Seattle Seahawks: Dueling Mock Drafts 2.0
PNWS Staff
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Clint and Ed are back for version 2.0 of our dueling mock drafts. Our writers go head-to-head to predict who the Seattle Seahawks will pick in the draft.
Up until very recently, 12s never expected to scout players projected to go early in the 2022 draft. After sending franchise QB Russell Wilson to Denver, the Seattle Seahawks now own the number nine pick in the first round.
Two of our PNWS writers, Ed Stein and Clint Prasky, go head-to-head to predict the Seahawks’ draft.
2022 Draft
So with that out of the way, let’s get into what picks the Seahawks now own. They currently have the 9th pick in the first round. Picks number 40 and 41 now belong to them, as do picks 72 and 108, 152, 153, 227.
ESPN has Mel Kiper and Todd McShay hashing out their versions of the draft. Pacific Northwest Sports pitted two of our writers, Clint Prasky and Ed Stein, against each other to get the best Seahawks mock draft. For version 1.0, we used the Pro Football Network Draft Simulator and went four rounds.
Team Needs
There are several areas where the Seattle Seahawks need help. Among the most critical positions that need reinforcing are:
Offensive Line
The O-line continued to be an issue in 2021, the same as in 2020 and 2019. Now both starting tackles, Duane Brown and Brandon Shell are free agents.
Quarterback
Russell Wilson is in Denver now, and his backup the past few seasons, Geno Smith, is a free agent.
The Seahawks didn’t exactly get their quarterback of the future back in this trade from Denver. What they did acquire was Drew Lock from the Broncos. Among all quarterbacks with the same amount of passing attempts or more as Lock since 2019, only Sam Darnold has a lower passer rating.
Middle Linebacker
Seattle unceremoniously dumped franchise mainstay Bobby Wagner. They might move 2020 first round pick, Jordyn Brooks, to the middle or leave him outside and promote Cody Barton to starting MLB. Neither option is a long-term fix.
Edge Rusher
Over the last few seasons, Seattle has had difficulty getting pressure on the quarterback. Given enough time in the pocket to make plays, even average passers could pick on the Seahawks’ cornerbacks. The recent cuts of Carlos Dunlap and Kerry Hyder mean the Seahawks need more players on the edge.
Cornerback
Seattle went from Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar in 2020 to DJ Reed and a revolving door opposite him. Now Reed starts for the New York Jets.
Tre’ Brown played well enough to make Brandon Flowers expendable. That is until Brown suffered a season-ending injury in Game 10. Sidney Jones took over for him and played well, but this team needs a shutdown corner.
The rules
As in version 1.0, Ed and Clint are using the Pro Football Network Draft Simulator. The mocks will again cover Rounds 1-4. This time, the writers are allowed to make two trades. The simulator can offer deals or decide on counters and trade proposals. To keep things honest, no trades were forced through the simulator.
Also, Clint’s picks will be in blue, and Ed’s are in green.