Seahawks 2022 NFL mock draft: The run shall be established edition

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The 2022 NFL draft begins Thursday evening in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Seattle Seahawks head into this year’s draft with major needs at several critical positions. In the wake of the trade sending former franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos, this team will most-likely be looking to establish a different identity offensively, one more in line with coach Pete Carroll’s ideas about how football games can and should be won.

Seattle should at least take a chance on one of the top QB prospects in this class. However, no matter who winds up starting Week 1 – be it Geno Smith, Drew Lock or somebody else, we’re willing to bet Shane Waldron’s offense will be more run-heavy.

With that in mind, we went into our final seven-round mock draft of the year with a clear goal of reaching that ultimate pinnacle of competing in modern professional football by firmly establishing the run.

Trade down: Pick No. 9 to Jets for No. 10 and No. 69

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To begin we hoped to trade down with either the Saints or the Eagles, who both hold two picks in the teens. Neither one went for our offers, though. So we had to settle for the one decent offer we got, which came from the Jets.

Confident the guy most-capable of helping us prove to our opponents that we can run the ball would still be there at No. 10, we we moved down one spot. In exchange, we picked up the No. 69 overall selection in the draft – giving the Seahawks a new total of nine picks.

Pick No. 10 overall: NC State OT Ikem "Ickey" Ekwonu

Ikem Ekwonu
Ikem Ekwonu

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The latest reporting suggests that Georgia DT Jordan Davis may be Seattle’s top target in Round 1. However, a strong run game begins with a great run-blocking offensive tackle. For the sake of this exercise, we’ll pretend this organization (sort-of) understands that.

If not, they should at least know they can’t afford to re-sign 36-year old veteran Duane Brown at what they paid him last year and still sign their 2022 draft class without making some painful cuts – and we’ve had about enough of those for one offseason. Given the depth of this OT class, left tackle absolutely has to be on the menu.

Picking Ickey at No. 9 or No. 10 would actually be a good idea, even if they’d be doing it for the wrong reasons. Ekwonu is a sensational run blocker who relishes in demolishing smaller defenders. One look at his highlight reel and you can see how he’d help keep Rashaad Penny’s hot streak going into another season. He’s still raw in pass protection but that frankly makes him even more of a fit for this franchise.

If they stay true to their brand the actual pick will probably be Davis, but we’d be happy with Ekwonu or any of the other top prospects at premium positions (nose tackle is not one of them) for the modern game.

Pick No. 40 overall: Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder

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We first mocked Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder to the Seahawks back in February, even before the Russell Wilson trade. In the two months since, Ridder has become the consensus favorite mock pick for Seattle. He’s also the only quarterback prospect in this class the team invited for an official top-30 visit and he’s the one name that keeps coming up over and over when the team’s beat reporters offer their picks.

Some of Ridder’s fellow QB prospects are easy to find a pro comparison for. Ridder’s game is not as easy to pin down. We came up with peak-Colin Kaepernick as a realistic ceiling for Ridder’s career. While their instincts and abilities are different, Ridder has some of the same zip on his throws and the long strides that make him a potent dual-threat QB. Worst-case, Ridder may look more like Marcus Mariota if his ability to read the field well at the college level doesn’t transfer over well to the NFL – as is the case for many young quarterbacks.

Since our best and worst-case QB comp list, Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire came up with an even better high-end comp for Ridder than Kaepernick in one Ryan Tannehill. Fans may remember that general manager John Schneider was famously high on Tannehill heading into the 2012 NFL draft. Fortunately, the Dolphins took Tannehill early (No. 8 overall), which led to Russell Wilson landing in Seattle’s lap in Round 3.

Tannehill floundered for a few years in Miami as an average-at-best starter and he didn’t really break out and reach his potential until he was traded to the Titans. In the three seasons since, Tannehill has established himself as a borderline top-10 quarterback and has helped make Tennessee a serious contender in the AFC playoffs every year.

Ridder’s game does have similarities to Tannehill’s and those attributes would work well with what the Seahawks want to do offensively – namely run the living **** out of the ball and take occasional shots off play action the way they did in Wilson’s early years. Ridder also excels in that one all-elusive area of the team’s previous QB1’s game: targeting the middle and intermediate areas of the field. Those are critical spots for the Shanahan/McVay inspired schemes. If Ridder adjusts well to the speed of NFL defenders quick he could be a respectable starter relatively soon.

At this point it’s all conjecture, though. The truth is nobody really knows how most QB prospects are going to fare at the next level. There are occasionally slam dunk No. 1 overall picks like Cam Newton, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, but for the most part it’s extremely difficult to predict which ones are going to develop into viable long-term starters and which ones will burn out. Landing a star on Wilson’s level as late as they did in 2012 was practically a cosmic fluke, especially considering how the rest of this team’s draft classes have gone in every year since. Expecting that same kind of success right away after trading Wilson is like hoping for lightning to strike twice in the same spot.

In any case, it seems like the Seahawks really are interested in Ridder. Either it’s all an elaborate smokescreen or they desperately want him and it’s the most poorly-kept secret going into the draft. If it’s true he’s their guy, hopefully he does turn into something like Ryan Tannehill. That said, nobody should be shocked if his ceiling proves to be a bit lower.

