Seahawks before the Senior Bowl 2023 mock draft

[Chevy]

Seahawks GM had recently mention about trading down from having a top-5 pick. So, in this mock I have us trading with the Panthers. We give them the 1st round pick #5 and we get Panthers 1st round pick #9 and their 2nd round pick #39.


1st round #9 (from Panthers) - (DE/DT) Keion White 6'4" 286 lbs. Georgia Tech: White is a hot name right now and for good reason. I think he is an ideal 3-4 DE. He is stronger than his listed weight and consistently flashes athleticism as a pass rusher. He has a great motor, he has delt with adversity and come through as a warrior. If we don't choose QB in the top-10, then White is the player I want the most.





1st round #20 - (ILB/rush OLB) Drew Sanders 6'5" 233 lbs. Arkansas: Sanders is a long uber athletic prospect that has only one year of experience as an ILB. His stats from this past year...103 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and 6 pass deflections. If he is there at #20 then run to the podium and select him.





2nd round #37 (FS) Christopher Smith 5'11 190 lbs. Georgia: Smith for me is the best FS in this draft. He has speed and hits hard for a FS. Drafting Smith would also give us the opportunity to cut Q.Diggs and free up cap space. His speed would also allow our CB's to play press man.





2nd round #39 (from Panthers) - (TE) Dalton Kincaid 6'4" 240 lbs. Utah: TE is not a need, but he is best player available, which our GM said he kind of stuck to in last year's draft. TE depth in the 2nd round looks amazing so this is where I have us going. Kincaid is a hedge and upgrade to Noah Fant. Kincaid has good initial quickness and speed for a TE.




2nd round #51 - (DE/DT) Karl Brooks 6'4" 300 lbs. Bowling Green: Brooks is an athletic big man. This past year he had 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.





3rd round #83 - (CB) Julius Brents 6'4" 202lbs. Kansas St: Brents is big, long, good in run support, and a Seahawk. For me he is a top-3 CB for the Seahawks. IMO with this draft our secondary would be elite in one years' time.





4th round #122 - (OT/OG) McClendon Curtis 6'6" 328 lbs. Chattanooga: Curtis is a 1st team All-American that played at LT and RG this past year. His most experience is at RG, which would be his best opportunity to start with the Seahawks. Curtis is built like a Greek God.

Mocs Giant McClendon Curtis Just as Big Off the Field

youtu.be

5th round #153 - (RB) Chris Rodriguez 5'11" 224 lbs. Kentucky: Rod for me is not a great athlete and not a starting RB on a playoff team. But he is a great change of pace or tone setter as a backup RB.



5th round #156 - (OG) Chandler Zavala 6'5" 325 lbs. NC State: Zavala has his most experience at LG and would push to start year one. He could be a late round steal.

How Forest Park graduate Chandler Zavala battled injuries and the NCAA to become an NFL Draft prospect

Chandler Zavala begins his day at 8:30 a.m. with a two-hour training session at the Velocity Football Academy facility in Holly Springs, Ga. Then he does classroom time, followed by

www.insidenova.com

6th round #197 - (WR) Keytaon Thompson 6'4" 215 lbs. U of Virginia: Thompson is a former QB and a bit of a project. He can be a big slot WR. Thompson has upside that our GM likes in late round WRs.

Keytaon Thompson 2022 Season Highlights | Virginia WR

While used in various ways in 2021, Virginia's Keytaon Thompson was used almost exclusively as a wide receiver in 2022. He was so productive playing receive...

youtu.be

 

[Seattle Person]

Really hard to argue against any of your selections from rounds 1-3. I love all those players.

Round 4: I would consider Roschon Johnson or Sydney Brown here. Getting C. Smith and S. Brown in the same draft would be great. Plus Brents too? Will give that secondary great depth.

 

[Chevy]

Really hard to argue against any of your selections from rounds 1-3. I love all those players.

Round 4: I would consider Roschon Johnson or Sydney Brown here. Getting C. Smith and S. Brown in the same draft would be great. Plus Brents too? Will give that secondary great depth.

I really like Roschon as well. A quality backup (bruising) RB should be targeted somewhere in the middle rounds.

 

[getnasty]

Love it! I'd rather go OL or DL in that second round pick but if the cap saving from Diggs lands us Dremont Jones in FA i'd be super happy!

 

[Aircrew]

I'd be happy with that draft. Question: why do you see Schneider not taking a Center?

 

[Sun Tzu]

I'd be happy with that draft. Question: why do you see Schneider not taking a Center?

I don't understand this question. No team drafts every position every year. Why center specifically?

If you ask because the team is weak at center right now, 1) free agency signings have not occurred yet, so we really have no concrete idea of what the draft day needs will be, 2) drafting a specific position based purely on an immediate need rather than sticking to best player available who fits the team is a good way to waste draft capital, 3) I think the center options in this draft are not particularly strong, to me, the only reason to draft a center this draft is if one of the top 6 centers on your board slides (since most mocks have the centers going a lot higher than I think they should go...).

 

[Aircrew]

I don't understand this question. No team drafts every position every year. Why center specifically?

If you ask because the team is weak at center right now, 1) free agency signings have not occurred yet, so we really have no concrete idea of what the draft day needs will be, 2) drafting a specific position based purely on an immediate need rather than sticking to best player available who fits the team is a good way to waste draft capital, 3) I think the center options in this draft are not particularly strong, to me, the only reason to draft a center this draft is if one of the top 6 centers on your board slides (since most mocks have the centers going a lot higher than I think they should go...).

And I don't understand how you don't understand my question. I never said or even implied "teams draft every position every year", what does that even mean? How did you even arrive there with my question? And why Center specifically? Because it's a major need on our offensive line.

