Breaking down what insiders say is one of Seahawks’ and NFL’s best drafts
The Seahawks had their most invigorating weekend in a long while.
They have not had more draft picks in 16 years.
The 11 players they selected this weekend included nine for offense, three O-linemen plus only the third quarterback they’ve taken in 16 NFL drafts.
They traded a quarterback they no longer wanted or needed: Sam Howell is now a Minnesota Viking, in exchange for moving up in the fifth round.
“It started at the owners meeting, talking with (Vikings vice president) Rob Brzezinski and Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah, Minnesota’s GM) just about the situation, what it looked like,” Seahawks general manager John Schneider said Saturday. “We had met with Drew down there; there was a possibility to sign Drew back.
“We like the quarterbacks in the draft, and we thought there was a chance that might happen (for us). There were several teams that were interested. Minnesota was a team that ended up pulling the trigger.”
Their weekend also included what Schneider called “a cool day in Seahawks history.” That was after they drafted South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe Friday.
Time will tell how successful the Seahawks’ 2025 draft is. But it’s already one of the most popular, heralded ones of Schneider’s 16 years as GM.
Tacoma-based NFL draft guru Rob Rang of Fox Sports was with The News Tribune at Seahawks headquarters for all three days of the draft. He gave Seattle’s draft an “A.”
“The Seahawks needed a splashy draft and got one,” Rang wrote in his draft grades for all 32 teams for Fox Sports. “In terms of both quantity and quality, their 2025 class was as good as any in the league.”
Some at the league’s television network said the Seahawks had the best draft of any team.
“They used 11 picks, but they also target the needs that they had,” former All-Pro wide receiver and 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist Steve Smith said on NFL Network. “They need O-linemen, wide receiver, corner, safety and D-linemen. And they did that early.
“And then you go ahead in the third round you get a mobile quarterback, so maybe this is possibly the quarterback of your future.”
That’s Milroe, the rugged runner, raw thrower and intriguing third-round pick.
Cornerback is the one position the Seahawks needed to augment but did not. Coach Mike Macdonald assuredly considered Michigan two-time All-American cornerback Will Johnson in round one. The Wolverines recruited Johnson to sign with them in 2021, the year Macdonald was Michigan’s defensive coordinator.
But Seattle’s and every other team’s medical staff obviously downgraded Johnson for what some see as a serious knee issue that could require surgery.
The Seahawks picked Grey Zabel from North Dakota State in the first round to be the new left guard they needed.
Seattle traded up 17 spots in round two, to the 35th pick in the draft — and chose big Emmanwori from South Carolina. By the time the Seahawks picked again in the second round, at 50th, Johnson was gone, to Arizona at 47. Seattle selected Arroyo for tight end.
“It didn’t fall that way, yeah,” Schneider said of cornerback in this Seahawks draft.
He said he intends to add to that position before or during training camp. That begins in late July. The game schedule comes out May 14. The season begins in 4 1/2 months.
“We’re on our way. We’re growing. It’s our job to expedite that process,” Macdonald said.
“We’re competing for championships this year. That’s what we want to do. I’m really confident that we’re going to have that opportunity. That’s the expectation for us.”
The Seahawks’ 2025 draft class
1st round (18): Grey Zabel, G, North Dakota State
Seattle’s highest-drafted interior offensive lineman since 2001, when Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson went in the first round. Zabel is the first lower-division player the Seahawks have selected in round one since 1999 (Lamar King, Division-II Saginaw Valley State).
That’s how much they needed Zabel.
He is quick and athletic at 6 feet 6 and 316 pounds. He has played all five positions on the line. Schneider said he was the highest-rated interior lineman on Seattle’s board. He will start immediately at left guard.
“Grey is stand-alone,” Schneider said.
That was the plan.
“We knew we were going to address this,” Schneider said. “I would say (picking) one (guard) high, yeah.”
2nd round (35): Nick Emmanwori, safety, South Carolina
Schneider said the Seahawks had the 6-3, 220-pound safety rated “right next to” Zabel in round one.
That’s why he traded up 17 spots and gave Tennessee a third-round pick, to get Emmanwori.
Macdonald openly referenced Seahawks legend Kam Chancellor and All-Pro Kyle Hamilton, whom Macdonald unleashed in Baltimore, when discussing his new safety.
The coach said Emmanwori will begin as a nickel and dime back. That signals Macdonald wants to use Pro Bowl star Devon Witherspoon more outside at cornerback this season.
“He’s going to train to be a safety, too, (to) give us the flexibility there,” Macdonald said.
“We’ll see how it evolves as it goes. He’s going to train at safety. Start at safety, kind of go down, all the same jobs.”
2nd round (50): Elijah Arroyo, tight end, Miami
Knee injuries limited two of his college seasons. But the Seahawks see the potential of the 6-5, 254-pound Arroyo to be a down-the-field passing target for new quarterback Sam Darnold.
Arroyo is different than Noah Fant, going into the final year of his contract, and backup tight end AJ Barner entering his second NFL season.
“This guy can run an extensive route tree,” Macdonald said of Arroyo. “To have to account for a tight end body on the field and him also to be able to split out wide, do X receiver-type of things, bigger body that we probably have right now on our roster, just provides a ton of value.
“Then he’s going to throw it in there as the actual tight end in-line and be able to create some of those bigger personnel formations is the vision that we have for him. Really exciting.”
Arroyo could be giving Macdonald and Schneider the thought they may want to cut Fant and the $13 million salary-cap charge he’s scheduled to have in 2025.
