There's plenty of reasons to be hyped up about the Seattle Seahawks' 2025 draft class. From early offensive picks such as Grey Zabel and Elijah Arroyo to the ideal fit that is Nick Emmanwori, the Seahawks are a franchise that looks to have plenty of meaningful contributors out of their 2025 rookies. That's before you get to the potential of quarterback Jalen Milroe.
The Seahawks' collection of Day 3 talent from this year's class is already flashing in training camp, too. One player in particular appears to have built some undeniable momentum over the weekend that could be the first signs of something bigger at play.
The buzz around rookie wide receiver Tory Horton is getting a little too loud to simply dismiss as training camp fanfare.
Seahawks rookie receiver Tory Horton working with the first-team this past weekend
Horton lasted until the 166th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, he was a fifth-round draft choice who many draftniks coveted higher up, potentially on Day 2, entering the event in the spring. He has been a persistent presence this past week at Seahawks camp, showcasing burst, bounce and a separation ability that could ultimately provide Seattle with a much-needed added layer to their wide receiver room if the hype ends up being for real.
The buzz around Horton is very hot right now, so much so that veteran cornerback Riq Woolen went so far as to shout out 'Jerry Rice Jr.!' while walking by Horton at the podium for his press availability yesterday.
How does a player who many people thought was a Day 2 pick and is practicing like a Day 2 pick fall to the 166th overall selection? It would not be a surprise if the medicals were a big piece of the puzzle. Seattle's first two fifth-round draft choices, Horton and defensive lineman Rylie Mills, both were players with a medical flag and recent injury issue. Horton disclosed on Monday that was may not have even been 70% when running his 40-time at the 2025 NFL Combine.
"Yeah I feel like the knee (injury) is in the past. The training staff, they did a great job with me, we still stay on top of it to this day and it's just something you kind of have to stay on top of. It's been helping me out a lot. When I go out there on the field, the knee is the last of my worries...when I was training (for the NFL Combine), I got cleared two to three weeks before the Combine. The trainer was like 'we're gonna work and we're gonna see how bad you really want to run at the Combine'. They gave it to me real, like 'it's gonna be hard but with your competitive mindset you can go do it.' So, it was a quite a push. I wasn't 100%. I wasn't even 70%."
- Seahawks rookie wide receiver Tory Horton
He's certainly healthy now. And the buzz around Horton is swelling daily. He's putting highlight reel plays on the field while catching passes from the team's starting quarterback, an exciting development. It's also one that promises plenty of potential in the weeks ahead before the start of the regular season.
If Horton can parlay his hot start into a strong August, look out. He already appears to be ahead of schedule for an impactful rookie season, which must be a nice change of pace after such a tight crunch to just be able to run a 40 at the Combine this past winter.
