Seahawks build almost entire 2024 class out of Senior Bowl players

We’ve never seen the Seahawks bank on this many Senior Bowl players before.

Seattle Seahawks draft classes under John Schneider have regularly dipped into the Senior Bowl pool. As noted several times before, the Senior Bowl executive director is former Seahawks scout Jim Nagy, so the ties to this particular college All-Star game are evident. The 2024 draft class, however, was as Senior Bowl-laden as we’ve ever seen from the Seahawks.

The only tweak to this year’s format was inviting non-graduate underclassmen for the first time, but the 120+ invitees and the “Senior Bowl” name remain unchanged. Seven of Seattle’s eight draft picks were used on Senior Bowl players, which is the most the Seahawks have ever had under John Schneider, as well as the highest percentage.

Byron Murphy II, Seattle’s top pick, was one of the notable underclassmen who went to the Senior Bowl but otherwise did not play. Christian Haynes, D.J. James, Nehemiah Pritchett, A.J. Barner, Sataoa Laumea, and Tyrice Knight were all seniors. Michael Jerrell, Seattle’s final draft pick, was a senior but his invite was to the Hula Bowl in Hawaii.

Murphy (21) and Barner (21, but will be 22 next week) were the only selections under 23 years old. It’s a bit of a recurring joke that the Seahawks love to draft older prospects (23 and 24), but it’s perfectly reasonable to understand why we’re seeing that in this year’s class.

Barner is the only senior who didn’t redshirt and/or lose a year because the school canceled the season due to the Covid pandemic. Everyone else enrolled in 2018 or 2019.

This is all just information! Not an indicator of good or bad process, and I don’t even think Seattle disproportionately picks Senior Bowl players more than other teams. However, it’s worth noting that even though the bonus year of eligibility granted for athletes affected by the pandemic is coming to a close, the implementation of Name, Image, and Likeness could have a long-term impact on how many underclassmen declare early.