Seattle Seahawks 2023 first round picks Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba with Head Coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider.
The 2023 NFL Draft wrapped up on Saturday. With four of the top 52 picks and 10 overall, the Seattle Seahawks made positive additions to a team that finished 9-8 last year.
There are a few things I want to explain before giving the grades.
Grades are always subjective, and we don’t know until years after how a draft class panned out.
I don’t have access to the Seattle Seahawks’ draft board.
There will always be disagreements when it comes to drafting for need and drafting the best player available.
Opinions differ on prospects depending on who does the analysis. I encourage readers to check out pre draft scout reports from Pro Football Focus, NFL.com, ESPN, The Ringer, and The Athletic for their comprehensive player evaluations.
5th overall Devon Witherspoon, cornerback
20th Jaxon Smith-Njigba, wide receiver
Let’s start with both these players are mega talents. If GM John Schneider and Head Coach Pete Carroll say these guys were the top players at their respective positions, I believe them.
I’m not sure how much either man fixes some of the bigger problems Seattle has. Also, their selections raise some interesting questions.
Witherspoon has elite man-coverage skills and isn’t afraid to launch his body like a heat-seeking missile at ball carriers. Size is an issue. At just under 6′ and 175 pounds, how will he fair in press coverage against NFL-sized receivers?
A starting cornerback duo of Tariq Woolen and Witherspoon is tantalizing. Hopefully, with two shutdown corners, the Seahawks can pick up more coverage sacks.
Smith-Njigba is a great complimentary receiver to D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. By midseason, opposing defenses will have a hard time deciding who to double-cover.
Most people see JSN as the successor to Lockett. But Metcalf is only signed through 2025. How committed are the Seattle Seahawks committed to him in the long term?
Grade A-: The talent level is a solid A, but the grade drops because they ignored their needs.
37th, Derick Hall, outside linebacker
52nd, Zach Charbonnet, running back
Going into Day 2, I wasn’t thrilled with the Seahawks because they ignored some glaring needs. The 2nd round was a chance to rectify that and get some much-needed help in the trenches. Instead, they picked two players at the same positions as they did in 2022.
Anyone who reads my Pac-12 Power Rankings during the season knows I’m a fan of Charbonnet. With Kenneth Walker in hand, the Seattle Seahawks could have waited until the 3rd or 4th round to pick up a running back.
Seattle passed on the best center in the draft class, John Michael Schmitz (NY Giants, 57), guard O’Cyrus Torrence (Buffalo, 59), intriguing quarterback prospect Hendon Hooker (Detroit, 68), and one of the top three inside linebackers, Drew Sanders (Denver 67).
The next running back drafted was Kendre Miller, who went to New Orleans at 71. If they were sold on Charbonnet, Schneider could have traded down 8-12 spots and still picked him up.
Back to Hall at 37, this pick was a mistake. Nobody had him rated anywhere near as high as he went.
Looking at some of the trench players that went after him, I have to ask why. Schmitz, center Joe Tippmann, and defensive tackle Keeanu Benton would have filled holes with quality talent.
In addition, at next three other OLB/Edge players drafted BJ Ojulari, Isaiah Foskey, and Keion White were better than him.
Do the Seattle Seahawks think they made a mistake last year with Boye Mafe? What about Darrell Taylor? It’s hard to see any upgrade at the position with Hall.
Grade C+: Probably should be lower, but Charbonnet, once healed, is a difference maker.
Traded
108th Anthony Bradford, guard
123rd Cameron Young, defensive tackle
Why did the Seahawks wait this long to fill two important weaknesses?
I had Chandler Zavala ahead of Bradford, but not by so much that it made a difference. Bradford will be fine and the Seattle Seahawks will have a pair of LSU alums playing guard.
Bradford isn’t plug-and-play, so Seattle has to live with Phil Haynes at right guard for a little while. Advantage – Aaron Donald.
Young, on the other hand, fills a position where they needed help, but Seattle could have done better. The Seahawks traded down from 83 to 108 and picked up a future third rounder from Detroit. That’s a good trade, and again, Bradford will work out.
Waiting until pick 123 to grab a defensive tackle when there were very good prospects available at 83 puts a damper on the windfall. Young will be adequate at best and will get into the rotation because the team is thin on the interior defensive line.
Resigning Al Woods would be a good idea about now.
Grade B: The Seattle Seahawks filled some big holes.
5th round, 151 Mike Morris, defensive end
5th round, 154 Olusegun Oluwatimi, center
6th round, 198 Jerrick Reed II, safety
7th round, 237 Kenny McIntosh, running back
For the third time in four years, the Seattle Seahawks take a defensive end in the fifth round. And for the second straight year, they did so after taking an edge player in the second.
My problem with the pick has nothing to do with Morris; he’ll push out Alton Robinson, which helps. The issue is how well the Seahawks allocate their resources.
Was Morris the highest ranked player on the Seahawks’ board? Maybe, but I doubt it. This was the time to take an inside linebacker, especially while they have Bobby Wagner to learn from.
Not to beat a dead horse, but Seattle should have taken a center sooner. It would be nice if Oluwatimi was a better run blocker, but he does other things well.
At least he has some time to acclimate to the NFL before he is thrust into action. Seattle signed Evan Brown from Detroit to be their center in 2023. I do see a scenario where if Oluwatimi impresses in camp, the Seahawks move Brown to guard.
The Seattle Seahawks need some depth in the secondary, and Reed is a good fit both there and on special teams. Anyone who watched McIntosh play for Georgia last year saw what he could do. No knock on him, but if the Seahawks were going to double up at a position, more offensive line depth would help more.
Grade B: Oluwatimi has potential to be a starter. Morris and McIntosh are good value picks.
Charbonnet and Walker will wear down opponents, if the line can open some holes. Eventually, Oluwatimi becomes a solid starter and maybe Bradford as well. Finally, Smith-Njigba adds another dimension to the passing game.
Defensively, Witherspoon is a future Pro Bowler at cornerback. His powerful hits will harken back to the Legion of Boom. The Seahawks also added depth at defensive tackle and safety.
The Seattle Seahawks waited too long to build in the trenches. Geno Smith won’t complete many passes with defensive tackles in his face. That’s if he gets the chance because the other guys are ramming the ball down Seattle’s throat.
Either they wasted their 2022 picks on Mafe and Tyreke Smith or their 2023 picks on Hall and Morris. It feels like they are making a semi-commitment to put pressure on the passer.
Final Grade: B
I won’t fault the Seattle Seahawks braintrust for taking the top rated position players on their board. However, they waited too long to fill some glaring holes.
Skill players are great. Sometimes winning football games comes down to blocking and tackling and getting nasty in the trenches. It took them too long to address those areas.
What grade do you put on the Seahattle Seahawks 2023 draft class?