It will be the first time since 2009 that the Seattle Seahawks will be drafting without longtime head coach Pete Carroll, who was more or less politely asked to leave. Those duties will now be left up to new head coach Mike Macdonald and, of course, Seahawks general manager John Schneider.
After a 9-8 season, just barely missing the playoffs, the Seahawks earned a spot right in the middle of the 2024 NFL Draft order, with the No. 16 pick. They'll virtually be behind every team that's vying for a quarterback, even though they are in need of one themselves.
They'll bring back Geno Smith again next season, who is once again the likely starter, although they did make a trade with the Washington Commanders to bring in Sam Howell. Howell could be nothing more than a certified backup to Smith, as the league was in desperate need of them with injuries to major starters last season. Or, he could outright take Smith's job.
But that still doesn't mean that the quarterback issue is settled in Seattle. Neither Smith nor Howell seem to be franchise material, especially Smith now at age 33. But unless the Seahawks find a way to move up the board, they may not take a quarterback with their first-round pick. And maybe not at all.
As for the first round, let's look at three players the Seahawks should target in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
No one quite knows where Michael Penix Jr. could fall. Some have him going in the first round, while other draft analysts have him going much later. But what makes the Seahawks interesting here is that Macdonald was able to lure Ryan Grubb away from Alabama to be his new offensive coordinator. Grubb was, of course, the offensive coordinator at Washington with Penix before leaving with then-Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer to go to Alabama.
The Seahawks aren't the neediest out of the bunch of teams after a quarterback, but this would perhaps be a star-aligned type moment where Grubb would try to sway Macdonald into drafting the former Huskies quarterback.
Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
If it's not Penix that Grubb snags, then maybe he and the Seahawks will target another one of his former players in offensive tackle Troy Fautanu. The 6-foot-4, 317-pound lineman is said to be versatile, meaning he could play either guard or tackle. He allowed just two sacks in 13 games.
Adding in the fact that he's familiar with Grubb's offense would be a major plus and a big upgrade to the Seahawks offensive line that ranked 25th in the league, per Sharp Football Analysis. With former starting guard Damien Lewis off to the Carolina Panthers, Fautanu could essentially step right in at least one of the guard positions.
Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA
If anything was evident about Mike Macdonald's defense with the Baltimore Ravens, it's that he loves rushing the passer. The Ravens were one of the best teams in the league last year with a pass rush win rate of 46 percent, per ESPN stats and information.
Macdonald will be looking to bring his stout defense to Seattle, and one player he could target to build off of could be Laiatu Latu out of UCLA. PFF called him “the most productive pass rusher in college football over the past two seasons.” In those two seasons, he had 27 sacks, 19 quarterback hits, and 81 hurries.
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