Pick No. 41 overall: Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III

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Now that we’ve settled on our left tackle and (hopefully) franchise quarterback of the future, we can get down to the true heart of the business of the NFL draft: stockpiling as much talent as possible at running back.

We begin by selecting the consensus No. 2 overall back in this class behind Iowa State’s Breece Hall, who was sadly taken just before we came on the clock at No. 40. Walker (5-foot-10, 210 pounds) has the classic Seattle running back build and is coming off a stunning 2021 season at Michigan State after transferring from Wake Forest. He totaled 1,636 yards on 263 attempts (6.2 YPC), scored 18 touchdowns as a rusher and added another 89 yards and a score as a receiver.

Pick No. 69: Georgia LB Quay Walker

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While the primary mission is of course to put together the greatest running back room in the history of professional football, there’s no reason we can’t take a detour to add depth at inside linebacker – also a critical position for competing in 1984.

Walker (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) has an awesome frame and athleticism for his position. Last season, he posted 65 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss. While he’s not on Micah Parson’s level, Walker also shines as a pass rusher. That should be an enticing attribute for a defense that desperately needs to produce more pressure from more than just their front line.

Pick No. 72: Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller

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Now back to the business at hand: running the frickin’ ball down the opponent’s frickin’ throat. Doesn’t that just get you fired up? I hope you’re ready to play some real championship football!

Like Walker, Spiller (6-foot-0, 217 pounds) also has the same size and frame that coach Carroll prefers in his pro running backs. He also runs with power and purpose like he’s supposed to. Over the last three seasons with the Aggies he racked up just under 3,000 rushing yards on 541 attempts (5.2 YPC) and scored 25 touchdowns.

Trade down: Picks 109, 229 to Bears for 135, 148, 186

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

We had been hoping to trade down the last couple of rounds but no offer came along that we liked enough to bite on. Finally when we were on the clock at No. 109 the Bears called with an offer we liked. We agreed to send our fourth-round and seventh-round picks for a trio of Chicago’s selections: Nos. 135, 148 and 186. That makes 10 selections total.

Pick No. 135: Florida RB Dameon Pierce

[Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner]

Now armed with extra picks, we were finally set up to at last, truly, without question, convincingly establish the run by taking the most frickin’ Seahawky running back prospect in the entire frickin‘ 2022 NFL draft class.

Pierce is another big-bodied bruiser (5-foot-10, 218 pounds) who Seattle has met with during the pre-draft process. They also have demonstrated a real affinity for Florida prospects regardless of position.

Drafting Pierce completes the puzzle by covering the running back room from every angle. Even if Rashaad Penny regresses or gets hurt again, they have Walker waiting to pick up the rock. If Chris Carson’s neck injury prevents him from playing, Spiller can step up. Finally, if they decide not to re-sign Alex Collins, Pierce is ready to take his spot.

Man, this is gonna be one heck of a frickin‘ competition.

Pick No. 145: LSU G Chasen Hines

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It might seem on paper like the Seahawks are all set at guard. However, Damien Lewis has struggled in pass protection since switching over from right guard after the Gabe Jackson signing. This offseason Seattle has been sniffing around several guard prospects, and aside from Phil Haynes they don’t have any other proven quality backups.

Picking Hines (6-foot-3, 348 pounds) here will allow the Seahawks to replace Jackson at right guard with a player on a rookie contract in the inevitable event that they cut him for salary cap savings.

Pick No. 148: Ohio State EDGE Tyreke Smith

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Waiting until the fifth round of the draft to finally address the EDGE position is a gamble, but given the depth of this class it’s entirely possible that some good ones will still be available this late.

Smith has the build Seattle likes in their defensive end/edge prospects, weighing in at 6-foot-3 and 254 pounds. His long arms (33.25″) will help at the next level and he has some surprising skills for his age, making it possible he could be a quality rotational rusher right away.

Pick No. 153: Oregon DB Mykael Wright

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One of our favorite underrated prospects in this draft class, Wright (5-foot-10, 173 pounds) would offer depth at several different positions on the back end of the Seahawks secondary.

Wright is a tenacious defender and gritty competitor for his size, which will no doubt bring on comparisons to Captain Munnerlyn. A seventh-round pick by Carolina in 2009, Munnerlyn went on to play 10 years in the league, performing in the slot at a relatively high level for most of them. If Seattle could get the same kind of career out of Wright, he’d be a steal at this spot.

Pick No. 186: UCLA WR Kyle Philips

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Having at last established the run and addressed a few other positions, we went into this last pick hoping to add a little more depth at wide receiver. The Seahawks were reported to be calling around for WR3 types recently, but finding a third Musketeer for D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett is probably best left to the draft.

They certainly have their faults, but Carroll and Schneider have done an exceptional job of evaluating talent at the wide receiver position both in the draft itself and with UDFAs like Doug Baldwin. That leads us to believe they might just be able to find a gem in the sixth round.

Last season at UCLA, Philips (5-foot-11, 189 pounds) posted 59 catches, 739 yards and 10 touchdowns.

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