is higher than Mafe, again, if only for one year. I’ve been pounding the table for an Edge in round one for two years now. Maybe next year, the third time is the charm. I’ve heard next year’s draft will be heavy with QBs, WRs, and OTs early in the first round. Maybe we’ll luck into an elite edge the way we lucked into Murphy in a similar offensive heavy year.
I was hoping for Cam Jordan but "In Schneider We Trust", and $5m leaves us absolutely "in the game" if someone later in the offseason, or mid-season, becomes available. We know Schneider/MacDonald will act fast if need be.
Or if Fowler is enough, we've got ˜$20m that can be added to the 2027 cap for the big extensions coming up. Fantastic for the cap if this works out!
Hopefully there won't be an "if need be", that MacDonald's system unleashes the beast in Fowler like it has for so many other defender rebirths under his tutelage.
And if Coach Quinn really liked him, that's a strong vote to me (stronger than Dallas not being willing to keep him for $5m)