He's the most popular pick for Seahawks fans!

Maybe the Seahawks should draft Emeka Egbuka, but the first round could be too early

Something I’ve learned recently by listening to the brilliant Seaside Joe community is that there is a real love-love relationship with Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka and if he’s drafted by Seattle he would at least know who to room with:

When Jaxon Smith-Njigba set records as a sophomore at Ohio State in 2021, it was at the cost of the team playing 5-star freshman Emeka Egbuka, arguably the standout of a recruiting class that featured FIVE players who were ranked first in the country at their position! (Yes, the Buckeyes won the national championship four years later, right on schedule.)

In this week’s “Seaside Joe Community Mock Draft Starter Kit” — my attempt for us to come together to form a majority rules best class for the Seattle Seahawks — Egbuka’s name came up frequently as a desired get, which is all the more impressive given the possible pratfalls at play when spelling “Egbuka”.

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We’ll get back to Egbuka in a moment, but here were some of the other answers for pick #18 in the comments section.

Answers from the Seaside Joe Community:

• EDGE Jalon Walker

• LB Jihaad Campbell

• EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku

• RB Ashton Jeanty

• WR Emeka Egbuka

• TE Colston Loveland

• OL Grey Zabel

• OL Will Campbell

• CB Will Johnson

• TE Tyler Warren

• WR Tetairoa McMillan

• CB Jahdae Barron

• DT Walter Nolen

• OT Kelvin Banks

• QB Jaxson Dart

• EDGE Shemar Stewart

I’m including as many names a possible and we should be able to scratch off more than half of this list unless the Seahawks were to trade up, which was predictably an unpopular scenario given how consistently fans have told me over the last 13 years that they will RAGE if Seattle trades up in the first.

That’s 20% of fans who were okay with a trade up compared to 58% who prefer to trade down. Of course, these are just MY trade scenarios and not based in the real world, but I always try to be as conservatively fair as possible with my predictions:

• A trade up should feel like a sacrifice

• A trade down should feel like you’re never getting enough in return

As fans positing theories we want an internal debate, not an easy decision.

For that reason, I probably made the trade down with the Saints too enticing, and you gotta really believe that New Orleans is all-in for a falling Shedeur Sanders. But if the Seahawks traded down this far, we may have to write off all 16 of those names above. Including Egbuka, although I am not convinced that the Ohio State receiver won’t still be on the board when Seattle is picking at 50.

At which point, that would easily be one of the most popular Seahawks picks of recent times.

Especially — for me at least — because I think drafting a wide receiver on day one is a really, really bad idea. Not just in Seattle’s cases but in almost all cases. Because 2025’s receiver class is nowhere near as good as the past 5 or 6 years? Yes that plays a part in it. But also just due to the fact that modern day receivers are typically:

• Overpaid

• Overdrafted

• Many good ones are readily available year after year in trade/free agency

Can you think of many other positions that would win Offensive Player of the Year and have one of the most dominant seasons of all-time just a few years before that player is released (because nobody will trade for him) and signed for a relatively modest sum in order to replace the production of another player at the same position who also changed teams (for only a second round pick) this year?

Cooper Kupp, DK Metcalf, Davante Adams, Deebo Samuel, Stefon Diggs, and DeAndre Hopkins headline the list of receivers who have changed teams just this year alone (so far) and we’re just going to continue to see movement like this year after year.

This won’t happen with quarterbacks, tackles, or edge rushers. Not at nearly the same regularity with regards to “Pro Bowl caliber” receivers who can be had for day 2/3 picks and contracts with few guaranteees.

This also doesn’t include the fact that many — if not most — of the best receivers in the NFL…ARE STILL ON THEIR ROOKIE CONTRACTS.

It is EASY for us to imagine rookies and second-year players leading the league in yards (Brian Thomas, Malik Nabers, Brock Bowers (TE), Ladd McConkey, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Zay Flowers all posted 1,000 yards last season, with Puka Nacua (990 in 11 games) arguably being better than them all.

Conversely, tackles are not going to change teams often if the franchise lands a star:

• Lane Johnson is going into his 13th season with the Eagles.

• Trent Williams has changed teams just once and he still spent nine seasons in Washington prior to the last five with the 49ers.

• It was a big surprise when the Texans traded Laremy Tunsil to the Moons and the cost (basically a second and a third) was the same return that Seattle got for Metcalf and Geno…combined.

And whether this is an accurate gauge of proper team building or just a coincidence, teams that have made deep playoff runs recently have simply not featured those dynamic, Calvin Johnson-esque, 1,400-yard receivers on offense. The last one like that might be…Kupp’s Rams and that team wouldn’t have been there with the likes of Matthew Stafford, Andrew Whitworth, and Aaron Donald.

For all those reasons and more, Emeka Egbuka could be a great target for the Seahawks if they trade down from 18 or up from 50, but THE POSITION seems like a reach where they currently stand — and I am confident Seattle will target a receiver on day two. But where?

Let’s take those names above, plus more, and vote for our favorite Seahawks #18 pick, plus:

• How could the Seahawks land Egbuka in a way that gives them the most value for a wide receiver pick

• When does the team take a guard?

• What else have we learned from Sunday’s community mock draft conversation? You need to keep reading to find out! SSJ is an everyday, every week, every story investment for every Seahawks fan.