Draft Day is officially here! To celebrate, I decided to put myself into John Schneider’s shoes and draft for my Seattle Seahawks.

This draft is specifically going to be what I would do if I were the GM of the Seahawks, it is not a prediction of what I think that the Seahawks will do.

I used PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator to draft and did not do any trades.

A list of the players I selected and where I selected them is at the bottom of the article.

Grey Zabel - LT #74 - North Dakota State Bison

R1: #18 - Grey Zabel

IOL - North Dakota State

With my first pick in this mock I select Grey Zabel, the left tackle out of North Dakota State. The Seahawks’ need at interior offensive line is glaringly obvious and Zabel would be a great first step towards fixing it. Poor guard and center play has been the Seattle’s Achilles heel since they traded Max Unger in 2015.

Zabel has the versatility to play all five offensive line spots. Despite him playing a majority of his snaps at North Dakota State as a tackle, I think that he projects best at guard or center in the NFL. An explosive athlete, Zabel’s 9.90 RAS (Relative Athletic Score) as a guard and 9.93 RAS as a center would place him as the 18th and 6th best prospect all time respectively. Many pundits named Zabel as the most outstanding player at the Senior Bowl which should dispel some of the questions concerning his competition in college.

With elite footwork and hand fighting abilities and an excellent rapport off the field, taking Zabel to address a position of need should be a no-brainer pick for the Seahawks if he is on the board at 18.

Tyleik Williams - DT #91 - Ohio State Buckeyes

R2: #50 - Tyleik Williams

DT - Ohio State

One of the themes for the Seahawks this draft should be to “strengthen a strength” and considering the depth at defensive line this draft, I would be disappointed if they didn’t. The front-seven is the Seahawks’ biggest strength right now, but with the releases of Roy Robertson-Harris and Mike Morris they are lacking in depth.

Tyleik Williams would fit into this defensive line room perfectly as he is a nose tackle with the ability to play the three-tech. Williams occupying the nose position would allow Byron Murphy and Jarran Reed to play their preferred three-tech and five-technique positions. At 6-3 335lbs, Williams is an excellent run-stuffing tackle and has great play recognition that allows him to quickly react to plays. His production doesn’t jump off the page, but in all honesty it never does for nose tackles unless you are truly a special player.

My one concern with Williams is his injury history, but I believe that playing in a more rotational role for the Seahawks would help limit these. Tyleik Williams would be a great fit in Seattle and could be a key piece on a defense that aims to be the best in football.

Elic Ayomanor - WR #13 - Stanford Cardinal

R2: #52 - Elic Ayomanor

WR - Stanford

With the pick that the Seahawks traded away DK Metcalf to acquire, I have them selecting a receiver to replicate him in the aggregate. I will admit, Ayomanor was not my first or second choice preference for a wide receiver here, but I am more than happy to make this selection. Ideally I would have been able to pick Jayden Higgins or Tre Harris, who rank #28 and #32 on my Big Board respectively. All three of these players profile to fill the same role at the NFL level, that of the traditional X-receiver.

Ayomanor is a physical wide receiver that is comfortable with using his strength and playing through contact. He is incredibly gifted at making the highlight reel contested catches, but does struggle with some head scratching drops. A two year starter for the Cardinal, he led the team in receiving yards both years as well as leading the ACC in yards during his sophomore year. Where Ayomanor really makes his money is his blocking. He is a gifted and ferocious blocker, by far the best in this class. For a team like Seattle that looks to run the ball significantly more this year, he would be a great addition.

Despite being healthy these past two years, two major knee injuries during his senior year of high school and freshman year of college are a bit concerning. I can understand why some teams may not want to take Ayomanor here, but I think that he would be a great fit for the 2025 Seahawks.

R3: #82 - Jared Wilson

C - Georgia

When talking about my Grey Zabel pick in round one, I talked about how poor the interior offensive line play has been for the Seahawks for over a decade. With my first pick in the third round I decided to take Jared Wilson, the center out of Georgia. This means that Zabel would slide into guard for the Seahawks. Wilson, like Zabel, is an elite athlete and the addition of these two would give Seattle one of the most athletic offensive lines in the NFL.

At the NFL Scouting Combine this year Wilson set the record for the fastest ever center, clocking in at 21.04mph. He played soccer growing up and this is evident in how he plays. Wilson’s quickness and flexibility allow him to get the first step on defenders and efficiently get to the second level. Wilson’s lack of positional flexibility and only one year as a starter in college do raise some question marks, but neither of these should be an issue for the Seahawks.

Wilson is effective at the point of attack as a run blocker and a steady pass protector. He is the exact center that would be effective in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s scheme and the Seahawks should be ecstatic to turn this pick in and achieve positional stability at center.

Jack Sawyer - EDGE #33 - Ohio State Buckeyes

R3: #92 - Jack Sawyer

EDGE - Ohio State

Running back the “strengthen a strength” theme back with another Ohio State defender, I selected EDGE Jack Sawyer with the Seahawks’ second pick in the third round. Sawyer was a rotational piece during his first two years as a Buckeye, but took on a starting role his junior and senior year en route to winning a National Championship.

