The Seahawks are clearly thinking of drafting a quarterback this year. At the Scouting Combine they met with several high-end prospects, including JJ McCarthy from Michigan and Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels from LSU. Odds are neither one of them are going to be available when it comes to be Seattle’s turn to pick in the first round of the draft, though.
Let’s see if we can zero in on some more realistic targets. To do that, let’s begin by eliminating the guys who are most-likely to be unavailable. Here are the 15 players we expect to be off the board when the Seahawks are on the clock at No. 16 overall.
- USC QB Caleb Williams
- LSU QB Jayden Daniels
- North Carolina QB Drake Maye
- Michigan QB JJ McCarthy
- Oregon QB Bo Nix
- Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Washington WR Rome Odunze
- LSU WR Malik Nabers
- Notre Dame OT Joe Alt
- Penn State OT Olu Fashanu
- Georgia TE Brock Bowers
- Alabama CB Terrion Arnold
- Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell
- Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner
- Texas DT Byron Murphy II
There are also a few positions which the Seahawks should probably be ignoring in the first round, regardless of how promising any one prospect might look. That includes wide receiver and cornerback, two positions where they are loaded and also used first-round picks on last year. They should also pass on guards in Round 1, even though that is arguably their biggest roster need right now. Unless they can take over at one of the tackle spots some day Seattle should hold off picking a guard until Day 2.
Other positions to ignore in the first round based on their relative value are linebacker, safety and tight end.
Who should they pick, then?
Our best hope is that they’ll use their first round pick on either the best lineman available or on the quarterback who’s best suited to run their offense. With those things in mind, here are the seven most realistic prospects to be taken by the Seahawks at No. 16.
1
Washington OL Troy Fautanu (6-foot-4, 317 pounds)
2
Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga (6-foot-5, 324 pounds)
3
Alabama OT JC Latham (6-foot-6, 342 pounds)
4
Florida State EDGE Jared Verse (6-foot-4, 254 pounds)
5
Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson (6-foot-3, 254 pounds)
6
Illinois DT Johnny Newton (6-foot-2, 304 pounds)
7
Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. (6-foot-2, 216 pounds)
8
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