With the 2024 season in the rear view mirror, the job may be done for the time being for veteran players. But general managers around the league have turned their attention squarely to the 2025 NFL Draft, which will be held between April 24 and 26. The Seattle Seahawks will hold the 18th pick in the draft after losing the NFC West on a tiebreaker to the Los Angeles Rams.
State of the Union
Eventually, Seattle will need to figure out a long-term solution at the quarterback position after Geno Smith showed some signs of his age as a 34-year-old last season. The veteran still completed 70.4% of his passes for 4,320 yards and 21 touchdowns, but he also threw 15 interceptions and had the 10th-most turnover-worthy plays. To be fair, he had the lowest proportion of bad throws of any quarterback in the league, as well as the highest on-target percentage, but given the breakout season from wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and an above-average defense, Seahawks fans can’t be blamed for thinking their team could’ve made a playoff run with a truly elite signal-caller. After all, it was only on the strength of victory tiebreaker that Seattle missed the playoffs this season.
Still, it was a relatively successful season for the Seahawks, who were just 4-5 before their bye before rattling off six wins in their final eight games. The problem was that Seattle didn’t really beat anyone good — its only two wins over eventual playoff teams came in Week 1, when it beat the Denver Broncos, and Week 18, when it narrowly edged out a Rams team that was resting all of its starters in anticipation of the postseason. Other than that, it took home losses to Los Angeles, Buffalo, Green Bay, Minnesota, and San Francisco, and a road defeat in Detroit, so that’s a major reason for concern headed into 2025. Running back Kenneth Walker III’s regression — he was one of the least efficient backs in football this season, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry — is another issue.
Still, the Rams might blow it up after coming within 13 yards of beating the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, as they’re looking to trade wide receiver Cooper Kupp and open to offers on quarterback Matthew Stafford. Plus, while the 49ers will almost certainly be healthier this year after losing their top three running backs and top receiver to season-ending injuries, the Super Bowl LVIII runners-up still have problems of their own, starting with wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s free agency and quarterback Brock Purdy’s looming contract extension. The NFC West appears to be wide-open, so Seahawks fans shouldn’t count the team out heading into the 2025 season.
Potential Departures
Laken Tomlinson – Last offseason, Seattle signed the Jamaican to a one-year, $1.2-million deal after a two-year stint with the New York Jets, and he was solid, playing all 17 games and finishing as the 51st-ranked pass-blocker among 131 offensive guards. Although he allowed six sacks — tied for the eighth-most among offensive guards — they weren’t entirely his fault, as only 16.5% of the Seahawks’ pressures were Tomlinson’s responsibility. Both right guard Anthony Bradford and center Olu Oluwatimi posted lower pass-blocking grades than he did, and he also graded higher than Bradford as a run-blocker. With his backup, rookie Sataoa Laumea, struggling to produce much, Tomlinson would be a huge loss for the Seahawks if he leaves in free agency or retires.
Ernest Jones – Jones is the only other pending free agent who played more than 75% of his team’s snaps last season. The inside linebacker was acquired with a midseason trade from the Tennessee Titans, and he was pretty solid, returning an interception for 12 yards and racking up 94 total tackles in just 10 games. He also defended 38 targets in coverage and allowed just an 81.0 passer rating on such throws. Pro Football Focus also graded him as the 34th-best run defender among 82 qualified linebackers, as Seattle allowed just 1,721 yards and nine touchdowns to running backs, with the latter figure ranking eighth in the NFL. Given his talent and youth — he’s just 25 — the Seahawks will make his retention a priority.
Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins – Reed and Hankins, both starters on the defensive line, are each set to be unrestricted free agents. This season, Reed was the more effective of the two, appearing in 60% of Seattle’s defensive snaps and racking up 4.5 sacks, 45 total tackles, and 15 quarterback hits. The 12-year veteran Hankins had just 30 total tackles in his first season with the Seahawks, but he did at least record his first career interception in a Week 11 win over San Francisco. By Pro Football Focus’ rankings, Hankins was the fourth-worst among 118 qualified interior defenders. They’re both 33 years old, so both could consider other teams or retire.
Josh Jobe – Jobe is a restricted free agent, since he’s completed just three years of service time in the league, but Seattle is effectively $16.7 million over the cap, so it might not necessarily make sense to bring him back. He’s been okay in his first three years, intercepting MVP Josh Allen in a Week 8 loss to the Bills and holding opposing quarterbacks to just a 76.6 passer rating on 50 targets, but after bouncing back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster throughout the 2024 season, it’s clear that he’s not a priority in Mike Macdonald’s defense. He wouldn’t be a roster-defining loss, but given the Seahawks’ mediocre secondary depth, Seattle should try to bring him back on a team-friendly deal.
