He's giving "Witherspoon" vibes right before the draft

"I definitely feel like it would be a great fit to to to go play for the Seahawks"

Devon Witherspoon will always hold a special place in the history of the Seaside Joe because a lot of readers have told me that they either became aware of the newsletter or found my research to be more trustworthy after I predicted that he would be drafted by the Seahawks. I wouldn’t even say that Spoon was a “longshot” because that would imply that some people expected it to happen, but in reality the name didn’t even come up in 99% of mocks.

I was sold by research into his background that Witherspoon was being undervalued a couple of weeks before the draft, but what pushed me into the prediction on draft eve was hearing how highly he spoke about his visit to the VMAC on Steve Smith’s podcast: “Their facility is one of the best I’ve ever been to…It was just one of the best cities I’ve ever been to, for real.”

Witherspoon also talked about admiring the pictures of the Legion of Boom and wanting to be a part of the Seahawks legacy. So whereas most 30 visits are the team interviewing the prospect, the way that Witherspoon talked about Seattle felt like the reverse.

It’s also the way that Cashius Howell, edge rusher out of Texas A&M and a potential top-30 pick, talked about his pre-draft meeting with the Seahawks on Kay Adams show this week when she asked him what it was like to go to Seattle:

"Oh, yeah. It was great. The facilities, everything was so beautiful up there in Seattle. The coaching staff, they did a great job at welcoming me with with open arms and really just kind of giving me the lay of the land, you know, telling me what they expect me to do within the defense if they were to draft me.

Kind of watched a little film, kind of did a a little install, just kind of had, you know, a great insight for for what to expect if they were to draft me. And it was a great visit. Got to meet a lot of great staff members, great players, all of that. So, you know, like I said, I definitely feel like it would be a great fit to to to go play for the Seahawks.”

Yeesh, is it even a prediction anymore that Howell and the Seahawks are gravitating towards another before the draft? I haven’t seen this much chemistry since Romeo & Juliet were admiring the same fish tank.

Adams then asked Howell what it felt like when he was leaving the VMAC and Seattle:

“Oh, it was just like wow. Like honestly I I was blown away and just you know based on some of the things that the coaches were saying and kind of the culture that they were trying to — or not trying to but have already established — in the locker room and just throughout the facilities. It makes sense as to why they they win Super Bowls and that they’re always consistently just having great season after great season.

So, like I said, it was just honestly, I was just blown away by the whole visit and just thinking about all the scenarios that would happen and just honestly wishing I could be a Seattle Seahawk.”

Excuse me …

Howell’s name has come up a couple of times at Seaside Joe this month, but mostly in the comments and never by me. In fact, the only time I wrote about Howell was during my interview with Alexandre Castro when he specifically called him out as the best edge rusher to watch at 32:

“One name to watch at 32—who I didn’t think would be available before, but now might be—is Cashius Howell. He was once projected near the top of the first round, but his shorter arm length has pushed him down boards. It’s still unclear where he’ll land, but I think he stays in the first round, likely toward the back end.”

Only then did Howell get the respect here that I didn’t know he deserved, but a day before the draft he’s lining up his shot to be Seaside Joe’s 2026 prediction for the Seahawks and I’d say he’s aiming at center mass.

It’s like asking a love struck teenager why they like someone and the true answer is, “Because they like me.”

I mean, if I’m John Schneider looking for a blinking green light with my first pick, the edge rusher saying “I really, really, really want to be a Seahawk” ain’t a bad sign.

Cashius Howell—Harold Landry

The most common comparison for Howell is Harold Landry, the 41st pick of the 2018 draft and a player that the Seahawks faced in the Super Bowl last year as a member of the New England Patriots. The comparison is made in this two-minute breakdown of Howell’s film, in addition to other places:

Landry spent seven years with the Titans (missed one season with a torn ACL), averaged about 10 sacks per year, and signed a second contract with the team. That’s far more than teams get out of most second round picks.

The two sides wanted to part ways in 2025 and after being released, Landry signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal with the Patriots, which is roughly the same value that Seattle put on DeMarcus Lawrence. Landry had 8.5 sacks last season as a designated pass rusher over 15 games.

If the Seahawks were to draft a player like that at 32, or in the second round after trading down, even if he’s solely designated as a pass rusher that would be an excellent get for a defense that doesn’t already have one of those (as I wrote on Tuesday).

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But Landry is just a comparison, not a forecast of a player’s entire future.

A draft prospects “pro comp” is sort of like saying that the movie Black Hole had a comp of Star Wars when it was being developed. But as we soon found, it ain’t no Star Wars.

Howell could be a better pass rusher than Landry, or a more complete edge defender, or he could be worse. He could be a bust.

Or maybe better phrased, “A Black Hole on the Dark Side.”

