The NFL Draft is over for another year, and the Seattle Seahawks have their class of eight players. They started the draft with only four picks before doubling up through three separate trades. With the Seahawks keeping so many of their free agents, their 90-man roster nearly filled out before the undrafted free agent period.
Of course, the tale of every draft is what it means and doesn’t mean for players already on the roster. Let’s take a look at Winners and Losers from the Seahawks’ 2026 draft.
Olu Oluwatimi stays, Jalen Sundell is in pole position
ESPN’s Brady Henderson speculated that Olu Oluwatimi could’ve been a trade option for the Seahawks in order to gain draft picks. Thankfully, he stayed put and Seattle doubled its draft capital. This doesn’t rule out the possibility of Oluwatimi being dealt if Seattle wants to make a trade during preseason/roster cuts, but the Seahawks are committed to the continuity of last season’s offensive line.
Incidentally, Jalen Sundell is all but certain to remain the starting center after Seattle opted to draft a guard instead of anyone who could play center.
The Seahawks gave Drake Thomas an extension to remain their starting linebacker alongside Ernest Jones IV. Tyrice Knight went from bench player to starter to back on the bench at the end of his second season. Seattle did not add to the linebacker group in the draft and so far have only added one through the UDFA period.
Seattle’s ILB depth is not great but it’s also not dire; Knight has had flashes of good play and he contributes as a heavy hitter on special teams. One name to watch heading into camp is Chris Paul Jr, who was stashed on the practice squad all season.
Jared Ivey, Connor O’Toole will get their chance to compete
Not that this was a strong EDGE class to begin with, but the Seahawks didn’t bother touching this position. There’s a good chance Dante Fowler turns his visit into a signing, but that might be as much as they do unless a greater, splashier opportunity arises. Even though Jared Ivey and Connor O’Toole scarcely played on defense as undrafted rookies, there’s clearly a reason the Seahawks never attempted to expose them to waivers throughout the season.
Boye Mafe’s exit will create an opportunity for Ivey and O’Toole to push to make the rotation.
Some picks just don’t work out. Haynes not beating out Anthony Bradford for starting right guard as a rookie was not a failure, but he couldn’t even get ahead of Sataoa Laumea, who found himself mostly out of the league last year before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was at Seahawks training camp when Haynes was working on center snaps and getting no reps for actual scrimmaging due to a “minor” pec issue. They drafted Bryce Cabeldue last year and now they’ve got Beau Stephens this year, so the writing appears to be on the wall in permanent marker.
Haynes’ time in Seattle is coming to an end one way or another.
Noah Igbinoghene and Nehemiah Pritchett are put on notice
The Seahawks only had five cornerbacks entering the draft. They came away with three more, although it’s more likely Michael Dansby is seen as a special teams option than anything else.
Julian Neal and Andre Fuller are two taller, bigger, physical corners who wouldn’t be out of place on a Pete Carroll defense, never mind what Mike Macdonald covets. With Riq Woolen gone, there’s 800+ snaps that need to be replaced at cornerback, and Neal at the very least will be in the running for significant playing time.
Free agent signing Noah Igbinoghene has only had a regular role on defense once in his six-year career, and it was borne out of injury to Emmanuel Forbes back in 2024. Nehemiah Pritchett has scarcely played, and even when Devon Witherspoon missed time and Riq Woolen was sort of in the dog house, the Seahawks trotted out Derion Kendrick.
The two Auburn corners will be battling for a roster spot with Neal on the squad. I also think Andre Fuller has the strongest chance of any of Seattle’s seventh-rounders to make the 53.
Don’t believe the “bottom of the depth chart” running back hype
The Seahawks played it coyly regarding the running back room. John Schneider has spent the whole offseason hyping up George Holani and citing his NFC Championship Game performance, which has led to the thought that a player whose number of non-garbage time carries is still in the single digits over two seasons could suddenly become a starter.
Taking Jadarian Price at No. 32 pretty much ends that little fantasy that really didn’t have much justification to begin with. But Holani himself isn’t in the losers column because I think he’ll likely make the team anyway. The ones on notice the most are Kenny McIntosh and Jacardia Wright, both of whom have flashed in preseason but have had respective injury issues. McIntosh has had two major injuries in two of his three seasons, while Wright literally didn’t make the active roster and his only NFL touches came in garbage time against the New Orleans Saints.