Seattle Seahawks: Dueling Mock Drafts 3.0 – All 7 Rounds
First Round – 9th overall pick
Ed – OT Ikem Ekwonu – North Carolina State
It was a surprise when the Giants used the fifth overall pick on Charles Cross ahead of Ikem Ekwonu. Then the Seahawks had to sweat out Carolina and Atlanta to pick their cornerstone left tackle.
Ekwonu took a huge step up in 2021. He went from a raw talent with potential, to a top ten pick. A rise like that only happens through hard work. The best part about him is that he’s just now scratching the surface of that potential. The more Ekwonu plays, the better he’ll get. Seattle could plug him in at left tackle on the first day of training camp.
He’s got everything an NFL team could want in a premier tackle, size, strength, athletic ability, and explosiveness. Ekwonu pancakes defensive linemen with the ease we mortals flip pancakes. On film, he mauls defenders in a way that would be called assault if it happened off the field. Watch the videos on him and be amazed.
It won’t be easy at first, but Ekwonu will blossom quickly. His combination of size (6’4” 310-pounds), technique, athletic ability, and football IQ, with a little bit of a nasty streak for good measure, says he’ll be a dominating left tackle.
Clint – CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Cincinnati
The Seahawks pick cornerback Ahmad Gardner from Cincinnati with the ninth pick of the first round, a lucky break considering many see him going in the top five. Gardner made news this week during an interview, as he proclaimed himself the best player in the draft.
He stands 6’3″ 190-pounds and runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. Sauce also has the requisite arm length head coach Pete Carroll looks for in his corners. Seattle can pencil in this playmaker from day one. 12s will love this star in the making and has the bravado one typically sees in a shutdown corner.
Gardner is a starter from the first day he shows up at camp. The Seattle Seahawks haven’t had a corner like Sauce since prime Richard Sherman.