Sawyer’s calling cards as an edge defender are his excellent hands and great use of leverage. He looks every bit of the all-state wrestler that he was in high school when taking on opposing offensive tackles. In the run he loves blowing up tight ends and is explosive at the point of attack when tackling ball carriers. Sawyer was voted as a team captain last season and did not miss a single game in his Ohio State career.

With questions surrounding whether or not the Seahawks choose to retain Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe following the 2025 season, Sawyer would be an impact depth piece for Mike Macdonald’s defense with the chance to become a starter in the near future.

Quincy Riley - CB #3 - Louisville Cardinals

R4: #137 - Quincy Riley

CB - Louisville

With Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon leading the charge, the top-end of the cornerback room for the Seahawks is high quality. Where they are lacking is depth and that is where I think that a player like Quincy Riley would fit perfectly. An older prospect, he turns 24 a month after the draft, Riley is an above average athlete that is very good when the ball is in the air. He has 15 interceptions in his college career, which is the most in this class. He has quick recovery speed and plays corner penalty free, as he wasn’t flagged for a coverage penalty in his final 23 games for the Cardinals.

Riley is a strictly outside corner and does struggle in the run game. He had double-digit missed tackles in 2024 and this will certainly need to be cleaned up if he wants to play at the next level. But as a coverage guy, Riley is a great player for when the Seahawks play nickel and bump Devon Witherspoon in to the slot.

Andrew Armstrong - WR #2 - Arkansas Razorbacks

R5: #172 - Andrew Armstrong

WR - Arkansas

Andrew Armstrong has been one of my favorite late-round players in this draft class and the national media has been paying a bit more attention to him as of late. Like Elic Ayomanor, Armstrong is a traditional X-receiver and he plays that role very well. He led the SEC in both receptions and yards in 2025, despite playing for an underwhelming Arkansas team.

Armstrong is both tall and long, with very strong hands at the catchpoint. He does very well to keep his stride when catching the ball and is sneaky good after the catch. He only had one touchdown last season, despite having 118 targets which is a concern for an X-receiver. His routes are also inconsistent due to his upright style of play. Armstrong is also an older prospect as he turns 25 during his rookie season. Once you reach the fifth round however, age doesn’t matter as much and instead most teams look for players who can make an immediate impact and Armstrong has a good shot to do so.

Deone Walker - DT #0 - Kentucky Wildcats

R5: #175 - Deone Walker

DT - Kentucky

Deone Walker is one very large human being. Standing in at a whopping 6-7 330lbs, Walker started all three years for Kentucky. His rare height, weight, and size combined with subtle quickness make him an intriguing prospect. He uses his 34in arms to effectively combat opposing linemen and made plenty of splash plays as a result. Walker is very versatile as a linemen as he lined up as a three-tech, nose tackle, and five-tech at least 25% of the time in each spot.

The reason why a guy of this build falls to the fifth round is because his technique is so poor. Walker often stands straight up at the line of scrimmage instead of firing into the offense. With proper coaching Walker has the potential to be a great NFL player and he would make an excellent piece to add to this stacked Seahawks’ defensive line.

R7: #223 - Jordan James

RB - Oregon

The Seahawks look to be set with their RB room going into 2025 with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet as the 1-2 punch and Kenny McIntosh as the depth piece. However, with what I believe is a generational running back class in 2025, the opportunity to take a quality player this late in the draft does not come around too often.

Jordan James was the backup to last year’s rookie sensation Bucky Irving in 2023. Despite playing behind Irving, James still managed to rack up 759 yards with 11 touchdowns as well as leading the PAC-12 in yards per carry. When thrust into the starting role, he didn’t disappoint. James built on his 2023 campaign with 1,267 yards for 15 touchdowns in 2024 while adding 26 catches for 209 yards. His long speed is a bit questionable and he isn’t very consistent at making player miss, but he is overall a very solid running back.

To be honest, I will be shocked if James is still on the board in the sixth round, let alone the seventh. I expect him be selected early into day three, but considering that he was still on the board in this mock I will happily make that selection.

R7: #234 - Shaun Dolac

LB - Buffalo

Like Jordan James, Shaun Dolac is a player that I expect to be off the board early day three. Dolac is undersized as a linebacker which might be why he falls, but his is a quality caliber of player. In 2024 Dolac was a statistical monster. He became the first consensus All-American in University at Buffalo history and it was incredibly well deserved. Dolac led the FBS with 168 tackles and won MAC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to leading the FBS in tackles, he also had six and a half sacks and led the MAC in interceptions with five.

Dolac is decisive against the run and great in pass coverage. His smaller frame, age, and playing in the MAC is ultimately what I think is holding his draft stock back. He is going to make whatever NFL team that drafts him look like a genius and a player I will happily hang my hat on.

Seattle Seahawks 2025 Mock Draft