Inside the Seahawks’ strategy to draft competitors

Renton, Wash. – John Schneider’s Priorities 2026 nfl draft went beyond filling Seattle Seahawks‘Remaining positional needs and adding their league-bottom four selections.

The longtime general manager also wanted to recapture the Super Bowl-winning roster with a certain approach.

It was rooted in a lesson Seattle’s front office learned a decade earlier, in the years following the team’s first Super Bowl win in 2013. The franchise eventually drafted players to replace the Legion of Boom-era stars, but by Schneider’s admission, many of them lacked the mentality to surpass the veterans they had grown up idolizing and watching win Super Bowls.

So Schneider and coach Mike McDonald began their third draft together, in the wake of Seattle’s win. super bowl lxCorrect competitive wiring was a prerequisite for any possibility they might consider.

This would be a surefire topic with them class of eight. Comments from Schneider and McDonald, as well as conversations with sources inside the draft room, shed light on how the Seahawks arrived at those decisions, the trades that doubled their overall pick as well as some that fell through, and the common thread of Seattle prioritizing competitiveness.

It started with the selection of the running back. jadarian price No. 32 after Schneider was eliminated in an attempt to get out of the first round.

“Great player, great guy, competitor,” Schneider said. “He’s a Seahawk.”

The reason the Seahawks valued him so highly was because his production as a pass catcher in college was limited, they believed some of his skills as a runner were more favorable than those of a player. he stepped back At Notre Dame, jeremiah lovewho finished third Arizona Cardinals. They also saw a high-character man who was raised and driven by a single mother, Jessica Butler, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 12.

“Watching her go through that — chemotherapy, all that — and still overcome that, I felt like I could overcome anything,” Price said.

MacDonald noted the loyalty shown by Price by staying in South Bend despite lucrative offers to start other programs. This meant he could make significantly less money than elsewhere, but Price said he wanted to challenge himself “to split reps with the best player in college football … and I showed I could do it at the highest level.”

According to sources with knowledge of the selection, Seattle’s second-top target was the San Diego State cornerback chris johnsonwho went to 27th place miami dolphins After they do their business. With Johnson gone, the Seahawks’ options were to take Price at 32 or trade him back and hope they get a few spots later. He discussed deals with tennessee titans (number 35) and New York Giants (No. 37) Due to which both of them fell.

Five of the six spots changed hands amid a flurry of trades immediately prior to Seattle’s pick at 32, including Tennessee’s move to 31. This caused some consternation in the Seahawks’ draft room, with some fearing that the Titans – who were heavily linked to Love with the fourth pick – were outbidding Seattle for Price. There was also concern that san francisco 49ers Maybe they take him with the first pick of the second round; Seattle’s division rivals later drafted the Indiana running back kelon black In round 3.

with Kenneth Walker III gone and Zach Charbonnet Expect to miss part of next season acl surgeryRunning back was easily Seattle’s top need. Like many draft analysts, the Seahawks saw a significant gap between Price and the next best back in this class. According to one source, he was from Washington Jonah Coleman and arkansas’ mike washington jr., the two prospects are seen as potential Day 3 fallbacks if they do not land on the price.

With the Vince Lombardi Trophy on display in the Seahawks’ draft room to remind them why they were picking 32nd overall, Seattle selected Price to end the first round.

“Great player, great guy,” Schneider said. “We thought he had some opportunities for a minute. They fell apart. There was a lot of trading going on right in front of us, but he was kind of standing alone.”

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What Jadarion Price brings to the Seahawks

What Jadarion Price brings to the Seahawks

between players The Seahawks brought to team headquarters for a predraft tour was a TCU safety bud clarkWhich he selected at 64th place.

The Seahawks view those meetings as an important part of their evaluation process, helping them figure out how a prospect may or may not fit in. their culture. They are not always good.

Schneider told a story about a player who was openly unhappy that his time at Seahawks headquarters lasted longer than scheduled. Apparently not having done much homework on the organization, he thought he was complaining to an employee. He had no idea that it was actually the general manager.

There was no such change when the Seahawks brought in Clark. They knew about his ball skills (15 interceptions over the past four seasons), his speed (4.41-second 40-yard dash) and his versatility (he can play nickel and corner), and how these qualities would make him a viable option to replace him. kobe ​​bryant. McDonald found his competitiveness at the Senior Bowl, when it seemed he stepped up on every other one-on-one rep in practice.

