Try this Seahawks mock draft on for size.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler recently released his full seven-round mock draft, making predictions from Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears all the way to former Washington Huskies running back Dillon Johnson as ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ as the 257th and final pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
We (generally speaking) only care about the Seattle Seahawks, so we’ll focus on what Brugler has in store for Seattle’s class of 2024. As has been commonly predicted throughout the mock draft world, Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu is the Seahawks’ big move in the first round. The expectation is that Fautanu, who was a tackle in college, would move inside to guard.
What about the rest of the draft? Well the Seahawks aren’t done picking ex-Huskies, and they will also go for a developmental quarterback of sorts. For each pick, I’ll also include an excerpt from Brugler’s 2024 NFL Draft Guide.
Round 1, Pick 16 – Troy Fautanu, G/T, Washington
With his lower-body agility and flexible hips/knees, Fautanu displays athletic muscle twitch in his pass sets and when pulling and locating in the run game. Although he needs to become more disciplined with his technique, he flashes violence with his hands and makes defenders feel it when he connects. Overall, Fautanu is explosive on the move and at contact with the foot quickness, body control and temperament to stack wins in both pass protection and as a run blocker in the NFL. While he has the talent to remain at tackle, his skill set also projects well to guard and center and he offers legitimate five-position potential at the next level.
Round 3, Pick 81 – Jonah Elliss, EDGE, Utah
A long, high-effort pass rusher, Elliss displays quick and instinctive initial movements as a two-way rusher who can fit, rework and leverage his physical hands. However, he tends to rely more on effort than refined counters and doesn’t consistently play big against the run (doesn’t quite have his NFL father’s size). Overall, Elliss is an inconsistent edge setter in the run game, but he is threatening with his upfield burst/motor and skilled with his hands in the pass rush. It is encouraging to think of what he can develop into with a full bag of counters. His pro ceiling is an Alex Highsmith-style edge defender, although a high-end subpackage rusher is his more realistic NFL projection.
Round 4, Pick 102 – Cedric Gray, LB, North Carolina
With his lateral agility and pursuit skills, Gray has terrific playing range to the perimeter and acceleration downhill. He was a tackling machine at UNC (only Power 5 player to average double-digit tackles per game in both 2022 and 2023), but he lacks functional take-on strength and too often finds himself stuck and swallowed. Overall, Gray might not be exceptional in any one area, but he is equal parts athletic and aggressive and is always in the vicinity of the football. He projects as a rotational NFL linebacker and special teamer who will compete for starting reps as a rookie.
Round 4, Pick 118 – Dominique Hampton, S, Washington
Despite not always playing up to his freakshow combine numbers, he is a high-caliber athlete with the balance to break down in smaller spaces and the range to cover a lot of ground. He doesn’t allow his long arms to go to waste, using them to work off blocks and influence the catch point, although he accounted for just three turnovers (two interceptions, one forced fumble) in 57 career games. Overall, Hampton is undisciplined with his man coverage responsibilities, but he is an impressive size/speed athlete who diagnoses well from zone and is an explosive striker as a tackler. He projects as a team’s third safety who can impact all three levels of the field and contribute as a gunner/special-teams standout.
Round 6, Pick 179 – Keith Randolph, DT, Illinois
A basketball-focused athlete most of his life, he developed into a legitimate NFL prospect with the Illini despite a disappointing senior season as he battled through an ankle injury (his pressures dropped from 32 in 2022 to 13 in 2023). With functional size and quickness, Randolph plays with purpose and relies on his body control to slip gaps or battle through engagements. His upfield burst is average at best and he must continue to develop his pass rush instincts and counters. Overall, Randolph is missing an explosive element to his arsenal, but he maintains gap integrity with his ability to lock out, track and do his job in the run game. He projects as an NFL backup who offers scheme versatility and depth at multiple positions.
Round 6, Pick 192 – Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State
Travis is a tough, bursty athlete with elusive scrambling skills and fearless decision-making. Though he showed improvements each season as a passer, his inconsistencies with placement and processing pop up on ev ery tape. Overall, Travis is a competitive and creative dual-threat quarterback, but the sporadic elements to his game and average size/arm limit his NFL upside. He projects as a No. 2 or 3 option best-suited for a rhythm offense.
Round 7, Pick 235 – AJ Barner, TE, Michigan
With his acceleration into his routes, Barner can poke holes in zones and appears comfortable catching the ball outside his frame (see 2023 Michigan State tape). As a blocker, he lacks desired mass and sustain strength, but he creates a surge at the point of attack and shows the balance to be an effective backside puller. Overall, Barner is lighter than ideal to be an every-down Y tight end and doesn’t have the resume of a playmaking receiver, but he is a solid athlete with pass-catching upside and the play personality to handle run-blocking duties. He can provide depth on an NFL roster as a flex tight end.
I’d lean toward wanting Utah safety Cole Bishop in the third round over Elliss, and therefore there wouldn’t be a need to take Hampton in the following round. Jordan Travis’ draft stock was definitely affected by his season-ending torn ACL, but he most likely wouldn’t have been in the same general drafting area as Penix, Nix, etc. He may be worth taking a flyer on if the Seahawks don’t go for any of the big QB names or Spencer Rattler (or Michael Pratt, I suppose) in Day 2.
Only one offensive lineman drafted would be concerning to me, but that one OL has All-Pro potential, so I wouldn’t complain about that. Your mileage may vary. We all know there’s zero shot that any of these mocks will have high accuracy on what the Seahawks (or any team) will do, but that’s never stopped us from reading and analyzing them!
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