John Schneider, Seattle Seahawks
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(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl LX champions, but they have holes on their team after key players from last season’s championship run left via free agency.
Nonetheless, with the NFL Draft approaching, the Seahawks can fill those holes. Moreover, as in any draft, players who were supposed to go higher can fall, and that can lead teams tobe tempted to trade up for a player who wouldn’t be anywhere near where they’d be drafting.
While that’s certainly a possibility, Seattle Sports’ Mike Salk noted that any decision to trade up shouldn’t come at this one major cost.
“The NFL draft is less than three weeks away, and one of the things I keep hearing is people excited about the idea of the Seattle Seahawks trading up from pick No. 32 in the first round,” Salk wrote in his article thatwas published on April 4.
“I’m not necessarily opposedthe idea of trading up, but I want to throw two big caveats in that.One,I’m not giving up any ofthe picks from next year, certainly not next year’sfirst round. Next year is supposed to be an incredible draft.
“This is supposed to be a mediocre draft where there are starters, not stars. If you got the opportunity to get stars next year, I want to take as many of those as possible, so please do not trade away certainly your first-round pick for next year.”
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One of the players Seattle decided to let walk as a free agent was Kenneth Walker III, who signed with theKansas City Chiefs. Moreover, Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL during the playoff run, and the Seahawks’ running back situation has many question marks to start the 2026NFL season.
Charbonnetisn’t expected to miss the entire year, but the early part of the campaign will be challenging for Seattle. As a result, the Seahawks likely take a running back at the 2026 NFL Draft. Furthermore, ESPN’s Matt Bowen believes that formerArkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington Jr. is the perfect team fit.
“Washington could go later on Day 2, but he has the tape and speed to move up into the final slot of the second round. Seattle has a need at the position, as Kenneth Walker III signed with the Chiefs and Zach Charbonnet is still recovering from a torn ACL,”Bowen wrote in his article published on March 31.
“Under new coordinator Brian Fleury — who coached with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco — we should expect a run game that leans on motion and movement in both zone and gap concepts. Washington has the lateral agility to fit in that scheme, and he can dart through daylight with his 4.33 speed. His frame can handle NFL volume, plus he can produce on swings and screens as a pass catcher. Washington averaged 8.1 yards per reception in 2025.”
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Washington’s name shouldn’t be a surprise, as ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes floated two names that should be on the Seahawks’ radar, and one of them was the former Razorbacks star.
“Just throw out running back because [the Seahawks] really need one,“ Kimes said on theMarch 18 edition of “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.“ “Kenneth Walker III’s gone. Zach Charbonnet’s hurt. They brought in Emanuel Wilson, who’s just depth. [Seahawks general manager] John Schneider will probably get to do his favorite thing in the entire world, which is draft a running back in the second round.
“I wouldn’t mind, like, Jonah Coleman from Washington, although he apparently is just not athletic testing, which is weird. But he’s a good back… There are some interesting mid-round backs. We talked about this. Mike Washington Jr., who’s a really, really fast Arkansas back, would be an interesting one for them as well. But it is a glaring area of need.”