Team Needs
Offensive Line – With Tomlinson possibly leaving or retiring and three recent picks — Laumea, Bradford, and Christian Haynes — struggling, offensive line needs to be priority number one for the Seahawks this offseason, besides making a decision on Smith’s future. Walker and Zach Charbonnet weren’t great, but the offensive line didn’t give them many opportunities. Walker ranked 10th-to-last and Charbonnet 24th-to-last among 73 qualified ball-carriers in yards before contact per rush. Smith also ranked third in the league in sacks, second in the non-Caleb-Williams division.
Defensive Tackle – With both Reed and Hankins potentially leaving, Seattle desperately needs more depth in the trenches outside of Leonard Williams, who just made the Pro Bowl for the first time in eight seasons. While the Seahawks managed to rack up 45 sacks, tied for the eighth-most in football, they also allowed 4.6 yards per carry to running backs, one of the worst marks in the league. In order to win a division where Christian McCaffrey is about to return to full health, Seattle will need a solid run-stuffer.
Linebacker – Arguably the biggest loss would be Jones, who the Seahawks would love to bring back, even if their cap situation will make that difficult. Although he was merely an average starter in both rush and pass defense this season, Jones was exceptional in the first three seasons of his career with the Rams and should have time to rediscover that form in Macdonald’s defensive-oriented schemes. Seattle was merely average against opposing tight ends and running backs through the air, so bringing in a pass-defending linebacker should raise the team’s ceiling.
Quarterback – Smith will be the team’s starter next season — his backup, Sam Howell, hasn’t proven himself to be a starting-quality quarterback — but he’s 34 and on the last year of his deal. The 2026 quarterback draft class is projected to be pretty good, but the Seahawks aren’t going to be bad enough to draft one of the top prospects without trading up for them. Instead, it’s possible that Seattle drafts Smith’s potential successor before handing over the reins in 2026.
Running Back – This probably won’t be a top priority, either, given that Charbonnet and Walker are both just 24 years old, and their rushing struggles weren’t entirely their fault. Of the two, Charbonnet is a little bit better and has been marginally more effective through the air as well, but he still isn’t a top-quality running back. Neither averaged more than 2.2 yards per carry after contact, and while both broke tackles at above-average rates, the Seahawks might be inclined to move on in the right situation.
Potential Picks
Grey Zabel, OT, North Dakota State – Adding Zabel, one of the FCS’ best players, would beef up the offensive line and fill the team’s biggest need. While playing five seasons in Fargo, Zabel started 41 games, including all 16 games this season as the Bison won the FCS title. This season, he allowed just one sack and committed two penalties while helping North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller, who nearly won the subdivision’s Offensive Player of the Year award and set several school records. He has also started at left guard, left tackle and right tackle, so his versatility would be a huge asset depending on whether Tomlinson leaves in free agency.
Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan – Grant won a national championship with the Wolverines in 2023, so he’s a big man with big-game experience. Across 41 games at Michigan, he managed 69 total tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks, and his elite upper-body strength means that he has high upside as a run-stuffer. He also has plenty of upside as a pass-rusher, but he could be hindered somewhat by inconsistent technique and limited athleticism. Either way, at six-foot-three and 342 pounds at just 21 years old, he has plenty of time to harness his physical traits into an effective NFL career.
Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State – If Zabel is off the board by the time the 19th pick comes around, Simmons could be an option. He’s a little bit smaller than Zabel and has merely average upper-body strength, but he makes up for it with quickness, agility, and a great feel for the game. Like Grant, he has big-game experience, having played three seasons at Ohio State. The major concern is the season-ending knee injury that he suffered in October, so it’s unclear if there will be any lasting impact or if he’ll be ready for the start of training camp.
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama – As an eventual replacement for Smith, Milroe might be the highest-ceiling, lowest-floor prospect of the major quarterbacks in this class. Milroe was sometimes inaccurate for the Crimson Tide and prone to mistakes, especially against high-quality opponents, completing just 50% of his passes and throwing an interception in Alabama’s bowl loss to the Wolverines, but regardless, with his dual-threat ability — he scored 20 rushing touchdowns this season, the second-most among FBS quarterbacks — he’s an ideal prototype for a modern quarterback. Seattle could trade back to the end of the first round or the start of the second round and still get its potential quarterback of the future.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State – Since the linebacker options aren’t projected to be great in this year’s draft — the top-ranked linebacker prospect is Georgia’s Jalon Walker, who doesn’t project as a high-end starter and doesn’t fit the run-defending mold that Seattle would benefit most from — why not deal one of Kenneth Walker and Charbonnet and pick up a man coming off of a historic season? In his junior year at Boise State, Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns, and if he’s on the board at 18, he’ll be the best player available. Saquon Barkley was the biggest reason the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and while Jeanty is three inches shorter than Barkley, every team would benefit from someone in Barkley’s mold.
