The Seahawks 2025 NFL Draft class wasn't exactly flashy, but it may have been exactly what the team needed to build around new quarterback Sam Darnold. Let's dive into and grade each pick to see how John Schneider and the Seattle staff did in the NFL Draft.
Round 1, pick 18: Grey Zabel, OL North Dakota State
Any time that a team selects a tackle or guard in round one the fans aren't necessarily pumped about it, but those are often the best draft picks. Grey Zabel played nearly 3,000 snaps for North Dakota State. He offers positional versatility with significant work at every spot but center. His physicality and consistency in both pass blocking and run blocking will be a huge upgrade. This may have been perceived as a slight reach, so it's not the perfect pick, but it's still strong.
Pick Grade: A-
Round 2, pick 35: Nick Emmanwori, S South Carolina
The Seahawks' secondary was actually already a positive last season, so trading up for a safety was a bit odd. The trade value was good in that they only had to send pick 52 and 82 (no future assets) in the 2025 NFL Draft to make it happen, but still a move for a safety was a bit odd. The good news is that Nick Emmanwori tested as a 100th percentile athlete at the position, nearly never misses tackles in the run game, and can play either safety spot in coverage. This was clearly a move to just put the finishing touches on the secondary, but with other needs the Seahawks could have gone elsewhere.
Pick Grade: B-
Round 2, pick 50: Elijah Arroyo, TE Miami (FL)
The Seahawks needed to continue working on the offensive side of the ball, adding some more weapons for Sam Darnold that would fit new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system. Elijah Arroyo should fit perfectly as a versatile tight end so Seattle can run a significantly greater portion of 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs). Arroyo is still scratching the surface of his potential since he missed so much time at Miami due to injury, but his one productive season was strong.
Pick Grade: A
Round 3, pick 92: Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama
This draft pick could be extremely underrated. Jalen Milroe was long considered a first or second round pick in this draft before his rough finish to the 2024 college football season. He's an extremely fast dual threat quarterback with high upside if he can fix his throwing mechanics (for consistency's sake). Yes, the Seahawks could have added a different position to help them short-term here, but this is a great backup plan if Darnold falls off.
Pick Grade: B+
Round 5, pick 142: Rylie Mills, DT Notre Dame
This pick fulfilled a slight need up front since the Seahawks lost some snaps from last year's defensive line. However, they could have gone with a couple other options at defensive tackle who brought more flexibility to shift inside the A-Gap (where Jonathan Hankins played some last year). Mills had a strong finish to his career with Notre Dame in pass rush, so he could bring decent value alongside Byron Murphy long-term, but the team could have gone elsewhere (like Jordan Phillips who went with the very next pick).
Pick Grade: C+
Round 5, pick 166: Tory Horton, WR Colorado State
This was a forward thinking selection to eventually replace the wide receiver they just brought in this offseason via free agency in Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Horton is a tall, long, outside wide receiver who can bring consistency in moving the chains. He could push for the WR3 spot by the season's end if he flashes some of the potential he did early last year before getting injured.
Pick Grade: B
Round 5, pick 175: Robbie Ouzts
Drafting a pure blocking tight end to compete for the team's third or fourth slot at the position in round five is a bit of a reach here. There were several other tight ends who were left on the board who not only brought strong blocking chops but some receiving upside, while Ouzts offers virtually none. This was probably the worst pick of the draft for Seattle.
Pick Grade: C-
Round 6, pick 192: Bryce Cabeldue, IOL Kansas
The Seahawks certainly needed to take some shots with offensive line picks, so snagging a player who has been rising throughout the NFL Draft process thanks to his newfound positional versatility is a good thing. Cabeldue's charted blocking rate stats were above average for college purposes, but he'll need to step up in the NFL. Good (but not great) selection that fills out depth on the offensive line.
Pick Grade: B
Round 7, pick 223: Damien Martinez, RB Miami (FL)
Landing a talent like Damien Martinez in round seven is stealing. This could end up being an extremely underrated valuable pick if Kenneth Walker continues to get dinged up this year. Martinez was one of just a handful of running backs in the entire class to post 1000+ yards from scrimmage in every single collegiate season. He doesn't bring a ton of receiving upside, but that's the only downside of this pick that could prove important to the offense if either running back ahead of him goes down.
Pick Grade: A-
Round 7, pick 234: Mason Richman, OT Iowa
Mason Richman was actually flat out terrible for the vast majority of his college career until last season. This pick gives the Seahawks much needed extra depth on the offensive line as they continue to try and figure out how to block up front, so good idea to take a cheap swing late, but Richman is probably just a practice squad level player.
Pick Grade: C
Round 7, pick 238: Ricky White III, WR UNLV
Ricky White should have gone multiple rounds before this pick, so the Seattle Seahawks could have a real value here. White flashed in the Big Ten prior to a transfer to UNLV where he completely obliterated the Mountain West Conference competition three years in a row. White's coming off a two year stretch with over 2500 yards and 19 touchdowns. He can succeed in any wide receiver role the Seahawks want. The only reason he fell this far was athletic testing. Good shot at possible future starter one day.
Pick Grade: A
Full 2025 Seahawks Draft Class Grade
- Round 1, pick 23: Grey Zabel, OL North Dakota State
- Round 2, pick 35: Nick Emmanwori, S South Carolina
- Round 2, pick 50: Elijah Arroyo, TE Miami (FL)
- Round 3, pick 92: Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama
- Round 5, pick 142: Rylie Mills, DT Notre Dame
- Round 5, pick 166: Tory Horton, WR Colorado State
- Round 5, pick 175: Robbie Outz, TE Alabama
- Round 6, pick 192: Bryce Cabeldue, IOL Kansas
- Round 7, pick 223: Damien Martinez, RB Miami (FL)
- Round 7, pick 234: Mason Richman, OT Iowa
- Round 7, pick 238: Ricky White III, WR UNLV
Final Class Grade: B+
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And if you want to see why Nick Emmanwori should be able to bring back the "Legion of Boom" feel to the Seahawks defense just check out his highlights in the video below!
