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Schneider Doesn’t Want Your Rookie Starstruck. He Wants Them Angry.
John Schneider has been thinking about this for a decade. After the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII, the draft classes that followed arrived at the VMAC in awe. Rookies were suddenly teammates with the guys they’d watched dominate on Sundays, and instead of competing for jobs, they were collecting memories. Schneider watched it happen in real time, and it ate at the foundation of the dynasty from the inside.
Now, with a second ring in the safe and four picks in Pittsburgh, he’s making sure it doesn’t happen again. SI on Seahawks reported that Schneider isn’t just scouting talent this year. He’s scouting psychology. “How do they feel about Spoon? How do they feel about Leonard? Murphy?” he told reporters at the league meeting. “There’s got to be a level of confidence, self-efficacy that we have to dig deeper into.”
The phrasing is telling. He’s not asking whether prospects respect the starters. Of course they do. He’s asking whether the prospect walks in thinking I want your job or can I have your jersey. That distinction, Schneider believes, is the difference between a dynasty and a decade of decline. He’s evaluating rookies for “not just being fans of these guys, but like, ‘I want to take their jobs.’”
4
Draft picks. Fewest in the NFL. Every selection has to compete from Day 1.
This matters because the VMAC doors open in two days. The offseason program starts April 20. Whatever rookies Pittsburgh delivers will walk into a building with a trophy in the lobby and a roster that doesn’t need them to start. They need to be the kind of people who find that insulting, not inspiring. Brock Huard already flagged three young Seahawks ready to make that leap: Elijah Arroyo, who flashed in 13 games before an IR stint; Cabeldue, who Huard thinks can push Anthony Bradford at right guard; and the entire young edge group behind DeMarcus Lawrence.
Five days to Pittsburgh. Schneider knows exactly what he’s looking for. It’s not the fastest forty or the most sacks. It’s the kid who looks at a Super Bowl champion and sees a target, not a hero.
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Roster
Dante Fowler Walked Into the VMAC. Here’s Why That Matters.
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Fowler spent last season in Dallas, appearing in all 17 games with 3.0 sacks and 30 pressures. More importantly, he played for Seahawks DC Aden Durde when Durde was the Cowboys’ D-line coach in 2022-23, and he lined up alongside DeMarcus Lawrence during that same stretch. The familiarity is real. His best season came in 2024 with Washington: 10.5 sacks, the second-best total of his career.
58.5
Career sacks for Fowler across 10 NFL seasons with five different teams.
Here’s the calculus. If Seattle signs Fowler, the draft math shifts. Instead of being forced into an edge rusher at 32, Schneider could go best player available, whether that’s Jadarian Price, a cornerback, or someone the mock draft industry hasn’t even considered. The timing is classic Schneider: explore every option before the clock starts, so you’re never desperate when it does.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Brock Huard flagged Elijah Arroyo as his top breakout candidate for 2026, noting the second-year tight end flashed at 6-5, 254 before hitting IR. “He’s got too much skill,” Huard said. If Arroyo’s healthy, the receiving corps just got deeper without spending a pick. Seattle Sports
Field Gulls’ Doug Farrar identified San Diego State CB Chris Johnson as his top scheme fit at 32, noting Johnson allowed an opponent passer rating of 16.1 last season. That’s not a typo. The Seahawks run zone 77.5% of the time, and Johnson graded as the best zone corner in the class. He didn’t visit the VMAC, but maybe that was the smokescreen. Field Gulls
The Seahawks’ cornerback draft preview confirmed they have just five corners on the roster. Witherspoon, Jobe, Pritchett, Jean-Charles, Igbinoghene. That’s it. Schneider will want to add to that number before camp, and the draft is the cheapest way to do it. Seahawks.com
Stacy Rost noted that Schneider traded out of pick 32 the only other time he held it, in 2014, sending it to Minnesota (Teddy Bridgewater) for second- and fourth-round picks. He’s also never drafted fewer than eight players outside of the pandemic-weird 2021 class. History says he deals. Seattle Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams officially unveiled their uniform refresh on Thursday, ditching the gradient numbers and chest patches that defined six years of aesthetic misery. Their CMO called it “a modern refinement.” Translation: we spent $6 billion on SoFi Stadium and couldn’t even get the jerseys right until take two. Meanwhile, their draft capital is four picks in the final two rounds, which Turf Show Times notes will be used primarily on special teams players. The Seahawks have four picks too, but theirs start at 32.
NINERS
The 49ers are looking to draft a tackle to eventually replace Trent Williams, who turns 38 in July. Their offseason strategy: pay $60.4 million for a 32-year-old wideout who played eight games, bring back a linebacker who’s appeared in 10 games since tearing his Achilles in the Super Bowl, and hope Nick Bosa’s ACL cooperates. An anonymous NFL exec told The Athletic they “sign hurt players.” Harsh. Also accurate.
CARDINALS
GM Monti Ossenfort held his pre-draft presser and delivered the realest line of the offseason: “We have the Super Bowl champs, the team that was playing to go to the Super Bowl and a team in the final eight. It’s a meat grinder of a division.” His team went 3-14. The No. 3 pick decision reportedly comes down to owner Michael Bidwill. Their QBs are Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. Ossenfort said his job status wouldn’t affect his mindset, which is exactly what someone whose job status is affecting his mindset would say.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Michael Dickson made history in 2018 when the Seahawks traded up in the fifth round to draft him out of Texas. He became the first rookie punter to earn a Pro Bowl selection since 1985 and was also named first-team All-Pro. Dickson won the prestigious Ray Guy Award in college and later pulled off the legendary ‘Aussie Sweep’ — a fake punt run for a first down from his own end zone against the Lions. In 2025, he signed a four-year extension to become the highest-paid punter in NFL history. What award did Dickson win at the Texas Bowl in his final college season that demonstrated his all-around athleticism?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Michael Dickson was named Texas Bowl MVP in 2017, an extraordinary achievement for a punter. He pinned Missouri repeatedly deep in their own territory, and his performance was so dominant that the bowl game gave its top individual honor to a specialist. The Seahawks drafted him four months later.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Draft predictions, cap math, existential dread about the edge rusher room — whatever’s on your mind, send it in. The best questions get answered in a future issue, and I promise to be only slightly condescending.
Five days to Pittsburgh. Two days to the VMAC. Schneider wants killers, not fans. Sounds about right. Go Hawks. — The Rooster