Seattle, WA
Could the Seattle Seahawks wait until next year to draft QB?
For much of the offseason there’s been a buzz around the topic of quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, most notably whether the team will look to the 2024 NFL Draft to address the position.
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The Seahawks recently brought in South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler, who’s viewed as a late-round pick, for a pre-draft visit. But would the team really use a pick on a QB after trading draft capital for Sam Howell in the offseason? With a weaker crop of quarterbacks expected in 2025, Seattle will likely need to at least keep its options open during this year’s draft.
Seattle Sports’ co-hosts Michael Bumpus and Stacy Rost discussed that topic and looked ahead at next year’s QB class Wednesday on Bump and Stacy.
“It’s interesting, especially with the moves they’ve made,” said Bumpus, a former NFL wide receiver. “You brought Sam Howell over, but you have to check every box. Could you imagine if they didn’t bring in a quarterback (for a visit this year)? … What if we get to this position in the draft: we got a quarterback available, but we haven’t done our homework on them and can’t make an educated guess or decision on it.”
Seattle traded third- and fifth-round picks to the Washington Commanders for Howell and fourth- and sixth-round picks in March. The move seems to signal that the Seahawks are set at quarterback for the upcoming season with Geno Smith as the starter and Howell, who threw for nearly 4,000 yards with the Commanders last season, as the backup.
“You spent a third-round pick to get Sam Howell,” Bumpus said. “… I think that’s (Schneider) drafting a quarterback in his eyes, because I look at Sam Howell and I think he’s more than capable of being a quarterback in his league, we’ve already seen that. He put together a decent season last year.”
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper recently mentioned the top names at QB for 2025: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Georgia’s Carson Beck. Other names that came up were a trio of transfers: Miami’s Cam Ward (formerly WSU), Florida State’s DJ Uiagalelei (formerly Oregon State) and Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard (formerly Duke).
“Next year’s draft class (doesn’t) look too good,” Bumpus said. “It (doesn’t) look too hot. We’re gonna figure out how confident (the Seahawks) are in their quarterback position fairly quickly.”
Rost believes that means the Seahawks will go after a quarterback at some point during the 2024 draft.
“John Schneider has wanted to take a quarterback since having Russell Wilson and lamented only ever taking Alex McGough,” Rost said. “You know that John Schneider wants to take a quarterback. … There is no world in which John Schneider doesn’t draft one this year.”
Bumpus said the more likely route for Seattle would be to stick with Smith and Howell this season and find a way to add a veteran next offseason.
“You do have Sam Howell who could be, I guess, some type of trade bait. I don’t know what you’re gonna get out of him,” Bumpus said. “You can use some draft picks to go and get you a veteran quarterback. Because the way this team I think is gonna be built is they’re gonna be ready to win right now. So, with your quarterback situation this year, if you do draft the quarterback, it’s not gonna be a highly touted quarterback. … And then you go into next year, you look at that draft class, you might just go out and get a veteran. … I don’t think they’re going to get a quarterback this draft. If they don’t get a quarterback and it doesn’t work out with Geno (or) with Sam Howell, they’re going to look at bringing in a veteran next year.”
Listen to the conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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Looking to extend the country’s longest non-conference home win streak to 66, Auburn (18-16) hosts Seattle U (21-13) Sunday at 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and the Auburn Sports Network (106.7 FM), where Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will describe the action for listeners.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW:
- Auburn’s win over South Alabama extended the Tigers’ nation-best non-conference home winning streak to 65 straight games. It’s a streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season.
- The Tigers made a season high 16 3-pointers against South Alabama and tied a school record with 44 3-point attempts.
- Kevin Overton made seven 3-pointers (all in the second half) against South Alabama and now has 80 triples this season. He is four 3-pointers away from cracking the top 10 for single-season 3-pointers at Auburn.
- With 636 points this season, Keyshawn Hall is ninth on Auburn’s single-season scoring list. Hall notched his 18th game of scoring 20 or more points against South Alabama with 21 points against the Jags.
- Led by Will Heimbrodt’s 86 blocks this season, Seattle U ranks 12th nationally in blocks per game (4.9) and is also top 25 in scoring defense (66.6 – 23rd) and turnovers forced (14.94 – 21st). Heimbrodt is the WCC Defensive Player of the Year.