However, if Howell is available at pick 32—and better yet if Schneider senses that he’s going to be still be on the board if Seattle can trade down—the reward of getting a productive designated pass rusher outweighs the risk of drafting a mediocre one-trick pony.

If that prospect is openly campaigning to go to Seattle before the draft, and another prospect just wants to go as high as possible for aesthetics (even if it’s the Browns or the Dolphins or the Cardinals), fans of that team couldn’t hate that the Seahawks picked a player who already picked them.

Who also fills a need and is cited by some, including Voch Lombardi and Bryan Broaddus in this video, as a top-3 edge rusher in the class who might be a better football player than Rueben Bain and Arvell Reese and would go top-10 if not for his arm length and wingspan:

The hosts are worried about Howell’s inconsistency between dominating teams like LSU but disappearing against Notre Dame and in Texas A&M’s bowl game against Miami. Maybe he could be handled by an above-average NFL offensive tackle or maybe he’s just too disruptive/too high of a football IQ/too many pass rushing tools for that to be a concern.

All of which are consistent mentions for what makes Howell a top-40 pick.

Francis Mauigoa, the consensus #1 offensive lineman in the 2026 class, called Howell the best pass rusher he faced in 2025. That’s an NFL offensive tackle (or guard) right there.

Howell is Dane Brugler’s #39 ranked prospect on the big board, putting him right in Seattle’s range between 32-40 if he falls that far:

“Overall, Howell needs to expand the consistency of his impact beyond winning as a high-side rusher, but his athletic twitch, play speed and violent demeanor make for the type of package you bet on at the position. At worst, he should be a designated pass rusher, with the ceiling of a versatile NFL starter (like Haason Reddick) who can be moved around the front.”

Howell also brings the necessary “chip on his shoulder” that the Seahawks like in a prospect. Just like Devon Witherspoon coming out of high school, Howell had virtually no attention from FBS programs and he ended up choosing Bowling Green as a three-star edge rusher; Brugler says that Howell was only ranked as the 12th-best recruit in Bowling Green’s 2021 class.

Said Howell of those years:

"As a 16 or 17-year-old kid, just trying to make a way for himself, it hurt me back then," he said. "Just seeing that these programs, none of them thought that you were good enough. So, it just put a chip on my shoulder going into Bowling Green, because I just had a feeling that I can play, and I will play at the highest level."

"I like to just think about all the hard times and stuff that I've been through to get to this point," he said. "And I just like to channel that into something positive, and with playing football, I feel like that's a good outlet for me to be able to channel it and it helps not only myself, but it also helps the team as well."

Finally, he led his conference in sacks in 2023 and transferred to A&M after the season. When he became a starter in 2025, Howell had 11 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss, making the All-American team. He’s also batted down an incredible 13 passes in the last two seasons, not bad for dinosaur arms.

Howell is ranked 36th on Sam Teets’ big board.

He’s not a first round pick for Todd McShay, Peter Schrager, Lance Zierlein, or Bucky Brooks, suggesting that analysts expect him to be available on day two. This is important because Schneider went to the media and said in no uncertain terms that the Seahawks would love to get out of the first round.

Of course, very few—if any—analysts were saying that Devon Witherspoon would be a top-5 pick in 2023 so we can’t trust these opinions as far as Fernando Mendoza can throw them.

Some fans will not want the Seahawks to use their first pick on a pass rusher with short arms (longer arms than Bain, but a shorter wingspan) who isn’t considered a “steal” at 32 and that’s fair too.

However, many of them will change their minds if Howell is drafted by the Seahawks as the stories roll in about Howell being one of the most intense players in college football—again, there’s a comparison there to the attitude brought by Witherspoon out of Illinois. (My favorite quote by a coach before the 2023 draft was Witherspoon’s DC, who said that Spoon was only going to get better because he could finally stop doing school and fully focus on football.)

Howell compared his own intensity to Ray Lewis, a player who’s career in Baltimore didn’t quite cross over with Macdonald’s (missed him by two years), but could be relevant: As a Ravens fan, Howell is surely familiar with Macdonald’s defense and what is asked of the edge rushers.

As a player who was recruited by Ivy League schools out of high school and nearly ended up with Cornell, I do not doubt that Howell has the IQ to understand any role on Macdonald’s defense.

As a pass rusher who will be in the NFL in less than 72 hours who is coming out of the same program as Myles Garrett and Von Miller (a veteran known for giving out all his secrets to other edge rushers who want to listen to him and has a vested interest in Howell already), I do not doubt that he has the capacity to be a draft steal.

And as a prospect not being mocked to the Seattle Seahawks at all, I do not doubt that once again—as it was three years ago—most experts are wrong.

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Would you approve of Cashius Howell at 32? Or would it only be OK on day two? Let me know:

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