Missouri edge defender Zion Young during the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Seattle Seahawks are doing more homework on one of the more intriguing pass rushers in their draft range.
According to Seahawks reporter Corbin K. Smith, Seattle will host Missouri EDGE Zion Young for a top-30 visit next week, a notable sign of interest as the team prepares to pick No. 32 in the 2026 NFL Draft. Smith added that Young is “an excellent prospect for #32 consideration, if he lasts that long.” Field Gulls’ visit tracker also listed Young among Seattle’s scheduled top-30 visits.
That matters for two reasons.
First, the Seahawks are not sitting on a full deck of draft capital this year. Seattle officially holds only four picks, including No. 32 overall, so the front office has less margin for error than usual. Second, Young profiles as the kind of front-seven defender who could make sense for a Mike Macdonald defense that values length, disruption and rotational pressure up front.
Corbin K. Smith
#Seahawks will have Missouri EDGE Zion Young in town for top-30 visit next week.
Excellent prospect for #32 consideration, if he lasts that long.
Why Zion Young stands out for Seattle
Young is not just a name on a visit list.
The Missouri edge defender finished his college career with 11.5 sacks, 28.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and one interception across 46 games, according to reporting on his draft profile and pre-draft visits. Missouri’s official bio credits him with a highly productive 2025 season, including a team-high 9.0 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss and an interception while starting all 13 games.
At 6-foot-6 and around 262 pounds, Young has the frame Seattle has long valued on the edge. NFL and draft listings also place him squarely in the size range of an every-down developmental front-seven piece rather than a pure sub-package specialist.
That is an important distinction.
If the Seahawks were only looking for a situational rusher, they could likely wait. But a player with Young’s size and production gives them at least a possible early contributor in the rotation with room to grow into more.
What the visit could mean at No. 32
A top-30 visit is not a promise. It does, however, show that Seattle believes Young is worth deeper work late in the process.
That is especially interesting because several draft outlets and team-specific trackers have placed Young in the late-first to early-second-round neighborhood. Sports Illustrated’s Seahawks coverage noted that he sits right around Seattle’s draft range, while other recent team-oriented draft coverage has framed him as a realistic Day 1 or early Day 2 option.
For Seattle, that creates a pretty clean draft question: if the board is thinned out by the time No. 32 arrives, do the Seahawks prioritize another premium front defender over other needs?
That answer likely depends on how the front office sees Young’s ceiling. If Seattle views him as more than a rotational rusher, a top-30 visit this close to the draft is the kind of signal worth watching.
Why Seahawks fans should care now
The bigger takeaway is not just that Seattle likes Young.
It is that the Seahawks are spending one of their limited pre-draft visits on a pass rusher who realistically could be available right around their pick. With only four total selections, Seattle’s visit list should offer a sharper clue than usual about where John Schneider and the front office are concentrating their attention.
Young checks several obvious boxes: NFL size, proven backfield disruption and a draft range that lines up with Seattle’s first selection. Even if the Seahawks ultimately trade down from No. 32, his name now belongs on the short list of defenders fans should know before draft night.