There’s nothing mid-major about Seattle U’s defense.
Auburn’s second-round NIT opponent, the Redhawks, rank No. 23 in the country in scoring defense, allowing fewer than 67 points per game.
“One of the better defensive teams we’ll have gone against all year,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Incredibly active, they really fly around and make what you do really difficult.”
After defeating South Alabama 78-67 on Tuesday in the opening round of the NIT, Auburn hosts Seattle U on Sunday. The Redhawks advanced to round two by defeating St. Thomas (MN) 67-52.
“Our guys are going to have to show up and be excited about playing because if we don’t, this is a team that is capable, defensively, of making you look bad,” Pearl said.
Seattle U ranks No. 12 nationally in forcing turnovers, causing nearly 15 per game while blocking almost five shots per game (No. 21) and holding teams to 41.5-percent shooting (No. 42).
“They play hard, and that makes your defense so much better when you give multiple efforts like that at all five positions,” Pearl said.
Against the Jaguars’ zone defense in round one, Auburn hit a season-high 16 3-pointers, with Kevin Overton swishing seven.
“He knows that every time he shoots the ball, we think it’s going in,” Pearl said. “We can’t change what we do a ton because what we do has been effective, offensively, but we also have to understand that this is a really good defensive team, and we have to be disciplined in a lot of things we’re doing.”
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Like Auburn, which earned high-profile victories this season over Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, and St. John’s, Seattle U also has brag-worthy wins at Stanford and at home against Washington, Washington State, and Oregon State.
Representing the West Coast Conference, Seattle U would like nothing better than to end the season for a Southeastern Conference opponent on Auburn’s home court.
“I know this is going to be an important one for them,” Pearl said. “It’s an important one for us as well. Our guys, once we show them the film, they’re going to realize pretty quickly how real and how legit these guys are.”
“This game is an important one for both groups,” Pearl said. “We’re going to have to play well to beat them. It’s another great opportunity to compete against a really good team from a great conference.”
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Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer
The Seattle Mariners re-assigned outfielder Brennan Davis, right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning and left-handed pitcher Jhonathan Díaz to minor league camp on Friday.
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Seattle’s spring training roster is now at 38 players, with 33 from the 40-man roster, four non-roster invitees and one player on the 60-day injured list.
Davis, 26, had been one of the Mariners’ surprise standouts during camp after arriving on a minor league contract. The former top prospect went 12 for 34 over 15 games while producing a .353/.450/.824 slash line with a 1.274 OPS, four homers, four doubles, six RBIs and five walks to 11 strikeouts.
Dunning, 31, was also in camp on a minor league deal. He allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four over 6 1/3 innings in three appearances. The right-hander also pitched for South Korea during the World Baseball Classic, surrendering two runs over three innings in three apperances.
Díaz, 29, was a non-roster invitee to spring training. He pitched three scoreless innings, struck out two and didn’t allow any hits or walks in two spring outings. The left-hander was on World Baseball Classic champion Venezuela’s roster but did not appear in a game. Díaz made one appearance for the M’s last season, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
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Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena are officially Seattle Mariners teammates again, and if you need proof, just look at the box score.
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The two players who were at the center of a controversy last week during the World Baseball Classic both drove in runs as the Mariners put up a six-spot on the Athletics on Thursday night in Cactus League play.
Arozarena came off the bench with runners on second and third with one out in the top of the seventh inning, and he reached on an infield single that gave Seattle its first run of the game, cutting the A’s lead to 3-1.
And Arozarena, who hit his first homer of the spring on Wednesday, wasn’t done. He then stole second, which allowed him to score the second of two runs on a Ryan Bliss single that tied the game.
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A few batters later, after a Brock Rodden single and Luke Raley hit by pitch loaded the bases, it was Big Dumper’s turn, and he delivered with a bases-clearing double off the tall wall in center field at the Athletics’ spring home, Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.
That capped the inning and the scoring for Seattle in a 6-4 victory.
Perhaps it’s a sign that the handshake that never happened when Arozarena stepped to the plate for Mexico with Raleigh catching for the USA is behind the two Mariners All-Stars. As they say, winning cures everything.
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