Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith just had what we feel was the best game of his career. To perform the way he did under the circumstances shows that this franchise has a serious competitor starting for them who can occasionally elevate his game to an elite level, even under the worst conditions. Smith was so good last Thursday night that we’ve had to reevaluate which direction the front office should take this coming offseason. Rolling with Geno as QB1 when next season starts should still be the default, no matter how these next five games play out.
However, keeping Smith as the starter going into 2024 should not and cannot stop the Seahawks from searching for other potential future franchise QBs. The need to keep churning at the game’s most important position is one of the main reasons why this team has been one of the most consistently successful since the Matt Hasselbeck era began. If they’d been content to stick with Tarvaris Jackson they wouldn’t have drafted Russell Wilson, and if they’d stood pat then they wouldn’t have found Geno Smith, who’s the main reason the 2023 Seahawks are even remotely competitive despite some serious coaching issues on both sides of the ball.
As it happens, the 2024 NFL draft is loaded with quality quarterback prospects. Top prospects like Caleb Williams from USC and Drake Maye from North Carolina will be out of reach unless they trade up, but there are nearly a dozen other interesting QBs in this class who have the potential to develop into starters at the next level. It’s so loaded that Seattle has three in their own backyard – Washington’s Michael Penix, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington State’s Cam Ward are all worth a serious look. So are Jayden Daniels (LSU), Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), Spencer Rattler (South Carolina), KJ Jefferson (Arkansas), and Tua Tagovailoa’s younger brother Taulia at Maryland.
In our latest seven-round mock for the Seahawks we decided to roll the dice on yet another highly-promising 2024 QB prospect…
Pick No. 16: Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson
The best thing about a deep QB class is that the Seahawks shouldn’t feel the need to pull the trigger on one in the first round. There are enough high-end prospects that some will definitely still be available on Day 2, freeing Seattle to try to upgrade the pass rush as much as possible in Round 1. In our last mock we chose Alabama’s Dallas Turner first. This time we’re going with Penn State’s Chop Robinson (6-foot-3, 250 pounds), who just declared for the draft a few days ago. Robinson has the speed Seattle loves on the outside and is ranked second among edge rushers in this class by PFF.
Pick No. 73: Texas QB Quinn Ewers
There’s a good chance that Quinn Ewers (6-foot-3, 206 pounds) will be off the board by this time, but again – odds are a couple of these good young quarterbacks are going to still be available, even as late as Round 3. Ewers has traits with an obvious appeal and has posted strong numbers despite not having much experience. In 21 starts at Texas he’s totaled 5,338 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 148.9 rating. He was solid as a Freshman but has shown a lot of improvement this season, boosting his completion rate from 58.1% to 70.7% as a Sophomore. He’s also thrown six more touchdowns, nearly a thousand more yards and boosted his QB rating by 30 points. Ewers’ game is still raw a course, but he’d have time to develop sitting behind Geno Smith for a season or two.
Pick No. 80: Iowa TE Luke Lachey
The main thing the Super Bowl Contenders that have been beating up on the Seahawks these last few weeks (and likely will continue for at least a couple more) is they have a far better pass rush. They also tend to have a game-changer at tight end. The Ravens have Mark Andrews, the 49ers have George Kittle, the Eagles have Dallas Goedert, etc. While the trio of Will Dissly, Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson is solid enough, landing a true pass-catching threat at this position would help level the playing field against those heavyweights. Lachey (6-foot-6, 248 pounds) doesn’t have eye-popping numbers as a receiver, but on film it doesn’t take much squinting to see a potential weapon for the pass game. Lachey shows a lot of potential for high-pointing 50/50 balls and tacking on YAC.
Pick No. 116: Michigan G Zak Zinter
You don’t have to like Jim Harbaugh or his borderline-criminal program, but they are churning out a lot of great talent these days. The latest class of Wolverines has playmakers all over, but the Seahawks could really use some help for their interior offensive line. With Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes both set to hit free agency they’ll need to draft at least one guard this year. Michigan’s Zak Zinter (6-foot-6, 322 pounds) has loads of experience as part of an excellent offensive line unit. He’s started 42 games, most of it coming at right guard. Zinter made first-team All-American this season.
Pick No. 153: Michigan LB Junior Colson
Michigan also has some superb prospects on the other side of the ball, including linebacker – where Seattle will face some tough choices with both Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks set to become free agents. Planning to draft a player like Colson (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) would at least give the front office another option. Colson can impact the game in a lot of ways, posting five pass breakups, 2.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss in 41 games.
Pick No. 194: Arkansas RB Raheim Sanders
With Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet established as the No. 1 and No. 2 options in the backfield, Pete Carroll probably won’t be picking another running back early on. However, we can’t rule out one on Day 3, where it might make sense to find a replacement for DeeJay Dallas, who’s also headed for free agency. Sanders comes in a plus-sized package at the position, weighing in at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds. Injuries limited him to just six games this season but in 2022 he racked up over 1400 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns and averaged 6.5 yards per attempt.
*Update: Sanders intends to enter the Transfer Portal.
Pick No. 237: Alabama DL Tim Smith
With our last pick we went back to the defensive line, which will need some more young talent whether they decide to re-sign Leonard Williams or not. Alabama’s Tim Smith (6-foot-4, 302 pounds) could help fill out the bottom end of the interior rotation along with Cameron Young and Mike Morris.
PFF draft grades
More Seahawks Wire stories
4 best prop bets for rematch between Seahawks, 49ers
K.J. Wright: Defensive communication is biggest problem
Former GM: Seahawks may need a change of philosophy
Watch: What Pete Carroll told the media on Wednesday
Seahawks SS Jamal Adams doubles down on mean tweets
