The Seattle Seahawks have made at least one thing extremely clear this offseason: Seattle will win or lose based on the quality of its defense. This does not mean the offense is expected to be bad—far from it. But general manager John Schneider wasn't afraid to tear down the offense, but wanted to keep the defense intact.
This makes sense in many ways. One is that the team was struggling with salary cap issues, and ridding themselves of quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver DK Metcalf immensely helped to alleviate that. Plus, Smith and Metcalf wanted out of Seattle, and Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald don't want players on the team who don't want to be there.
An important point, too, is that while the offense was frustrating at the end of last season, the defense was becoming quite good and leading the team to wins. A bunch of players with another season under Macdonald should mean that the defense is among the best in the NFL. If the offense is only a bit better than last season, the Seahawks should make the playoffs.
NFL expert has Seattle Seahawks taking Jahdae Barron in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft
This is why a recent mock draft by the excellent Charles Davis of NFL.com makes so much sense for Seattle. With pick 18 in the 2025 NFL draft, Davis has Seattle taking Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron. In many mocks, such as recent ones by Pro Football Network, USA Today, and Newsweek, Barron is a top-11 choice.
Clearly, Seattle still has a great need along the interior of the offensive line, but most 12s likely rightfully assume John Schneider is not going to take a guard or center in the first round. The Seahawks have a number of solid edge rushers, but they could always add another one early in the draft. Add to that the fact that Boye Mafe is entering the last year of his contract, and taking an edge rusher would make sense.
But a cornerback? That might make even more sense. Slot cornerback Devon Witherspoon is terrific, and he is going to be wearing a Seattle uniform for a long time. Outside corner Riq Woolen is capable of excellence, but is also extremely inconsistent. There is no proven outside corner opposite Woolen, however.
That is where Davis's idea has its only problem. At Texas, Barron mostly played nickelback, a position Witherspoon holds for the Seahawks. Would adding Barron move Witherspoon outside? That would not seem to be a good move, as Witherspoon is so disruptive in different alignments from the slot.
Of course, Macdonald loves versatility in players, and that helps him disguise pre-snap alignments. Having Barron, who played some outside corner in college, and Witherspoon would mean the head coach would have two corners with speed who can go outside or in the slot and change at any point.
The other great bit about Barron is his elite ball skills. He played a lot of football over four-plus years at Texas, and his final year was his best. He had five interceptions, won the Jim Thorpe Award for the top defensive back in college, and allowed just 37 receptions on 68 targets for only 131 yards.
If Schneider wants to continue to build up the defensive side of the ball in hopes of remaking the current defense into something akin to Legion of Boom 2.0, taking a player like Jahdae Barron in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft makes complete sense.
