> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Analysis: Grading All 11 of Seahawks’ 2025 NFL Draft Picks - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/analysis-grading-all-11-seahawks-2025-nfl-draft-picks/ - Published: 2025-04-28T13:48:21.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:37:30.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Seahawks, Jalen Milroe, 2025 NFL Draft, Bryce Cabeldue, Mason Richman, Elijah Arroyo, Nick Emmanwori, Robbie Ouzts, Tory Horton, Ricky White III, Damien Martinez, Rylie Mills, Grey Zabel \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1920"\] ![ Headlined by North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel, South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, the Seahawks brought in an exciting 11-player class in the 2025 NFL Draft. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/revised-twitter-template-format-original.png) Headlined by North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel, South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, the Seahawks brought in an exciting 11-player class in the 2025 NFL Draft. \[/caption\] Following the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider’s enthusiasm reverberated throughout the halls of the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, leaving an infectious vapor trail that seemed to impact everyone in the building and for good reason. After entering the weekend with 10 selections, Schneider, coach Mike Macdonald, and the personnel department navigated the board to near-perfection, exiting with an 11-player draft class chocked full of exciting players that offered the toughness, athleticism, reliability, and swagger that the Seahawks desired as they aim to get back into title contention in the NFC. “Very grateful, very proud of everybody and how everybody worked together, completing our 16th draft. It's a blessing,” Schneider said. “We're very excited about what we've added to this team, the depth and the toughness, the competitors, the reliability. Excited for this growth-minded staff to get their hands on these guys and get ripping.” With the draft officially in the books and rookie minicamp set to take place next weekend, how did the Seahawks fare with their 11 selections? Based on pick number, scheme fit, positional value, and overall prospect talent level, here are my preliminary grades for each of Schneider’s 2025 picks: ### Round 1, Pick 18 - Grey Zabel, G, North Dakota State **Grade**: A- In the past, Schneider has preferred to invest high picks in prospects from Power 4 programs, but on Thursday night, he bucked several prior trends while addressing Seattle’s biggest need in the top 20 selections. By selecting Zabel, he not only selected a guard in the first round for the first time in his 16 drafts with the franchise, but he also used a top 100 pick on an FCS prospect for the first time, making that leap of faith with conviction based on the player’s impressive performance against top competition at the Senior Bowl. While picking an interior offensive lineman is far from the sexiest first round selection, Zabel checks off all of the boxes to excel in new coordinator Klint Kubiak’s offense. He’s a 99th percentile athlete for the position with elite agility and explosiveness that shows up between the lines both as a zone blocker winning with lateral quickness and a drive blocker capable of knocking opponents off the line of scrimmage. Development will be key for a player making the jump from the FCS to the NFL, particularly in pass protection where his height could create leverage issues and a narrow upper body may leave him susceptible to defensive tackles attacking his edges, but pairing him with line coach John Benton has a great chance to maximize on his abilities early in a scheme built well for his strengths. ### Round 2, Pick 35 - Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina **Grade**: A An early entrant for the NFL Draft who departed Columbia with one year of eligibility remaining, Emmanwori isn’t a perfect prospect, as he struggled at times with pursuit angles and over-running plays that put him out of position to make tackles. He has room to grow instincts-wise defending the run in the box and has looked more consistently comfortable as a deep safety or defending from the slot, so it could take some time for him to blossom into the player that the Seahawks envision that he can become, especially with Julian Love and Coby Bryant already on the roster. But at the same time, it’s hard to argue against the idea that Schneider landed one of the top value picks of the entire draft by aggressively dealing a second and third-round pick to move up for Emmanwori, the top athlete at any position from his draft class. Boasting 4.32 speed at 6-3, 220 pounds, he already has a polished game in coverage, evidenced by his six interceptions and pair of pick sixes over the previous two seasons, and even with his aforementioned areas of improvement against the run, he racked up at least 80 tackles twice for the Gamecocks while recording under a 7.2 percent missed tackle rate in 2023 and 2024\. Given his rare traits and the skills he already has in his arsenal, the sky is truly the ceiling for him in Macdonald’s defense, and if he takes to the coaching, multiple All-Pros could be in his future. ### Round 2, Pick 50 - Elijah Arroyo, TE, Miami **Grade**: B- One of the toughest parts about