The Replaceablements?
Will Seahawks draft these starter's replacements?
Several of your favorite “they’ll never get to the Seahawks” draft prospects might actually get to the Seahawks. SI’s Albert Breer highlighted a few reasons why:
Armand Membou might be strictly a right tackle
Will Campbell might have to move inside to guard
Will Johnson has injury concerns
Jalon Walker is small for edge
Mykel Williams wasn’t that good in college
Mason Graham has short arms
Teteiroa McMillan has questions of football commitment
Tyler Warren and Ashton Jeanty play “non-first round” positions
Forget if all nine players are available at 18. The Seahawks only need one: The one who they “have to leave the draft with” and nobody is certain who that would be for John Schneider except for Schneider. Breer’s post lines up perfectly with Sunday’s Seaside Joe newsletter about the ideal first 17 picks, and why I theorize that prospects like Campbell, Walker, or McMillan could be options.
If Membou falls in the draft because he’s a right tackle, that’s not necessarily going to be a problem for Seattle given Abe Lucas’s injury history.
Good teams don’t draft for today’s needs; good teams identify future needs and give themselves months, if not years, to develop those prospects into replacements.
The Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts when they had Carson Wentz, and they added players like Cam Jurgens, Cooper DeJean, and Jalen Carter when they had Jason Kelce, Darius Slay, and Fletcher Cox. Can the Seahawks efficiently prepare for tomorrow’s needs with this year’s draft?
A player like Membou would seem redundant given that Seattle has Charles Cross and Lucas, but both of those players are entering their fourth seasons and the Seahawks might only be able to keep one. Whether Lucas moves inside, moves to the left, or moves on entirely, Membou fits perfectly onto the 2026 Seahawks roster.
There should be nothing wrong that with that plan.
Here are more examples of how and why current Seahawks could be replaced by this year’s draft picks to fit future needs:
OLB Boye Mafe
Draft options: Round 1-2
If the Seahawks invest more development time into only one of their edge rushers beyond 2025, the most logical player to do that with is Derick Hall, as he is 2.5 years younger than Mafe. Not only is Hall 24 (barely older than some edge rushers in the 2025 draft) and signed through 2026, he is much more dynamic and terrifying as a threat than Mafe has been.
The draft is set up nicely for Seattle to pick another edge rusher in the first two rounds, in which case the team could go into training camp with a deep group (DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Mafe, Hall, +Whoever Else) and if they feel they have a surplus at the start of the season there will be no shortage of interested trade partners.
Given Nwosu and Lawrence’s injury histories though, the Seahawks might need actually need more help at outside linebacker sooner than you think.
Prospects: Mykel Williams, Jalon Walker, Donovan Ezeiruaku, etc.
This podcast has film breakdown on Williams and Walker (and Kelvin Banks) and I’ve queued it up to the appropriate place for that:
The host says that Jalon Walker “reminds you of Micah Parsons”, while obviously not being the same level of prospect as Parsons in 2021. They have a similar attack style (“wrecking ball” over well-developed moves) and have played both inside and outside.
Mykel Williams does have prototypical size but wasn’t as good of a player in college as Walker. Meanwhile, Ezeiruaku was HIGHLY successful but isn’t the type of NFL-caliber athlete who gets recruited to Georgia.
If you don’t want the Seahawks to pick a first round edge, there are certainly going to be options on day two (Nic Scourton, Landon Jackson, Princely Umanmielen), but will they be UPGRADES to recent second rounders Mafe and Hall? Or is it just asking to need to replace them again in 3 years?