RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks appear to have addressed most of their immediate roster needs with their 11 picks in the NFL draft.
Seattle began the draft with a slam-dunk pick, taking North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel with the 18th overall selection. Zabel has a chance to start immediately at left guard considering last year’s starter, Laken Tomlinson, is now with the Houston Texans.
Zabel is capable of playing all five spots on the offensive line, but coach Mike Macdonald says he’ll begin at guard.
“Hopefully we find a home for him at one position and he lives there for a really long time for us,” Macdonald said. “But I think it just speaks to his savvy. It’s not easy to find those guys that can play interior and at tackle. So, he’s one of them, and he’s ours now.”
On paper, it was a productive draft for the defending NFC West champions, who added to each position group that needed reinforcements.
“We’re on our way. We’re growing,” Macdonald said. “It’s our job to expedite that process so we’re competing for championships this year. That’s what we want to do, and I’m really confident that we’re going to have that opportunity. That’s the expectation for us.”
The Seahawks traded up to take South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori with the 35th pick. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Emmanwori has drawn comparisons to Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who played under Macdonald in 2023 when he was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator.
“They said me and him are very similar but I can still work on some things to get up to his All-Pro level now,” Emmanwori said. “I’m bigger, faster, things like that.”
He will join a secondary that includes two-time All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safeties Julian Love and Coby Bryant.
The Seahawks also added depth at wide receiver by selecting Tory Horton of Colorado State in the fifth round and Ricky White III from UNLV in the seventh. Seattle will have an almost entirely new crop of pass-catchers alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba after the departures of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and the signings of veterans Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
“Tory is an underrated guy, in our opinion,” general manager John Schneider said. “He can return punts, his catch radius. He’s long, competitive, very fast receiver.”
Schneider said the coaching staff is excited about what White can contribute on special teams.
Quarterback shakeup
After drafting quarterback Jalen Milroe of Alabama on Friday, the Seahawks continued remaking their quarterback room behind new starter Sam Darnold. Backup Sam Howell was traded to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday as part of a deal that helped the Seahawks move up in the fifth round.
Along with Darnold and Milroe, the Seahawks also have veteran Drew Lock, who recently signed a two-year deal.
Future after Fant?
Tight end Noah Fant is entering the final year of a two-year contract that includes a cap hit of $13.4 million in 2025. While the 27-year-old has been a solid receiving option for the Seahawks the last three years since arriving in the trade that sent Russell Wilson to Denver, the franchise may have selected Fant’s successor in Elijah Arroyo.
A second-round pick out of Miami, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Arroyo is an athletic playmaker who has shown steady improvement as a blocker. While Arroyo missed most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons with knee injuries, he started all 13 games for the Hurricanes last season and showed his potential in the pass game.
“Wherever I’m a receiver, I feel like that’s where I thrive,” Arroyo said. “Just being able to spread out and create mismatches.”
Fullback in the fold
Arroyo wasn’t the sole tight end the Seahawks drafted, but he’s the only one the franchise intends on using in that capacity. The Seahawks used a fifth-round pick on Robbie Ouzts, who played tight end at Alabama the last four years but is poised to line up at fullback for Seattle.
The 6-4, 270-pound Ouzts was known more for his blocking than his pass-catching with the Crimson Tide, but he could be an integral part of the Seahawks’ offense. Ouzts will compete for a job this summer with fullback Brady Russell.
First-year offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has worked with fullbacks like perennial All-Pro Kyle Juszczyk and Adam Prentice at previous stops.
“You know that you’re working with somebody that has experience, and gets a lot of production out of a guy in my role,” Ouzts said. “I’m very excited to make that transition to the next level and work with these coaches to better myself and succeed in the role that they envision for me.”
Lots of linemen
The Seahawks picked up two more offensive linemen in later rounds. They selected Bryce Cabeldue of Kansas in the sixth and Mason Richman of Iowa in the seventh.
Unlike Zabel, Cabeldue and Richman aren’t as likely to receive regular playing time at first. They join an offensive line that struggled mightily to keep quarterback Geno Smith upright last season. The Seahawks yielded 54 sacks, tied for third-most in the NFL.
“It’s an area of need, but it always is. I can’t emphasize that enough,” Schneider said. “Every team in the National Football League is looking to help their offensive line. It’s just an ongoing issue.”
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Andrew Destin, The Associated Press