evaluating players for the draft has to do with projecting how a player’s skills will translate to the league, especially if they play in college offense that doesn’t best utilize their skill set. In the case of Arroyo, there’s some truth to that dilemma, as the Hurricanes used him primarily in the short passing game with 25 of his 47 targets coming on short passes traveling fewer than nine yards through the air or behind the line of scrimmage. He also wasn’t a high volume target, finishing fifth on the team in receptions. But even with those numbers, it’s not difficult to understand why Schneider and Seattle’s scouting department held Arroyo in high regard, seeing his selection at 50th overall as a relative bargain. When Miami actually utilized him as a seam threat, he did significant damage to opposing defenses thanks to his speed and the size mismatch he creates against most defenders, catching eight passes on 15 targets traveling 20-plus yards for 255 yards and three touchdowns. There may be more projection to his game than several other prospects he was chosen over, as he missed significant time due to injury in 2022 and 2023 and his blocking has been inconsistent at best. However, if he can stay healthy, his intriguing athleticism and soft hands could make him quite a weapon in Kubiak’s tight end-friendly offense. ### Round 3, Pick 92 - Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama **Grade**: A- All signs pointed to the Seahawks not taking a quarterback in this year’s draft after signing both Sam Darnold and Drew Lock, with the latter’s addition giving the team four signal callers already on the roster. But as Schneider has talked about ad nauseum over the years, the board not falling in their favor has been a big reason why they had only selected two quarterbacks in his first 15 drafts, and that wasn’t the case on Friday when the uber-talented, yet unpolished Milroe remained on the board when they went on the clock with pick No. 92. After a somewhat disappointing second season as a starter for Crimson Tide where he threw fewer touchdowns and his interception rate nearly doubled, Milroe’s stock took a bit of tumble, only for him to restore some of that value running a 4.39 40-yard dash at his pro day workout. Selecting him in the late third round seemed to be the right sweet spot to roll the dice given his immense physical talents with the speed of a running back and a cannon for an arm, but he won’t be ready to play quarterback in the NFL for at least one year, if not longer, as he will need to be coached hard to address accuracy issues in the short-to-intermediate game along with subpar pocket presence and inconsistent decision making before he’s ready to be unleashed as more than a gadget weapon. Luckily, Seattle has Darnold and Lock already in place, so they won’t have to force the issue rushing him onto the field too early. ### Round 5, Pick 142 - Rylie Mills, DE, Notre Dame **Grade**: B Anytime a prospect is in the midst of rehabbing from a serious injury, an NFL team is taking significant risk investing a draft pick in them, and that’s certainly the case with Mills. He suffered a torn ACL during the first round of the College Football Playoff against Indiana and missed the final three games, undergoing surgery that prevented him from participating in the NFL combine or a pro day workout. Considering how late he suffered the injury and the potential for him to miss substantial time in the 2025 season, falling deep into Day 3 was expected, if not inevitable. But the Seahawks were the only team that hosted Mills for a 30 visit and the medical staff felt comfortable with where he was at in his rehabilitation process, paving the way for them to use their first pick of the final day on him with hopes that he could make an impact at some point next season. When healthy, Mills has a similar game to Nebraska defensive end Ty Robinson, playing with a relentless motor at 291 pounds and offering some pass rushing punch off a quick first step while having the ability to play multiple positions along the defensive line. He’s a strong scheme fit for Macdonald’s defense and at this stage, landing a player with Day 2 talent and patiently waiting for him to recover is worth the gamble. ### Round 5, Pick 166 - Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State **Grade**: A- In a similar situation to Mills, Horton missed a big chunk of his final college season after suffering an LCL/hamstring injury that required surgery, limiting him to just 26 catches and a touchdown in five games. But since his injury happened earlier in the season, he recovered in time to be able to participate in a few athletic testing drills during a pro day workout, looking spry running a 4.41 40-yard dash with a 37 1/2-inch vertical jump, flashing the skills that he showed on the field as a multiple 1,000-yard receiver and dangerous punt returner for the Rams. Even with that reassuring workout, however, the 6-2 Horton lasted well into the fifth round, which may work beautifully to the Seahawks benefit in the long run. Following the departures of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, the team badly needed a speedy wideout with the burst to take the top off a defense, and he could fill that void while also providing some after the catch capability and a big catch radius for Darnold. Adding in his value as an electric punt returner, as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks