The Seattle Seahawks addressed perhaps their most pressing need with the final pick of the first round in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night, taking Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price after plans to trade down fell apart.
The reigning Super Bowl champions have talent everywhere, returning most of their roster from last season. That should allow them to plan for the future at positions with players who are aging or approaching contract years, like defensive line and outside linebacker.
They also have only three picks remaining (Nos. 64, 96 and 188) after failing to trade on Thursday, and general manager John Schneider would certainly like to add more. Expect the Seahawks to work the phones on Friday.
Here are potential targets as the draft rolls on, split up into likely Day 2 and Day 3 picks.
Day 2
- Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
- Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
- Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State
- Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
- Zion Young, edge, Missouri
- CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
- T.J. Parker, edge, Clemson
- Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
- Emmanuel Pregnon, IOL, Oregon
- Keyron Crawford, edge, Auburn
- Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
- Gabe Jacas, edge, Illinois
- Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama
- Derrick Moore, edge, Michigan
- Treydan Stukes, S, Arizona
- Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
- Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
- Bud Clark, S, TCU
- D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
- De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, Ole Miss
- Connor Lew, C, Auburn
Many of the names above will be gone (perhaps long gone) by the time the Seahawks are back on the clock at No. 64. If Seattle moves back to collect more picks, the list will thin even more. But it’s possible one of the Seahawks potential Day 1 targets will slip. Others near the bottom of the list could be targets at No. 96.
Hood would likely challenge for a spot in the Seahawks’ rotation by the midway point of his rookie year. He’s a good athlete who tracks the ball well and is capable of playing man or zone.
McDonald was my choice in The Athletic’s final beat writer mock draft. That would be a pick made with an eye toward the future. McDonald could immediately help Seattle on early downs as a run defender, but the team wouldn’t need him to take a bigger role until the defensive line enters life without Jarran Reed (who is 33) and/or Leonard Williams (whose contract expires after 2026).
Allen projects as an impact starter, according to “The Beast,” Dane Brugler’s draft guide. “Allen has reliability issues in zone coverage, but he is a speedy flow-and-scrape linebacker who is quick to trigger and be around the football,” Brugler wrote. Ernest Jones IV, Drake Thomas and Tyrice Knight are signed through 2027. An inside linebacker pick would undoubtedly be a luxury. But Allen might be the type of impact player worth taking anyway.
Based on Seattle’s needs and the makeup of the class, Day 2 seems like the sweet spot for drafting a safety. Stukes and Clark make sense for a couple of reasons. Brugler describes Stukes as “an instinctive athlete who plays with quiet confidence and valuable versatility.” He sees Stukes’ future at nickel “while offering outside or single-high flexibility.”
Clark would appear to be the inverse in that his future might be as a center-field replacement for Coby Bryant but with nickel versatility. Either selection should work out for Seattle, as long as coach Mike Macdonald and his staff have a vision for the player.
The Seahawks’ wide receiver lineup is stacked for 2026 and beyond, so I’d be surprised if they drafted a wideout within the top 100. That said, it would be hard to fault the Seahawks for taking a chance on a well-rounded prospect such as Bernard, WR7 in Brugler’s guide with a second-round grade.
“Bernard is just a good football player,” Brugler wrote. “He is a good-sized athlete who can gear up and down with ease and plays just as comfortably along the sideline as when attacking the middle of the field. It will be more challenging for him to create separation versus NFL corners, but he is a natural at addressing the football and competes with the toughness to play through contact.”
I’m higher on Bernard than Stribling, but the case for making the luxury selection would be the same in either case: Take the talented player and sort the rest out later. That’s admittedly harder to do with few picks, though.
Day 3
- Sam Roush, TE, Stanford
- Brian Parker II, C, Duke
- Kaleb Proctor, DT, Southeastern Louisiana
- Ja’Kobi Lane, WR, USC
- Tacario Davis, CB, Washington
- Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri
- Jakari Foster, S, Louisiana Tech
- Michael Heldman, edge, Central Michigan
My final mock had Seattle using a Day 3 pick on Proctor, a small-school prospect with some pass-rush upside. Heldman has similar upside off the edge, perhaps as a pick in the sixth or seventh round. He recorded 10 1/2 sacks with a couple of forced fumbles in his fifth and final year at Central Michigan and feels like a prospect who’d pop as a pass rusher in the preseason.
Not only is starting center Jalen Sundell on an expiring contract, but backup Olu Oluwatimi is, too, which is why I can see Seattle taking a swing on a center either late on Day 2 or on Day 3. Lew, listed in the Day 2 section above, is the fourth-ranked center by Brugler, who describes the former Auburn lineman as a good mover with a clear comfort level in wide-zone blocking schemes.
Parker is Brugler’s No. 6-ranked center with a fourth-round grade. Like Lew, he’d fit a zone-based blocking scheme that showcases his movement skills.
“Parker will lose tug-of-war battles with long-levered defenders, but his athletic ability, competitive toughness and intelligence are traits needed for a long NFL career,” Brugler wrote. “He projects as a versatile guard/center backup and would have starting potential in the right situation.”
Lane is WR24 in Brugler’s draft guide with a fifth-round grade. He’s a young prospect who will be just 22 at the start of the season. Lane (6-4, 200) is tall with a wide catch radius and hauled in 49 passes for 745 yards with four touchdowns last season. He’s got some room to grow but also has some traits Seattle could develop. Coleman is another player I mocked to the Seahawks earlier this week. He’s small but also quick and agile, making him an intriguing developmental prospect in the slot.
Davis is 6-3 and 194 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds. He’s tall, long and fast with good ball production at both Arizona and Washington. Brugler sees the former Husky as a fit for a Cover 3 scheme, which wouldn’t make him a perfect fit for Seattle — though Mike Macdonald mixes in plenty of that coverage — but a Day 3 cornerback with that type of length and speed is worth a flier anyway.
