The Seattle Seahawks seem to delight in upending our expectations of them in the NFL draft. Last year around this time all the smart money was on the team selecting Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter with their No. 5 overall pick. The year before they had everyone convinced they wanted Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, and so on.
What does general manager John Schneider have up his sleeve this time around? That’s anybody’s guess and so far the only hard reporting we have is from ESPN stating that the team won’t let Texas DT Byron Murphy II slip past them at No. 16.
While that sounds plausible on the surface, we also don’t expect them to actually pick anybody at that spot. This year we’re expecting the team to trade down in Round 1 to add more value. If that’s the path they take then this most recent prospect meeting could be a clue.
Yesterday we learned that Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean was in town for an official top-30 visit.
Cooper DeJean visiting Seahawks pic.twitter.com/ZoDRLEEJF4
— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) April 15, 2024
DeJean is one of the most fascinating prospects in this draft class. While he’s usually listed as a cornerback DeJean lined up all over Iowa’s defense over the years. He played exactly one snap as a deep safety but other than that he put in significant time everywhere else. That’s exactly the kind of quality that Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald have been after this offseason.
DeJean is also exceptional cover defender, and that’s been the most important asset this offseason for any potential additions. This past season he allowed a passer rating of 37.8 after posting a 49.7 in 2022.
Anything can happen in real life but most projections have DeJean coming off the board late in the first round. If the Seahawks were to move down from that 16 spot into the 20s via a trade down that would put them right in his range.
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