Yes, I asked because Center is a serious, if not critical, need for this team. 1) Who's available in FA? Fair question, but I would venture to guess that whoever is of any quality, you'll have to overpay to get them. Drafting a prospect on a rookie deal is far superior. 2) Drafting for need versus BPA is a complicated topic and it's not as simple as you've described. 3) You clearly haven't done your homework on Centers in this year's draft. John Michael Schmitz, Luke Wypler, Ricky Stromberg, Steve Avila to name a few are all solid day 2 picks.

 

[BASF]

And I don't understand how you don't understand my question. I never said or even implied "teams draft every position every year", what does that even mean? How did you even arrive there with my question? And why Center specifically? Because it's a major need on our offensive line.

Yes, I asked because Center is a serious, if not critical, need for this team. 1) Who's available in FA? Fair question, but I would venture to guess that whoever is of any quality, you'll have to overpay to get them. Drafting a prospect on a rookie deal is far superior. 2) Drafting for need versus BPA is a complicated topic and it's not as simple as you've described. 3) You clearly haven't done your homework on Centers in this year's draft. John Michael Schmitz, Luke Wypler, Ricky Stromberg, Steve Avila to name a few are all solid day 2 picks.

Market value for centers this seasons free agents seems high as well. Pocic has a market value over $7M a year according to Sportac. I like Pocic more than anyone on this site, but that is a steep pay for him.

 

[Sun Tzu]

And I don't understand how you don't understand my question. I never said or even implied "teams draft every position every year", what does that even mean? How did you even arrive there with my question? And why Center specifically? Because it's a major need on our offensive line.

Yes, I asked because Center is a serious, if not critical, need for this team. 1) Who's available in FA? Fair question, but I would venture to guess that whoever is of any quality, you'll have to overpay to get them. Drafting a prospect on a rookie deal is far superior. 2) Drafting for need versus BPA is a complicated topic and it's not as simple as you've described. 3) You clearly haven't done your homework on Centers in this year's draft. John Michael Schmitz, Luke Wypler, Ricky Stromberg, Steve Avila to name a few are all solid day 2 picks.

No need to throw a hissy fit just because someone doesn't understand your position or agree with your opinions on an internet forum.

1) Ethan Pocic - he was outstanding in 2022 solid in previous years and has familiarity with the system, Connor McGovern and Garrett Bradbury - both are above average (and if McGovern rebounds he could be a steal). I also think that Blythe had a down year and may rebound in 2023 given the opportunity. Is your statement that "drafting a prospect on a rookie deal is far superior" a fact based on some statistical study that I am not familiar with, or is it a keyboard warrior's attempt to present an uninformed opinion as fact?
2) There is strong evidence based on the drafting history of teams who have built great rosters and/or sustained success, that drafting BPA (or at least sticking very close to that philosophy) was a big part of those teams' draft success. There is also evidence based on the drafting history of perennial losers, that drafting for immediate need has been a contributor to building losing teams. Some may think that there is a debate over the two philosophies; I think it is clear that the debate is over and those hanging on to need drafting are short-sighted.
3) I watched the centers play rather than looking at where they are projected to go on someone's mock draft and determined that, I just don't think they are worth drafting in rounds that they are projected in. Therefore, if we are using one of the first 4 picks on center, I think it is wasted draft capital. If the top center falls into round 3, I think that is good value. If one of the next two centers falls into the fourth round, I think that is good value. However, that is not what I see happening in the mocks that are out there right now. I see centers going one round ahead of where I think they provide good value.

Basically: Chevy chose not to take a center in his mock. It seemed odd to me to ask him why he did not take a specific position when you have no idea what players were available at each pick, and, at this point, we have no idea what will happen in free agency.

 

[Sun Tzu]

Market value for centers this seasons free agents seems high as well. Pocic has a market value over $7M a year according to Sportac. I like Pocic more than anyone on this site, but that is a steep pay for him.

Given the age and experience of our offensive line, especially if we add a rookie guard, I think investing in an experienced center to lead the group provides value above the on-field positional value of the player. Just my two cents on the overall make-up of the unit.

 

[Chevy]

I'd be happy with that draft. Question: why do you see Schneider not taking a Center?

It's not that I don't see Schneider not taking a center. In this mock my picks were more BPA. I usually put out a mock once every few weeks and change up positions and players that make sense for the Seahawks. Team mocks are never going to make everyone happy. Anyways, I do think Center is a big position of need for the Seahawks, but I think they would have to reach a bit if they drafted one in the first three rounds.

Every draft guy or draftnik have players ranked differently (and its a team need), so that is where I see your question about no center question comes into play. I actually do think Schneider will reach on a position, be it Center, QB, or 3-4 DE.

I am really intrigued with TCU o-lineman Steve Avila. I liked him at OG for a late 2nd or early 3rd before the Senior Bowl. But, now the thought of him as a Center is a game changer for me. I'm really liking him in the mid-2nd to high-2nd round now. I prefer Centers that are 6'3" or 6'4" as opposed to taller Centers, and Avila is 6'3" and is a stocky athletic guy. Draft process should help better gauge where he should be drafted.

 

[ivotuk]

#9 and #51...I'm in Love!

 

[KinesProf]

Basically: Chevy chose not to take a center in his mock. It seemed odd to me to ask him why he did not take a specific position when you have no idea what players were available at each pick, and, at this point, we have no idea what will happen in free agency.

Yeah, haha, a very strange question.

"why do you see Schneider not taking a Center"? ... in someone else's mock where they have no idea who may or may not be available with each selection.