1: Will Anderson
2: Jalen Carter
Realistically, that's where my board ends. I'd be absolutely slamming the table with both fists to trade the hell out of there if those two are gone.
For the sake of the post, though:
3: Jordan Addison. Seattle has one of the most expensive wide receiver duos in the league, and one of them is on the wrong side of 30 with a lot of wear and tear. You need an heir apparent to Lockett, and fast. Plus, WR3 has been hurting for YEARS - having 3 good-to-great targets is essentially a prerequisite for a championship offense.
4: Devon Witherspoon (corner, Illinois). It's not going to happen, but I guess it's theoretically possible. Yes, they've never drafter a "corner" above round 3, much less round 1... except they kinda did, in 2010. John Schneider publicly said that Earl Thomas was the best cornerback in the draft in 2010 and was "comparable to Eric Berry" at safety. I think that, if they're really backed into a corner at 5 (pun intended) and can't trade out, maybe they just go BPA. Devon flies off the tape and plays with big attitude. But this is what I'd do, not what they'd do. Devon it is.
5: Tyree Wilson. I question his fit and I question how good he'll actually end up being, and think he's probably being overdrafted (I'd be down later in the first, but at 5 it's a tough sell for me). But, I mean, being at 5 with Carter/Anderson gone and no option to trade down is a rough place to be, so.. yeah.
3 through 5 are all super close for me. If the top 2 defenders are off the board, all bets are off (as well as forcing need picks). Just go with the highest grade on the board.
I don't think this is the year for a quarterback. This was a 9-8 team last year, and the most severe deficiencies were absolutely not in the quarterback room, which was a shocking development. As a matter of principle, the roster needs to be improved before the team goes blowing its most valuable asset on heir apparents that likely won't get a snap in 2023.