The trip left the Seahawks excited to add another dynamo to their secondary. In Clark, they see a super-charged playing style and enthusiastic demeanor that reminds them of cornerbacks. devon witherspoonOne of the physical and emotional tone-setters of his defense.

“He’s a blast,” Schneider said. “Mike and I were talking about personalities throughout the process. Like, man, if we put Bud and Spoon in the same room, what’s going to happen?”

The Seahawks finished day two by addressing another need in their secondary with the Arkansas cornerback julian nealslipped three places to 99th in trade with pittsburgh steelers.

While he’s not a burner (he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds), Neal is a big corner at nearly 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, and he plays like it. He began his college career at Fresno State, briefly attended Stanford and then, as Schneider said, he decided to challenge himself in the SEC.

For reasons Seattle won’t tell rick woolen The second con was that he wasn’t as good or willing a tackler as they would have liked. This is the strength of Neal, who will look to replace Woolen as his No. 3.

He exuded confidence and passion as he spoke to reporters during a conference call for The Ageas. As his voice trembled with emotion, Neal described himself as the most physical cornerback in the draft, talked about punching receivers at the line of scrimmage and at one point announced that the Seahawks were “going to back-to-backs this year.”

“He has great qualities, he has a great work ethic, he’s extremely competitive, he’s smart,” MacDonald said. “We believe those are all the ingredients that can lead to him playing even better football as his career progresses.”

saturday morning, Schneider took a tour through the Seahawks’ defensive meeting room, which is converted into a media workspace during the draft.

GM had time to kill without a pick in the fourth or fifth round after trading Rasheed Shaheed Last year.

Schneider was wearing his usual attire for Day 3: a short-sleeved, navy blue button-up with a Seahawks patch on the front and the words “John” underneath. Work shirts, as he calls them, are meant to look like something an auto mechanic or repairman would wear. The meaning behind them is that while the first round has the glitz and glamour, the third day is the blue-collar part of the draft.

As soon as Schneider arrived on Saturday morning, he set out to find a business partner.

Losing Walker, Bryant, Woolen and outside linebacker boy sorry In free agency, the Seahawks are projected to receive four compensatory selections in 2027, giving them 12 picks overall. With that additional capital in hand, Schneider was ready to pounce on the right opportunity.

It came in the fifth round as an Iowa guard. beu stephens Was still available. According to sources, some in the organization preferred him over the Georgia Tech guard Keelan RutledgeWho went in round 1. Seattle has a better feeling about the man named Stephens – he has spoken out publicly about dealing with anxiety And ADHD early in his college career – after bringing him in for a visit.

The Seahawks gave up their fourth-round pick to move into next year cleveland browns‘ spot at No. 148, where they took Stephens with the hopes that he would move the current starter Anthony Bradford Right on guard.

His sixth-round selection (No. 199) at Kansas wide receiver. Emmanuel Henderson Jr.. Designed with special teams in mind. He was a favorite of coordinator Jay Harbaugh in part because of his returns and ability to cover kicks. dereck youngAnother free agent departure.

The 2026 draft was not considered strong. According to one source, the Seahawks had first-round grades on about 15 players – a lower number than usual. Schneider had already noted the lack of depth in the latter rounds compared to other years.

But the Seahawks managed to find some value on Day 3. They thought Stephens would go long before pick No. 148. He had a fifth-round grade at Toledo andre fullerAnother big (6-1, 200 pounds), physical corner who they drafted in the seventh overall (No. 236 overall). Along with adding picks by trading up twice more, the Seahawks complete their class with Minnesota defensive tackle Deven Eastern (No. 242) and Arizona cornerback Michael Dansby (No. 255), two players he thought would have difficulty signing as undrafted free agents due to Seattle already having positions at those positions.

As usual, the Seahawks faced some “troubles”, as they call them – players they targeted but missed. of kentucky kendrick lawJoe moved up 20 spots after Stephens in Round 5, another special teams pick they wanted.

The board never aligned with Oklahoma for an edge rusher. R Mason Thomas As well as his Michigan teammates derrick moore And Jayshawn Barham Among the players Seattle likes. The Seahawks have yet to find a spot for Mafe in their outside linebacker rotation, the veteran dante fowler jr. — who was coached by defensive coordinator Aidan Durde in Atlanta and Dallas — remains one of their top options in free agency.

The Seahawks addressed every other need in the draft, and they did so with players they believe will arrive with the mentality of taking the job, not taking back seats.

“They wouldn’t be on our board if we were [didn’t feel] Like this,” Schneider said.