Danny Kelly's first mock draft picks for Seahawks

How I could make it slighly better for Seattle: Seaside Joe 1431

Danny Kelly was the first person to give me an opportunity to cover the Seattle Seahawks, plus several more recommendations that led to work along the way, then we did a podcast together for several years, so I’m very grateful to have known him for over ten years. That podcast ended when Danny was deservingly hired at The Ringer in 2016, but it also gave me the chance to run a Seahawks website and to find my own voice, whether it be as a podcaster or as a writer.

It’s great to see that he’s still going strong for Bill Simmons almost seven years later. That’s like 300 lifetimes in the media industry.

Danny posted a mock draft for The Ringer on Thursday and as a Seahawks fan who started at Field Gulls, this picks for Seattle should be somewhat tinged with hope and idealist fits more so than other teams.

Although I’m sure Danny would say that’s not the case, at least not intentionally.

5. DT Jalen Carter, Georgia

With Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson, and Will Levis off the board, Danny manages to get a prospect many call “the best in the class” with the fifth overall pick.

With an early run on quarterbacks, the Seahawks land one of the best all-around players in the draft here in Carter. The former Bulldogs star provides a potentially massive boost for a defense that badly needs more impact players.

I watched a few more videos on Carter on Wednesday and it’s difficult to find people other than Rob Staton (coincidentally my other longtime podcast partner) who are not blown away by his tape, athleticism, and potential to be an elite NFL player. Potential may not even be the right word because most are putting Carter into that category of players who have uniquely high odds to become high-quality starters in the league. Danny could only “reach” for a negative and that’s what I’ve seen from others too.