Seahawks 2023 draft plans: 10 position players Seattle should consider in the first round
Seahawks 2023 draft plans: 10 position players Seattle should consider in the first round
8/15/2022: Could Will Anderson, Jalen Carter, or Jordan Addison join Pete Carroll's rebuilding plan next year?
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The Seattle Seahawks should draft a quarterback early in the 2023 NFL Draft and that’s consistently the same sentiment I’ve been sharing since the March 8 trade that turned Russell Wilson into…a need for Seattle to find a franchise quarterback again. Thankfully for Pete Carroll and John Schneider, the Seahawks recouped two first and two second round picks in exchange for having no immediate answers at quarterback and the trade package returned for Wilson has put Seattle in position to have the most draft capital in the league next April.
While Grayson McCall could make for an excellent choice that wouldn’t necessarily cost the team an early draft pick based on what everyone else thinks about McCall right now, I am aware that the Seahawks are probably going to go in another direction and they potentially will utilize a first round pick on a quarterback for the first time since Rick Mirer in 1993.
And I’d be fine with that too, depending on who the quarterback is.
But the Seahawks don’t just have one first round pick. They also hold Denver’s first and second round picks and if the Broncos struggle to stay afloat in the NFL’s toughest division, Seattle might even have two picks in the top-20 and four picks in the top-50. Carroll and Schneider should have the luxury to add a quarterback AND two or three players who could be just as exciting in 2023 as Charles Cross, Ken Walker, and Boye Mafe in 2022.
Related reading: Seahawks fans say that Pete Carroll has made the exact right approach at QB; Which veteran QBs could be available in 2023?; Besides QB, which position will Seahawks prioritize in 2023 draft?; Top 5 QB rankings for 2023 NFL Draft; 4 reasons Seahawks would pick D over QB in 2023
Today’s Seaside Bonus article will profile 10 non-quarterback prospects who the Seahawks should consider with early picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. This is a primer to get us started on a journey that has about eight months of road ahead: Seattle’s mission to reload the roster back to the levels of talent they enjoyed in 2013.
And it’s a damn fine Seaside Bonus, honestly. Then again, they all are!
If you are interested in being over-prepared for the 2023 NFL Draft and what the Seahawks will do, consider signing up to become a Regular Joe so you don’t miss today’s article or any of the many to come in the future. I will start with the consensus top position player in the draft as a free preview, then detail nine more excellent prospects (2 WRs, 1 CB, 1 G, 1 DT, 2 EDGE, 1 LB, 2 TE) and why they fit the Seahawks’ needs next year, plus scouting reports and highlights for each.
Join us on the other side of the paywall, it’s going to be more exciting than Drew Lock and Geno Smith.
EDGE Will Anderson, Alabama
I don’t think there is a better pass rusher/defensive end in the NFL today than Myles Garrett. Give it three years and that title could belong to Will Anderson, Jr..
If it takes that long.
A five-star recruit out of Georgia in 2020, Anderson has leapt over the 21 recruits ranked ahead of him that year to become the consensus best all-around player for the 2023 NFL Draft. Even if one or two quarterbacks get drafted ahead of him, Anderson is the type who, like Garrett, is expected to come into the league and dominate right away.
To be a top-ranked recruit is not that uncommon…somebody has to do it.
To be the nation’s most productive pass rusher is not unheard of…somebody has to do it.
But for Anderson to be that highly rated, then to go to the SEC, then to post 31 TFL and 17.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2021, in addition to being one of the nation’s most impactful locker room leaders and veteran voices. He’s the rare type and a better all-around prospect than even Chase Young was two years ago. Anderson already has 41.5 TFL and 24.5 sacks through 28 college games.
The 6’4, 235 lb edge rusher (built slightly more wiry than Garrett or Young) finished fifth in Heisman voting and he could finish first in 2022.
Anderson had four sacks against Mississippi State…so maybe the Seahawks should do their best to put him on the same team as Charles Cross instead of on a rival. (Note: Cross did not allow those four sacks, but you get my point!)
Will the Seahawks be picking in the top-three? For the first time in a decade, that doesn’t sound so improbable. Would they pass up a quarterback prospect for the next Myles Garrett? If anyone’s going to do that, it’s Pete Carroll.
No matter how good Darrell Taylor or Boye Mafe or Uchenna Nwosu look in 2022, there’s no amount of depth that makes Will Anderson an “overkill” choice in the draft. No team can have too many Myles Garrett’s’s’s.
Now for nine more prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft with first/second round grades who fit what the Seahawks want to do, including Heisman candidates, Pac-12 stars, and legacy players with NFL bloodlines.