You won't see Seahawks do this in any other mock drafts
Shedeur Sanders trade up is the biggest surprise from Tuesday's mock drafts
With less than 48 hours to go until the first round of the draft, many fans are begging for the mock drafts to be put to bed for the next 10 months, at least. However, Seaside Joe has barely referenced any mock drafts at all this year, so for us this is perhaps the best time to extract a little bit of value out of them.
Even if it’s just highlighting what the Seattle Seahawks absolutely WON’T do.
Meng Song of Football Guys has the Seahawks trading up with the Saints to pick QB Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders is the betting favorite to be the ninth overall pick, but it might not necessarily be the Saints selecting them here. It sounds like New Orleans might favor another quarterback instead and be happy to move back (more on that below). While the Seahawks haven't been a media favorite to land Sanders due to their current first-round pick, they could move up if he were to fall outside the top five picks.
The knocks on Sanders have been a lack of a big arm and limited rushing ability, but he's mobile within the pocket and can make accurate anticipation throws, both traits that suit Klint Kubiak's offensive scheme. Sam Darnold's three-year deal is also structured in a way that allows the Seahawks to move on from him after this season, which could make him a great bridge option for 2025.
I had to double-check to make sure that Song’s intention with this mock draft wasn’t to “do crazy stuff” and there was no mention of it being anti-serious. I wouldn’t criticize a person for mocking Sanders to Seattle if that’s how they feel anymore than I would criticize a writer who picks Grey Zabel…although I have been grading mock drafts recently, which is a form of criticism, so maybe that’s not true.
Actually yeah, I am criticizing people for their mock draft picks.
Trading up for Sanders is not what I would do, but I can respect an outside-the-box thinker. That being said, Tom Pelissero’s QB report this week compiling quotes from people who help build NFL teams was not a glowing endorsement for Sanders, who hasn’t escaped rumors from the combine that he rubbed many coaches and exects the wrong way:
One longtime NFL assistant coach said his time with Sanders was "the worst formal interview I've ever been in in my life. He's so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. ... But the biggest thing is, he's not that good."
Said one longtime AFC executive: "It didn't go great in our interview. He wants to dictate what he's going to do and what's best for him. He makes you feel small."
But Adam Schefter threw some fuel on the fire, writing that Seattle is still open to drafting a QB after signing Darnold and Lock:
"Once Seattle signed Lock, it opened up the possibility of a potential trade with Howell... Howell is available, and if the Seahawks wind up trading him this weekend, it would open up the possibility of drafting just the third quarterback during Schneider's tenure.”
However, there are MAJOR roadblocks in place between the Seahawks and a first round QB that go way beyond entitlement:
In the same breath, Schneider said that quarterbacks often fail because they don’t get enough reps, and Sanders wouldn’t be getting reps as the third string or backup QB
Though Darnold’s contract does have an out in 2026, it’s certainly not the direction that Seattle wants to go in next year
Darnold and Drew Lock, who signed a two-year deal with incentives, would both be MASSIVELY overshadowed by Sanders
Darnold’s contract calls for a $15 million roster bonus in 2026 that is not guaranteed until the 5th day of the league year, but releasing him before then leaves $26 million in dead cap and has only $8 million savings. More importantly, the Seahawks probably lured Darnold in with the promise to pay his non-guaranteed bonus (which is partly why the team didn’t outright release Uchenna Nwosu) so it would not send a good message to future free agents if Seattle cut him over money.
I’m not saying that the Seahawks can’t release Darnold under any circumstances, but the intention is to keep him for at least two years. I’m also not saying that Seattle definitely won’t draft a quarterback, but their interest may not go above ANY team’s interest in the sport’s most important position and isn’t likely to happen before day three. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the possibility of Jalen Milroe playing the Taysom Hill role in Seattle as long as it doesn’t cost more than the 92nd pick.
Maybe down the line we’ll be saying that Seattle made a huge mistake by choosing Darnold and not drafting Sanders or another quarterback, but as of this week it’s REALLY hard to imagine that the Seahawks will choose anyone at the position before day two.
Seahawks Mock Draft Roundup and Prospect/Fit Analysis
Last week I graded mock draft picks for the Seahawks and left a comment asking if you wanted me to do it again and the only answers I got were “Yes!”
These are the players being mocked to the Seahawks as of Tuesday and I’m including the “biggest surprise” of each first round, which is subjective and open to debate but I tried to find mini and huge surprises in each article.
As far as Seattle goes, there will be the expected picks (Zabel, Booker) but also a few surprises, including at wide receiver, cornerback, and the linebacker who will probably be a very popular Seahawk if it happens. Nobody I found picked a tackle despite some concerns there and it is still RARE to find experts to agree with us about the edge position.
Here are the players being mocked to the Seahawks at pick 18 as of this week and whether or not I agree with their logic. This is definitely one of my favorite articles of the draft season so far and it goes beyond the e-mail size threshold so click the Seaside Joe banner to read it on Substack:
G Grey Zabel
Matt Brandon, SI (Biggest Surprise: Kelvin Banks falls to 25)
Adam Hill, Las Vegas Journal (Surprise: Bears trade up to 5 for Jeanty)
HC Green, The Huddle (Surprise: Mason Graham falls to 49ers)
Conor Orr, SI (Surprise: Colts trade up for Tyler Warren at 6)
Sayre Bedinger, NFL Spin Zone (Surprise: Kenneth Grant goes 13th)
ESPN NFL Nation (Surprise: Kelvin Banks at 7)
Charles Robinson, Yahoo (Surprise: Shavon Revel at 30)
Pete Prisco, CBS (Surprise: Has Josh Simmons and Maxwell Hairston in the top-6 but this is a “What I would do” mock draft, not a prediction)