3rd round (92): Jalen Milroe, quarterback, Alabama
He needs to develop better throwing mechanics. But no quarterback maybe in Seahawks history can run with the ball like he did at Alabama. He rushed for 32 touchdowns his last two college seasons. He had 20 rushing TDs last season with 726 yards taking off running.
“He’s gonna give the Seahawks an element of offense that nobody else in this draft can give anybody,” Nick Saban, Milroe’s Alabama coach through 2023, said on ESPN’s draft telecast.
Macdonald talked Friday night after they drafted Milroe that new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will have some plays in game plans this season for Milroe.
Macdonald coordinated Ravens defenses against NFL MVP passer and runner Lamar Jackson in Baltimore in 2022 and ‘23.
“Sam (Darnold) is going to take, by far and away, over 90% of our snaps this year. However Jalen deserves and earns the right to go out there, then we’ll do that,” Macdonald said. “If it’s going to help the team — and for us to move the ball, give these defensive coordinators some headaches, which I’m really happy it’s not going to be us — that’s awesome.
“I don’t want to put a timetable on it. It’s not an immediate need for him to go out there and be taking a bunch of snaps for us initially.”
5th round (142): Rylie Mills, defensive end, Notre Dame
The Seahawks used the pick they got from Minnesota for Howell to select Mills.
Their defensive coordinator Aden Durde, a D-line coach until last year, REALLY wanted him.
Macdonald has already talked to the 6-5, 296-pound Mills about Seattle using him like Leonard Williams. That is, at end and tackle and creating mismatches against blockers along the line of scrimmage on early downs.
“Yeah, he’s got position flexibility for us (in) base defense,” Macdonald said. “He can play at least two spots. Then run four-down, our sub stuff. Playing inside. We’ll see how he plays the big ends, like a six-technique. (Then) the multiple gap things on early downs.
“Going through him and meeting him and talking football with him...it’s really impressive. Sounds like a five-, six-year vet.”
First, Mills must recover from a torn ACL he got in the College Football Playoffs. Schneider said the Seahawks are hoping Mills can be playing by later this season.
“We’re hopeful that maybe, like, mid to later season, he’s going to be a viable candidate to add to our group,” the GM said.
“And he’s a really good player. And if we wouldn’t have drafted him I’m not sure that A.D. would have shown up to work on Monday.”
5th round (166): Tory Horton, wide receiver, Colorado State
The Seahawks already call the 6-2, 196-pound Horton “T-Bone.”
He injured the lateral-collateral ligament and his knee in October 2024. That ended his final college season. He ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the combine. That was two weeks after he began running again, post-surgery. A few weeks of technique sprint training later he ran a 4.44.
“Tory is an underrated guy, in our opinion,” Schneider said. “I mean, he can return punts, the catch radius, he’s this long competitive, very fast receiver.”
5th round (175): Robbie Ouzts, fullback, Alabama
Pronounced “OOO-ts.”
He was a tight end in college. But he’s going to be a fullback in Kubiak’s offense that will have one more often than in a Seahawks generation.
A 274-pound fullback, that is. Ouzts will compete with Brady Russell, converted from tight end.
“I know this: To bet against Brady Russell would be a gigantic mistake. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Macdonald said of that competition.
How much fullback with a tailback are the Seahawks going to use in 2025?
“You’ve seen how it’s been deployed in the past,” Macdonald said of Kubiak’s offenses in New Orleans and Minnesota, and as an assistant for San Francisco.
“But yeah, you’re going two backs back there a good bit.”
6th round (192): Bryce Cabeldue, guard, Kansas
At 6-4 1/2, 308 pounds, he was a tackle at Kansas.
Cabledue is going to be a guard in Seattle.
“Bryce was this guy that Trent (Kirchner, Seahawks vice president of player personnel) and Kirk (Parrish, the team’s college scouting coordinator) loved,” Schneider said. “A very much under-the-radar kind of dude.
“It’s an area of need,” the GM said of his offensive line, “but it always is. I can’t emphasize that enough. Every team in the National Football League is looking to help their offensive line. It’s just an ongoing issue.
“We’ll have these guys in competing. We’ll see where it goes with this new group, with these three guys coming in, the free agents that we signed. We’ll see what it looks like.”
7th round (223): Damien Martinez, running back, Miami
Two Alabama and two Miami players among the 11 drafted Seahawks.
This one bludgeoned Pac-12 teams when the 217-pound Martinez was at Oregon State through the 2023 season.
His running style fits what Macdonald is trying to instill on Seattle’s offense, to match his defense.
“I think you respect that about him, about guys that can run the ball physically, downhill,” Macdonald said. “Had a lot of great guys come through this building that have ran it like that. Nod to those people...
“But we’re really excited about him.”
7th round (234): Mason Richman, tackle, Iowa
The 6-5, 307-pound Richman was a tackle at Iowa after playing some guard as a freshman. The Seahawks listed him as a guard when they drafted him.
But Macdonald said Richman will begin at tackle when a three-day rookie minicamp begins Friday.
“The intelligence, the competitor, the toughness,” Schneider said.
“He started or played 2023, I think it was almost the whole season with a hairline fracture in his leg. He wanted to help them and played through it. Pretty rare these days. It used to happen all the time. He played through it.”
7th round (238): Ricky White III, wide receiver, Nevada-Las Vegas
Seventh-round picks need to play, and well, on special teams to make a true contribution as a rookie.
White can sure do that. He blocked four punts last season. That was more than any one TEAM had in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
“It’s really just a want-to,” White said on the phone Saturday after Seattle drafted him. “There’s a mentality that comes with that. Just having that savviness and going out there and competing.”
Macdonald’s kind of guy.
This story was originally published April 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM.