with his knee/hamstring, he has a chance to be an outstanding value midway through Day 3 both on offense and special teams. ### Round 5, Pick 175 - Robbie Ouzts, FB, Alabama **Grade**: C Most NFL teams have moved away from rostering a traditional fullback, and the Seahawks hadn’t used one for several seasons before Kubiak arrived, bringing with him an offense that deploys a lot of two-back groupings. With that development, it isn’t a surprise that the team used a draft pick on the position. But while Ouzts may prove to be worth the investment in time and does offer extensive special teams experience, selecting a converted tight end who didn’t have much pass catching production in college over some of the players from more valuable positions that were still available late in the fifth round isn’t typically a sound process. ### Round 6, Pick 192 - Bryce Cabeldue, G, Kansas **Grade**: B+ Doubling up at the guard position, Schneider and the scouting department once again leaned heavily on athletic metrics and positional versatility with Cabeldue, who starred at the East/West Shrine Bowl and turned in a fantastic pro day workout after starting four years at tackle for the Jayhawks. Like Zabel, he scored in the 99th percentile in Relative Athletic Score for guards based on size and athletic metrics, and he finished with a stellar 81.0 zone blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, putting those athletic skills into good practice. Cabeldue did give up 11 sacks and 80 pressures in pass protection during his college career and has been overwhelmed by powerful bull rushers at tackle, so he will have to prove himself in that capacity sliding inside to earn a roster spot, but the physical tools are in place for him to develop into a quality swing guard, which would make him an excellent sixth round value as a capable reserve who can run Kubiak’s wide zone. ### Round 7, Pick 223 - Damien Martinez, RB, Miami **Grade**: A- A familiar name for Pacific Northwest football fans, Martinez put himself on the NFL map during his first two seasons at Oregon State before transferring to Miami in 2024, and he was an incredibly productive back at both stops. In three college seasons, he never finished with under six yards per carry, scoring 26 touchdowns on the ground with over 3,000 rushing yards as he bulldozed his way through defenses with a punishing downhill style and excellent contact balance. The Seahawks already have Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, and George Holani on their roster, so Martinez will have his work cut out for him trying to carve out a role in the team’s backfield rotation, especially considering he had limited usage as a pass catcher with the Beavers and Hurricanes. But his physical presence out the backfield fits what Macdonald wants to bring to his offense and in most draft classes, he would have gone much earlier, making him much better than a typical seventh round talent and more than capable of pushing the rest of his backfield brethren in training camp. ### Round 7, Pick 234 - Mason Richman, T, Iowa **Grade**: C+ With Stone Forsythe and George Fant no longer on the team, even after signing free agent Josh Jones, it made sense for the Seahawks to add depth at the tackle position late on Day 3, and Richman played a ton of snaps in the Big Ten. Starting 52 games at left tackle against top-tier college competition should serve him well as he tries to stick in the pros, though he didn’t necessarily have a dominant career with the Hawkeyes. He allowed 65 pressures and 12 sacks over the course of four seasons, only receiving above a 58.3 pass blocking grade from PFF once. If there’s reason for optimism with Richman, he did excel as a move blocker at Iowa, including scoring a respectable 76.7 zone blocking grade in 2024\. He also tested well in agility and change of direction testing at his pro day, which could bode well for him moving inside to guard or center in Seattle. But either way, he will face an uphill climb to move up the depth chart with Mike Jerrell and Jones both squarely ahead of him and the guard position crowded. ### Round 7, Pick 238 - Ricky White, WR, UNLV **Grade**: A Even after signing Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, doubling up at receiver seemed like a strong bet for the Seahawks, and adding an extra seventh round selection opened the door for Schneider to select White, quite the decorated player to have fallen into the final round to begin with. A two-time First-Team All-Mountain West selection and the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year in 2024, his resume speaks for itself, as he proved to be a catalyst for an impressive turnaround by the Runnin’ Rebels to go from conference bottom feeder to Top 25 program. In his final two seasons in Las Vegas, White surpassed the 1,000-yard mark both times and scored 20 total touchdowns, including returning a punt on one of his four opportunities. He finished among the best receivers in the nation with 16.9 yards per reception in 2023 and blocked four punts as a special teams ace last season. Unexpectedly poor athletic testing contributed to his fall, but he should not only be a major factor right away battling for special teams reps, but also as a receiving option who can win downfield as well as create after the catch and get after it as a run blocker, giving him more than a fair shot at making the roster in August.