The Seattle Seahawks will have to wait their turn before they are on the clock in the 2026 NFL Draft, but it's well worth it after winning Super Bowl LX over the New England Patriots.
The Seahawks NFL Draft guide is here to get you ready for the draft from all sides, including what Seattle needs to get its roster ready to make a run at a repeat in 2026. While the Seahawks don't currently have many picks in the draft, there is always a chance that John Schneider hits the phones to acquire more picks if he feels the need to.
Let's get into what to expect from Seattle on draft night and take a look at how the Seahawks have done in recent years.
Seahawks' 2026 NFL Draft picks
Seattle currently only possesses four draft picks heading into the month of the draft, in large part due to some of the aggressive moves that got this team in position to win a Super Bowl. Chief among those deals was the trade that sent Seattle's fourth- and fifth-round picks in this draft to the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Shaheed was a crucial part of the title run both on offense and special teams, so the trade was obviously well worth it.
The good news for the Seahawks is that they do have their picks on days one and two of the draft, so they will still have the chance to get some of the top talent available. Keep an eye out for John Schneider to move back out of one of his top three picks to get some extra selections on day three as well.
- Round 1, Pick 32
- Round 2, Pick 64
- Round 3, Pick 96
- Round 6, Pick 188 (from Cleveland)
Seahawks' 2026 NFL Draft needs and targets
Running back
Everybody is talking about the running back situation in Seattle after the Seahawks lost Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III to the Chiefs in free agency. They didn't do much to replace him outside of signing Emanuel Wilson to a one-year deal. George Holani is back as well, and Seattle trusted him with some playoff snaps, so he should see some action as well.
Zach Charbonnet has shown that he has what it takes to be a starting running back, but he is coming back from a torn ACL that he suffered in January and will likely miss the start of the regular season. As a result, it feels likely that the Seahawks will target a running back at some point in the draft to take some of those reps.
Mike Washington Jr. from Arkansas feels like a realistic target for Seattle, but his stock is rising and he may not make it into the 60s or beyond. Jonah Coleman from Washington is another quality option that should be available in the middle rounds.
Interior offensive line
Interior offensive line has been a need for the Seahawks for many years now, and they helped address that in the first round in 2025 when they took Grey Zabel from North Dakota State. Zabel was a revelation, developing into a stout starter at left guard during his rookie season. However, the other two spots could still use some work.
Jalen Sundell is a solid starter at center, but he wouldn't be exempt from an upgrade if Seattle tries to find someone else to start in the middle of the offensive line. Anthony Bradford was the primary starter at right guard last season, and he was the weakest link on what was a very good offense. That leaves the interior of the offensive line as a big need for the Seahawks to address this offseason.
Emmanuel Pregnon from Oregon and Keylan Rutledge from Georgia Tech are two names that could be available at the end of the first round or on day two that Seattle could target to address this need.
Secondary depth
The secondary was one of the big strengths for the Seahawks last season, and the top-end talent is still there in that room. Devon Witherspoon, Nick Emmanwori and Julian Love are the stars in that group, but Cobny Bryant and Riq Woolen are gone after leaving in free agency.
While an early pick in the DB room is unlikely with the Seahawks not looking for day-one starters, the depth at cornerback and safety could still use some work on day two or three. Macdonald's scheme is enough to cover for a lot in the back end, but Seattle's loss to the Buccaneers in 2025 shows that it can still give up explosive plays if the depth gets whittled down too much.
Chris Johnson (San Diego State), Davison Igbinosun (Ohio State), Tacario Davis (Washington) and Domani Jackson (Alabama) are among names that the Seahawks could target at cornerback. At safety, keep an eye out for Bud Clark (TCU), Treydan Stukes (Arizona) and Kamari Ramsey (USC) as names that would make sense.
Edge rusher
The number one strength of the Seahawks roster last season was the defensive line. Both on the interior and on the edge, the Seahawks had quality players that they could rotate in snap in and snap out that made them extremely hard to block.
Seattle lost Boye Mafe in free agency when the Bengals gave him $60 million to be their Trey Hendrickson replacement, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Schneider target another edge rusher to add to a rotation that includes DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall and Uchenna Nwosu.
If the Seahawks want to address rhetorical edge room on day two of the draft, Michigan's Derrick Moore and UCF's Malachi Lawrence are two names that could end up in Seattle.
Seahawks' recent draft history and top picks since 2020
2025: Grey Zabel (Round 1, Pick 18)
2024: Byron Murphy II (Round 1, Pick 16)
2023: Devon Witherspoon (Round 1, Pick 5)
2022: Charles Cross (Round 1, Pick 9)
2021: D'Wayne Eskridge (Round 2, Pick 56)
2020: Jordyn Brooks (Round 1, Pick 27)
Seattle has done very well in the draft this decade, as you can see with high-end starters selected in the first round of each of the last four drafts. Not listed there is Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was picked later in the first round in 2023 and just won Offensive Player of the Year. Eskridge is the only big miss on the list, but that came in a year where Seattle didn't have a first-round pick.
While nailing first-rounder after first-rounder is an impressive feat for Schneider and the rest of the front office, it's what they have done throughout the rest of these drafts that have earned them such a great reputation and helped build the Seahawks into a Super Bowl team. Just to name a few: Emmanwori was a second-rounder in 2025, starting tight end AJ Barner was a fourth-rounder in 2024, Hall and Charbonnet were both second-rounders in 2023, and the 2022 class included Kenneth Walker, Mafe, Bryant, Woolen and starting right tackle Abraham Lucas in addition to Cross in the top 10.
As a result, this front office has a reputation as one of the sharpest-drafting organizations in football. While the Seahawks don't have a ton of picks this year, keep an eye out on some of their selections becoming contributors to a repeat attempt in 2026.
