Seahawks trade down twice, go Washington heavy in this mock draft

tim weaver

Wed, Jan 24, 2024, 9:20 AM·7 min read

Mel Kiper released his first mock draft of the 2024 season yesterday. At No. 16 overall he had the Seahawks selecting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. We have no beef with the prospect, but didn’t like the pick. We always say if you don’t like our mock, make your own – so that’s the spirit were bringing into today. We feel that if this team is going to take a quarterback early, they should either trade up for one of the elite QB prospects or trade back down to the top of the second to poach one of the fruits that fall out of the first.

That’s exactly what we did in our latest seven-round mock draft, trading down from the No. 16 spot and getting a bonanza of picks in return to build up the roster. Here’s how the full seven-round mock played out.

Pick No. 16: Trade down with Patriots

Sometimes the board just doesn’t look right and the best move you can make is trading down and adding capital. That’s what we decided to do here, dealing the No. 16 overall pick to the New England Patriots and in return we got five draft picks. In this mock we added selection Nos. 34, 68, 99 and No. 130 plus an additional second-round pick in 2025.

Pick No. 34: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

The season may not have ended for the Huskies and Michael Penix (6-foot-3, 213 pounds) as he’d hoped – throwing two INTs in a loss to a tough Michigan defense in the national title game. However, it doesn’t retract from the extraordinary work that Penix has done over the last two years after transferring from Indiana. In 28 games with Washington he totaled a 65.4% completion rate, 8.6 yards per attempt, 67 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and a rating of 154.2. More importantly, he flashed pro-level traits throughout, including a sublime touch on his deep ball. Penix may need a year to sit behind Geno Smith before he’s ready to compete in the NFL, but once he’s settled in his ceiling should be as high as any 2024 QB.

Pick No. 68: Texas DT Byron Murphy II

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Whether they can find the money for Leonard Williams or not, the Seahawks will need to add another playmaker inside if they’re going to catch the 49ers anytime soon. In Round 3, we went with disruptive Longhorns defensive tackle Byron Murphy (6-foot-1, 297 pounds). In 34 games at Texas he posted eight sacks and 15 tackles for a loss and showed marked improvement this past season – a good sign for his future.

Pick No. 76: Washington WR Ja'Lynn Polk

There is a grim possibility that Tyler Lockett will either decide to retire this offseason or become a heartbreaking cap casualty. Either way, Seattle has to prepare for his eventual exit and get ahead of their WR3 need. What better way than to pair Penix with one of his teammates from Washington? Ja’Lynn Polk (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) had a breakout year coinciding with the arrival of Penix, totaling 41 catches, 694 yards and six scores. This season he built up again, racking up 69 catches, 1,159 yards and 11 touchdowns – plus another score as a rusher. If the next Seahawks offensive coordinator couldn’t find a way to use Polk, they’re not worth the job.

Pick No. 78: Trade down with Bengals

Here we traded down again to improve our position for one of our Day 3 picks. We only had to move down to spots, sending the No. 78 overall pick to Cincinnati in exhcange for No. 80 overall. Additionally, we dealt out No. 176 overall pick later in the draft for the Bengals’ No. 132 selection.

Pick No. 80: Penn State EDGE Adisa Isaac

Restocking Seattle’s edge rotation also has to be on the list for general manager John Schneider this offseason. Penn State’s Adisa isaac (6-foot-4, 248 pounds) may prove to be an upgrade over Darrell Taylor, who’s about to become a free agent. Like Murphy he improved each year in college, peaking in 2023 with 7.5 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss – second most in the Big Ten this past season.

Pick No. 99: Washington State S Jaden Hicks

If there’s one position that’s likely to see a lot of turnover this year it’s safety, where Seattle is spending far more than any other team but yielded poor results this year. It’s possible that both Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs could be cap casualties, paving the way for Julian Love and Jerrick Reed II to start in their place. They’ll have to draft for depth, though – and Cougars safety Jaden Hicks (6-foot-3, 202 pounds) could help. Over the last two years he’s totaled three interceptions and 10 pass breakups. His athleticism should make him an appealing target for the Seahawks in any case.

Pick No. 114: TCU OL Brandon Coleman

Upgrading the offensive line has to be high on the list for the Seahawks, who may need to draft two guards to replace Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes, both of whom are bout to become free agents. Tackle may also be a need given Abe Lucas’ knee issues and Charles Cross’ regression. A good place to start would be picking TCU’s Brandon Coleman (6-foot-6, 320 pounds), who has the size and the experience to play left tackle if Seattle wants to bring in competition for Cross. It’s also where he did his best work in the 2022 season.

Pick No. 130: NC State LB Payton Wilson

Linebacker may also be a need going into the draft considering that Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and Devin Bush are all about to hit the market. If they let one walk they could certainly do worse than replacing him with NC State’s Payton Wilson (6-foot-4, 238 pounds). Wilson can make an impact across the board as a defender, and he did so at a high level this past season when he racked up six sacks, 17.5 tackles for a loss, three interceptions, six pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Pick No. 132: Kansas OT Dominick Puni

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The rest of the draft class should be focused on improving both sides of the line of scrimmage, as we’ve done here. Dominick Puni (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) is coming off a career-best 2023 season, earning an elite 91.0 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. He has experiece at left tackle as well as left guard.

Pick No. 145: Oregon State G Joshua Gray

All through his time at Oregon State Joshua Gray played left tackle. However, his relative lack of pro tackle size (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) makes him a projected guard at the next level. In college Gray earned consistently solid grades from PFF in both pass protection and run blocking.

Pick No. 207: Grambling State EDGE Sundiata Anderson

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With their last pick the Seahawks should try to find a gem from a school that’s not part of the major conferences. One possibility is Sundiata Anderson (6-foot-5, 240 pounds), who’s earned acclaim as possibly being the best HBCU prospect in this year’s draft class. He finished this past season with five sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss.