Everybody agrees the Seahawks got their first two picks in the 2024 NFL draft, including Pro Football Focus. There’s far less agreement about the choices they made on Day 3 of the draft, though. The biggest subject of debate concerns Seattle double-dipping at cornerback, a position where they already had one of the better units in the league going into this year. Critics have suggested they should have drafted a safety instead of another cornerback, or better yet a developmental quarterback.
Of course the front office has a slightly different-looking draft board than the ones fans and bloggers use during the offseason for their PFF mock drafts. According to a report by Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, the Seahawks had fourth-round grades for both Auburn cornerbacks Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James, who they landed in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively. Picking both was evidence they stuck with their board.
“Seattle has a deep cornerback room with Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and Michael Jackson. So why add two corners — Auburn’s Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James — in the fifth and sixth rounds? Value and competition. From what we’ve heard, Seattle had fourth-round grades on both corners. The selection of Pritchett and James signified Seattle sticking to its board.”
In an ideal world, Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen will be starting for this team for a long time to come. That’s far from a guarantee, though. Either one could suffer a major injury next season, Woolen’s coverage might not ever get back to the 2022 level and Witherspoon may never become a great tackler, making him a liability against the run.
Adding Pritchett and James ensures the Seahawks have more options after this coming season, when it’s likely that veteran backups on one-year deals like Mike Jackson (who just took a paycut) and Artie Burns are out of the picture.
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