7-round Seahawks mock draft: John Schneider trades down, stocks up big

One of the first things people tend to do when summing up a draft class is to ask themselves — is this class tall, or is it wide? In other words, is it packed with talent at the top and relatively thin on Day 3, or are there fewer real field-tilters, and the value really happens from Round 3 on down?

As regards the 2026 NFL Draft class, I’d say it’s wider than tall. A lot of evaluators will tell you that they struggle to assign first-round value to more than 12-15 prospects in this class, and that could lead to a lot of teams trying to trade down to get extra picks later in a draft that presents all kinds of opportunities to add foundational roster pieces who may not be future Hall of Famers, but do what they do particularly well.

I would bet that Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider sees the width of this class as opposed to the height, and that he’ll do his level best to act accordingly.

Right now, Seattle has exactly four picks: 32, 64, 96, and 188. The team sent its fourth- and fifth-round picks to New Orleans in the Rashid Shaheed trade (which they’d do again 101 times out of 100), their original seventh-round pick went to Cleveland in 2024 along with center Nick Harris, and the Seahawks got a sixth-round pick in return there. Seattle’s original sixth-round pick went to the Jacksonville Jaguars (also in 2024) for defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris.

Given that Schneider has never been averse to trading down, and given that roughly two-thirds of the Seahawks’ picks have come in rounds 4-7 since Schneider became GM in 2010, this seems like the thing to do. The man wants his draft picks. So, in the Pro Football Network mock draft simulator, I proposed one trade with the Tennessee Titans before the draft began, and was hit with one from the Green Bay Packers just before I was to make Seattle’s 32nd overall selection at the bottom of the first round.

Here’s what happened:

The Tennessee Titans get: Seattle’s 2026 third-round pick (96) and a 2027 Seattle third round pick.
The Seattle Seahawks get: Tennessee’s picks 101, 142, 184, 194, and 225.

The Green Bay Packers get: Seattle’s first-round pick (32) and a 2027 Seattle fourth-round pick.
The Seattle Seahawks get: Green Bay’s picks 52 and 84, and a 2027 Green Bay second-round pick.

With these moves, the Seahawks go from four picks to nine, and now, it’s time to find out just how wide this draft class really is.

(From Green Bay Packers) Round 2, Pick 20 (52): Mike Washington Jr., RB, Arkansas

Running back is a clear need after Kenneth Walker’s departure — as many nice things as Mike Macdonald said about Zach Charbonnet, George Holani, Kenny McIntosh, and Emanuel Wilson at the owners meetings this week, there is still a need for an alpha guy with alpha skills at the position. Charbonnet is the closest to that, and here, we add Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr. The 6’1”, 223-pound Washington announced his presence at the scouting combine with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, a 1.51-second 10-yard split, and the Spider Chart Of Doom with all the other drills.

Washington isn’t just a track star, either — last season for the Razorbacks, he totaled 1,066 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns in 167 carries with 34 forced missed tackles and 17 runs of 15 or more yards. New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury will likely continue Klint Kubiak’s outside zone festival, but given his history with Kyle Shanahan, he’ll bring his own ideas for the run game, as well. Washington is an underrated runner in this class, capable of taking it all on.