TOP STORIES
Draft Day
The Clock Starts Tonight in Pittsburgh. Four Picks. Infinite Possibilities.
The 2026 NFL Draft begins tonight at 5 PM PT from Pittsburgh, and the defending Super Bowl champions will be the last team on the clock in Round 1. Pick 32. The final name called on a Thursday night that will feel approximately nine hours long when you’re waiting for the Seahawks to do literally anything.
4
Total draft picks for Seattle entering tonight. League-low. Schneider has never drafted fewer than 8 outside the oddball 2021 class.
Here’s what we know. John Schneider has four picks: 32, 64, 96, and 188. That’s the fewest in the league. He told reporters Monday that the 32nd pick is one everybody wants, and that Seattle is looking to trade back. He also said he’s open to dealing with divisional rivals, which means the Arizona Cardinals and their quarterback needs are very much in play. Dane Brugler floated exactly that scenario, with the Cardinals jumping from 34 to 32 for Ty Simpson and handing Seattle a fifth-round pick.
The consensus at 32 is… not a consensus. Field Gulls’ Mookie Alexander sampled 10 national mocks and found edge rusher, cornerback, running back, offensive guard, and defensive tackle all projected to Seattle. ESPN’s Matt Miller has UCF edge Malachi Lawrence. Brady Henderson likes San Diego State CB Chris Johnson. Jordan Reid mocked Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis. Mel Kiper flipped to Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price. Michael-Shawn Dugar went with Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald. Nobody agrees. Which probably means Schneider is about to do something none of them predicted.
Rob Rang’s final Seahawks.com mock has Seattle trading out of Round 1 entirely, sliding to 34 for Price, then trading a future compensatory pick to Miami for an extra third-rounder and grabbing Duke CB Chandler Rivers. Two trades, five picks instead of four. That’s the math Schneider is doing right now in Renton.
The board is locked. The phones are charged. Tonight we find out if the reigning champs can reload with a league-low arsenal.
SOURCES →
Draft Intel
Cashius Howell Left the VMAC Begging to Be a Seahawk
Keep Reading ↓
Howell said the coaching staff showed him exactly how they’d use him, ran some install film, and walked him through the defensive philosophy. Then he said the quiet part loud: “It makes sense as to why they win Super Bowls.” He finished with a line that’s going to stick with Seahawks fans regardless of what happens tonight: “Honestly wishing I could be a Seattle Seahawk. So that would definitely be a blessing.”
11.5
Sacks for Howell in his final season at Texas A&M, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Seaside Joe compared the energy to Devon Witherspoon’s pre-draft visit in 2023, when Spoon walked through the VMAC, saw the Legion of Boom photos, and basically started mentally fitting himself for the jersey. Howell had 11.5 sacks last season, earned Unanimous All-American honors, and posted a 19.8% pass-rush win rate. His RAS score of 8.11 clears the team’s edge average. If Schneider trades back and Howell slides, this story gets very interesting very fast.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Seattle Sports’ full draft night coverage starts at 5 PM with an extended Bump & Stacy, then the Schneider Show, then the all-night Draft Show with Bumpus, Huard, and Wyman. Clear your evening. Tell your family you’ll be unavailable. Seattle Sports
ESPN’s Brady Henderson confirmed Seattle’s top three needs as RB, edge, and CB, in that order. He also named Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr. as a Day 2 fit who had 51 rushes of 10-plus yards in 2025. The Kenneth Walker replacement search has a backup plan. ESPN
Guard Shane Lemieux announced his retirement via LinkedIn on Wednesday. He spent 2025 on Seattle’s practice squad or PS-IR. The roster drops to 74. Four picks incoming. Field Gulls
Rob Staton’s final full mock has the 49ers trading with Arizona at 27 for Ty Simpson, which would mean the Cardinals don’t need to jump to 32. That scenario kills the Seattle-Arizona swap. Staton sends Cashius Howell to Houston at 28. Seattle’s options narrow. Seahawks Draft Blog
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams pick 13th tonight with a roster that screams win-now and a quarterback who turns 39 in February. Mel Kiper mocked them a receiver at 13, writing that “the receiver depth falls off dramatically” after Nacua and Adams. Davante Adams is in the last year of his deal, Nacua’s extension is still unsigned, and Rob Havenstein retired. So naturally the mock draft consensus for LA is… a wide receiver. Nothing says ‘dynasty’ like drafting your third-best wideout while your franchise left tackle position is an open audition.
NINERS
San Francisco picks 27th tonight, has six total selections, and zero picks in Rounds 3 or 5. Their biggest need is edge rusher after Nick Bosa’s ACL and Mykel Williams’ injury turned the 2025 pass rush into a ghost story. Multiple analysts are mocking edge Keldric Faulk to the 49ers at 27. Faulk is the same player some Seahawks mocks had going to Seattle at 32. If San Francisco takes him five picks earlier, thank them for the favor. One less tough decision for Schneider.
CARDINALS
Arizona holds the No. 3 pick tonight, and SI on Seahawks reports only two real roads remain: take Jeremiyah Love or trade down. The Cardinals reportedly “want” Texas Tech edge David Bailey, per Tony Pauline, but if he goes No. 2 to the Jets, Ossenfort will scramble. They went 3-14 last season, fired Jonathan Gannon, and their QBs are Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. The franchise-altering pick of the night might just be a running back. In the top five. Because that’s how Arizona does things.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
In 1976, the Seattle Seahawks acquired a wide receiver from the Houston Oilers in a preseason trade that would go down as one of the greatest steals in NFL history. The receiver went on to spend all 14 of his NFL seasons in Seattle, retiring with then-league records of 819 receptions, 13,089 receiving yards, and 100 touchdown catches. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995 in his first year of eligibility. What did the Seahawks give up to acquire Steve Largent from Houston?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
An eighth-round pick in the 1977 NFL Draft. The Oilers thought Largent was too small and too slow after four preseason games. Seattle’s assistant coach Jerry Rhome, who had coached Largent at Tulsa, convinced head coach Jack Patera to make the trade. Largent became a seven-time Pro Bowler, set six NFL records, and was the first Seahawk inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 1977 eighth-round pick Houston received has been lost to history. Largent has not.
Got a Draft Night Hot Take?
Send your bold predictions, panicked trade scenarios, and ‘I told you so’ receipts to the mailbag. We’ll run the best ones after the dust settles in Pittsburgh. Hit reply or tag us — The Rooster reads everything.
The clock starts at 5. The board is locked. Schneider's got two phones and four picks and the whole league knows he's open for business. This is the best night of the offseason and it isn't close. Go Hawks. — The Rooster