After selecting Zabel in the first round, the Seahawks made calls late on Day 1 of the draft to possibly trade back into the first round to pick Emmanwori, on whom they had a first-round grade. Those talks didn't lead to a deal getting done, Schneider and company were able to get a deal done early in round two, in large part because of the extra Day 2 draft capital they acquired by trading Geno Smith and DK Metcalf.
Since returning from that injury, Emmanwori has come back and looked very much like the type of player the Seahawks were hoping to land when they made the trade.
"He's unique in terms of size, length, athleticism, play style, his versatility," Berry said. "And just the opportunity to fit him in our defense as much as we had talked about, playing big nickel and playing dime. And as much as Mike likes to blitz, having a player with his versatility to be able to cover, to be able to insert in the run game or two-high, to be able to do all the different things that he can do, we coveted that. And then on top of that, the type of confidence and competitor that he is. He was a player that we thought should have been drafted on day one, and the opportunity to trade up and get him was something that we were fortunate to have."
With their second second-round pick, the Seahawks picked Arroyo, who demonstrated big-play ability early in his career, catching 13 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, and who is also showing a willingness and ability to grow as a blocker.
"You see the big play ability, you see him on some of the play action," said assistant general manager Nolan Teasley. "And then the thing that we were really kind of hanging our hat on is there was an element of development that needed to happen as a run blocker, and the effort and the want to and the mentality are all there. So I think with all of these (rookies), I think the cool thing is that they're just scratching the surface on who they can be. And he falls under that category."
And the Seahawks aren't just getting early contributions from their top picks; a pair of fifth-round pick, Horton and Ouzts, both have key roles in the offense. Horton, the team's No. 3 receiver behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, has five receiving touchdowns as well as a franchise-record 95-yard punt return touchdown, and he came through with a big two-touchdown performance when starting in place of an injured Kupp last week. Ouzts, meanwhile, has been the starting fullback since the start of the season, though he did miss four games with an ankle injury, and is also a big contributor on special teams.
There have been bright moments for the rookie class all season, and last week's win in Washington was a great example of that, with Horton and Arroyo combining for three touchdowns and with Zabel playing another great game at guard, while on the other side of the ball, Emmanwori had six tackles and a tackle for loss, his third game out of five this season with at least five tackles and a tackle for loss.
"Maybe the most impressive thing is how smoothly they've transitioned just into our culture and the fit, in the locker room, in the meeting room, picking up the pace of the way we operate," Berry said of the rookie class as a whole. "They're all into football. I mean, football is what they're passionate about. Just seeing how the guys have come in, they've fit in. The transitions have been smooth, the learning curves have been short, and they've been able to contribute right away. And that speaks to having a path to play, having the right mentality, and you got to give credit to those guys and how they attack their opportunity."
And in addition to the five players making big contributions now, the Seahawks are also very excited about the long-term prospects for the draft picks who aren't currently seeing a lot of playing time. Quarterback Jalen Milroe, a third-round pick, "is exactly who we thought he was in terms of the work ethic, in terms of the person," Teasley said. "I think he's probably further along than we could have maybe anticipated. You see things in practice all the time that make you excited about what he brings to the table."