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Schneider’s UDFA Machine Fires Up With Two Edge Rushers and a Familiar Playbook
The draft produced eight picks, zero edge rushers, and one very loud question mark. So John Schneider did what John Schneider always does: he went shopping after the store closed.
Among the reported UDFA signings trickling in overnight: Devean Deal, a 6-4, 250-pound edge/linebacker from TCU who started every game in 2025 with 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, per the Seattle Times. Aidan Hubbard, a Northwestern edge rusher with 20.5 career sacks, per SI. And Marvin Jones Jr., an Oklahoma defensive end whose father won the 1992 Butkus Award, per NFL.com. Three edge bodies before most fans had finished their Sunday coffee.
None of them are Boye Mafe. Nobody is pretending they are. But this is the Schneider playbook: Jared Ivey, Connor O’Toole, and Nick Kallerup all came through this exact pipeline last year and made the 53. Macdonald name-dropped Ivey, O’Toole, and Jamie Sheriff in his post-draft presser as players he trusts. The Seahawks never once exposed Ivey or O’Toole to waivers during the championship season.
The math is tight. Seattle ended the draft with 83 players on its roster, leaving room for roughly eight UDFAs before hitting the 91-man limit. Schneider also signed a DT (Uso Seumalo), a tight end (Lance Mason), and receivers. The full UDFA class is still being assembled, with rookie minicamp set for this weekend.
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Players on Seattle’s roster after the draft, leaving room for roughly 8 UDFAs before the 91-man limit.
And then there’s the Fowler-shaped elephant in the room. More on that below.
SOURCES →
Edge Watch
Dante Fowler Expected to Sign After the Comp Pick Deadline
Keep Reading ↓
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Projected compensatory picks for 2027 if Seattle waits past the deadline to sign Fowler.
Fowler visited the VMAC on April 16. He spent two seasons alongside defensive coordinator Aden Durde in Dallas. His pressure rate last season was 13 percent, per the Spokesman-Review, which put him in the same range as Lawrence, Nwosu, and Mafe. He’s one year removed from a 10.5-sack campaign in Washington.
The Seahawks didn’t draft an edge rusher for the third consecutive year. They didn’t add one in free agency. Macdonald is publicly backing his young guys. But Fowler on a cheap one-year deal as a rotational piece? That’s the move Schneider has been building toward all month. Expect it soon.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
NFL.com’s post-draft power rankings have the Seahawks at No. 1, with Eric Edholm writing that Seattle’s forces are returning and “the 12s remain” on top. We remain insufferable. This is correct. NFL.com
CBS Sports called the Seahawks’ draft class “textbook drafting,” noting that Price, Clark, and Neal addressed Seattle’s three biggest deficiencies in order. Meanwhile, national media graded the class lower than a Kirkland condo’s Zillow estimate. Textbook and underwhelming are not mutually exclusive. CBS Sports
Schneider told reporters after the draft that “unfortunately, people don’t want to trade with us until the sixth and seventh round.” Hard to negotiate trade-backs when you’re the last pick in every round. The championship tax is real. Spokesman-Review
Field Gulls’ winners and losers: Jalen Sundell is “all but certain” to remain the starting center after Seattle drafted a guard instead of a center. Christian Haynes, meanwhile, has the writing on the wall in permanent marker. Three guards drafted in three years will do that. Field Gulls
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
McVay admitted on Day 2 that his post-draft grumpiness made the rounds, telling reporters, “sometimes I can be a little grumpy.” His explanation for looking mad after drafting Ty Simpson at 13? “There were other things that had nothing to do with that.” Sure, Sean. The Rams’ complete draft class: a quarterback who won’t play this year, a tight end, a seventh-year tackle, a receiver they traded up for in the sixth round, and a DT. Five picks. Three offensive players in the first five rounds for a team chasing a Super Bowl. The whole division watched this and smiled. (Fox Sports)
NINERS
San Francisco couldn’t trade out of 33, took receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with their first actual pick, added a 239-pound edge rusher named Romello Height who CBS says “won’t be on the field for run downs,” and then spent a fourth-rounder on a Washington offensive lineman. The 49ers traded Dee Winters to Dallas for a fifth-rounder because when you have the worst pass rush in the NFL, the obvious move is to ship out a linebacker. They had the fewest sacks in the league last year. Height is their answer. He weighs less than some of their tight ends. (CBS Sports)
CARDINALS
Arizona used the No. 3 pick on Jeremiyah Love, the No. 34 pick on a guard, and then opened the third round by selecting Carson Beck. CBS gave Beck a D grade, calling him “a 24-year-old with limited tools” and asking if he can really “go toe-to-toe with Matt Stafford or Sam Darnold in that division.” Meanwhile, Jacoby Brissett still hasn’t shown up to the facility. Their nominal starting quarterback is staging a holdout. Their draft investment at QB is a guy whose UCL injury clouds his long-term future. The Cards went 3-14 last year. They’re speed-running a rebuild with no blueprints. (CBS Sports)
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Jim Zorn was the Seattle Seahawks’ original starting quarterback, signing as an undrafted free agent in 1976 and leading the franchise’s offense for the better part of a decade. He was inducted into the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor in 1991, the second player to receive that honor (after Steve Largent). Zorn’s scrambling ability and left-handed passing made him a fan favorite in the Kingdome, and he still ranks fourth in franchise history in passing yards. Over his nine seasons in Seattle, how many passing touchdowns did Zorn throw as a Seahawk?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Jim Zorn threw 107 passing touchdowns during his nine seasons in Seattle, finishing his Seahawks career with 20,122 passing yards and 100 games started. He remains fourth in franchise history in both passing yards and passing touchdowns.
THE GOLDEN EGG
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Every year, John Schneider and his scouting staff turn the hours after the draft into the most productive shopping spree in the NFL. And every year, those signings produce players who matter.
Doug Baldwin. Jermaine Kearse. Thomas Rawls. Poona Ford. Jake Bobo. And last year’s class gave us Jared Ivey, Nick Kallerup, and Connor O’Toole on the 53-man roster of a Super Bowl champion. The 2025 Seahawks had undrafted players starting at center (Jalen Sundell), cornerback (Josh Jobe), linebacker (Drake Thomas), and safety (Ty Okada).
This year’s UDFA class already includes two edge rushers, a 340-pound nose tackle, and a quarterback from Tulane. The margins are thinner than usual with only eight spots available. But the UDFA pipeline isn’t just a nice tradition in Seattle. It’s load-bearing infrastructure.
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Available UDFA Roster Spots
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UDFAs on 2025 Super Bowl Roster Who Started
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Years of Schneider UDFA Magic
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Rookie minicamp this weekend. Eight draft picks, a handful of UDFAs, and about fifty tryout guys chasing the same dream. The trophy case is full. The roster is not. Go Hawks. — The Rooster