Seattle, WA
With Seattle Seahawks' draft pick at 16, expect the unexpected
We’re less than two weeks away from the 2024 NFL Draft, where the Seattle Seahawks will be on the board at pick No. 16, their third-highest pick since 2012. Ahead of general manager/president of football operations John Schneider’s first selection, one former player and current NFL analyst had an especially intriguing word of caution.
What Seahawks GM Schneider said about QB draft visits
“The more we talk to Schneider, the more you realize that I would say prepare to be surprised,” said Dave Wyman, who co-hosts Seattle Sports’ John Schneider Show during Wyman and Bob every Thursday, when he joined us Monday on Bump and Stacy. “I mean, he could take (Michael) Penix. Honestly, I feel like that could happen.”
Wyman, a former NFL linebacker who is now a Seahawks Radio Network analyst, isn’t saying Schneider will take UW Huskies quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. … but he is saying he might. Or that he could see a cornerback or a safety or an outside backer or a tight end go to Seattle at No. 16.
The reason is two-fold. Firstly, there’s a depth issue in this class when it comes to Seattle’s most glaring roster needs. The Seahawks badly need impact players on the interior of the offensive line and at inside linebacker. Neither position group has been mocked early in mock drafts. Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper and NC State’s Payton Wilson, the two top-rated interior linebackers in the draft, are projected to be second-round picks with the potential to be picked up as late first-rounders. Sixteen would be a reach. Likewise, Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson has been mocked similarly, though at least one recent mock has him going at 16 to Seattle.
Instead, this class is an excellent one for tackles, wide receivers, and boasts one of the best tight ends in the nation. The problem is Seattle has two young starting tackles, just drafted a first-round receiver last year, and may not be willing to risk a missed pick on a tight end early considering the lack of success with first-round picks at that position over the last decade. According to The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia, the nine first-round tight ends drafted since 2014 have combined for zero All-Pro nominations and just one 1,000-yard season (there’s reason to think Georgia’s Brock Bowers could break that trend; see my co-host Michael Bumpus’ reasoning here).
Former Seahawks RB Turbin on why Seattle should draft a QB
The second reason is equally as important and it’s one we were used to hearing more recently: Schneider and Seattle have learned their lesson drafting for need.
“In general, we just do a much better job when we just pick the best player,” Schneider told Wyman and Bob a year ago.
The Seahawks entered the 2023 draft with a hole on the defensive line and left with … a cornerback. It was a move that surprised many. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter had been widely mocked to Seattle and filled an immediate need; meanwhile, the team had just seen a Pro Bowl season from corner Riq Woolen in 2022 plus a solid campaign from Mike Jackson.
But the results have done little to discourage Seattle’s approach. Witherspoon was one of Seattle’s best defensive players in 2023 and finished as a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
So, what do they need? They need to address the trenches. Perhaps they do it by selecting a lineman like UW’s Troy Fautanu and swapping him inside to guard.
Or they could shock everyone again. Schneider was in attendance at Penix’s pro day while offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb paid a visit to Oregon to watch QB Bo Nix. They recently hosted cornerback Cooper DeJean. They could get a Day 1 starter with Bowers if he manages to slip by the Jets at No. 10.
Whatever they do, Wyman’s warning feels fitting for a front office that has so often zigged when others have zagged: expect the unexpected.
More Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft coverage
• Huard reacts to Seahawks GM’s comments on drafting QB
• Wyman highlights UW Huskies LB as Seahawks draft target
• Brock’s Seahawks Draft Profile: A complete safety
• Who is new Seahawks OL Laken Tomlinson? Huard weighs in
• What style of lineman fits new Seattle Seahawks OC Grubb’s scheme?
Seattle – March has been off to a very wet start. We have already surpassed the normal monthly rainfall total by an inch with more on the way next week. The atmospheric river event we were tracking wrapped up yesterday and our area rivers have crested and continue to recede. The rain also triggered a landslide on I-5 near Bellingham. Fortunately, the risk of additional landslides is also decreasing.
It’s been a wet start to the month with more than 5″ of rain already recorded so far.
We’ve enjoyed a pleasant, dry first weekend of Spring. Much of Sunday is also expected to be dry. A weak system is forecast to brush by which may bring a few sprinkles with it to a few spots. A few stray flurries are also possible in the mountains.
The much-needed break in rain will continue. Only a stray shower is possible on Sunday.
The cold front which swept through yesterday, ending the days-long rain, also brought some cooler air with it. Afternoon highs will remain slightly below normal on Sunday.
Highs near normal on Sunday with some afternoon sunbreaks.
While Sunday and Monday remain mostly dry, a more significant weather system is expected to move into the region on Tuesday, bringing widespread rain to the lowlands and snow to the mountain passes along with breezy winds.
Increasing clouds Monday with rain returning by Tuesday. Snow in the mountains.
PEORIA, Ariz. – Seattle Mariners camp has been a flurry of activity since the return of the last group of players from the World Baseball Classic. There have been innings and at-bats to be found, schedules and lineups scrambled, whatever it takes to get in the work they need for what in just a few short days will be the 26-man roster.
Mariners re-assign Colt Emerson to minor league camp
Somewhere amongst that flurry of activity, a long-awaited conversation was had, according to Randy Arozarena.
About about two hours before the Mariners’ Cactus League game against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night, Arozarena put out a statement via the team that addressed the WBC incident between him and teammate Cal Raleigh.
“I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction,” Arozarena said. “Cal and I have talked and I apologized for what I said after the game. Nothing in the WBC takes away from the fact that we are brothers and teammates. He’s family, and we are both focused on helping the Mariners win the World Series.”
The statement echoes much of the sentiment of Raleigh’s comments to members of the Seattle media the morning after he refused Arozarena’s handshake in the March 9 WBC game between the United States and Mexico, which prompted postgame comments from Arozarena that spurred unwanted attention on the Mariners.
“I love Randy,” Raleigh said back on March 10. “I have all the respect for him and Team Mexico. I already reached out to him personally to talk with him. And obviously, when we’re back in Seattle, we’re family, we’re brothers, and I’ll do anything for him. I’ll do anything for our team to win.”
Neither player would want anything within their control to put achieving the Mariners’ lofty goals they have set this season in jeopardy. It is likely those words alone from Arozarena would have helped close the door on the incident. The fact he said he apologized to Raleigh for his comments at the WBC in Houston hopefully helps lock that door and put the focus back on what happens on the field, as has been the case with the players in Peoria all along.
An unpleasant sidenote to the WBC should not be a season-changing episode for a team that has put itself in the position the Mariners have.
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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.”
Redhawks No Stranger to Big Names
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
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