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# Local Talent on Montlake Could Fit Multiple Needs for Seahawks in 2026 NFL Draft
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/local-talent-washington-huskies-multiple-needs-seattle-seahawks-2026-nfl-draft/
- Published: 2026-03-30T01:03:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:53:22.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Huskies Football, Jonah Coleman, Ephesians Prysock, Tacario Davis, Zach Durfee, 2026 NFL Draft

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27165390-format-original.jpg)

When it comes to finding young talent to help bolster his football team, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider will look just about anywhere and location and/or level of competition aren’t deal breakers in the least bit, evidenced most recently by investing a first round pick in North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dating back to 2017, Schneider has drafted Zabel as well as three players from the Division II ranks, including receivers David Moore and Dareke Young and tackle Michael Jerrell. Though none of those players remain with the Seahawks after Young signed with the Raiders earlier this month in free agency, all three of them remain on rosters in the league and two of them contributed for playoff teams in Seattle, indicating that those selections panned out quite nicely for the organization.

With that said, Schneider has wisely always kept strong tabs on local standouts, attending pro days at Washington and Washington State annually along with not-so-distant road trips to Oregon and Oregon State. In 16 years at the helm, he has drafted two former Huskies (Will Dissly in 2018, Ben Burr-Kirven in 2020) and a former Cougar (current starting right tackle Abraham Lucas in 2022) while also bringing plenty of undrafted talent into the mix from both programs, including Super Bowl champion Jermaine Kearse.

Now less than a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft, even with Seattle only holding four picks at the moment, the stars look to be aligning for Schneider to potentially add to that Evergreen State pipeline, specifically in regard to the Huskies on Montlake.

Coming off a Super Bowl LX victory over the Patriots, the Seahawks don’t have a lengthy list of needs on their roster. But they did lose starting running back Ken Walker III, cornerback Riq Woolen, and outside linebacker Boye Mafe in free agency, creating significant voids that still need to be addressed by Schneider and the front office heading towards next month’s draft.

Fortunately, two of those positions - cornerback and EDGE - appear to be ripe with talent and depth as strengths of this year’s class, offering exciting possibilities well into Day 3 at both spots. Running back isn’t near as plentiful as a year ago with a historic class led by top-10 pick Ashton Jeanty, but there’s still plenty of quality ball carriers who should be available with any of Seattle’s top three draft choices in the first, second, or third round to help replace Walker and an injured Zach Charbonnet.

Interestingly, all three of those positions have at least one Husky on the draft radar that could be strong fits to keep in the Emerald City as members of the Seahawks, and Schneider’s interest in one prospect in particular already has made rounds.

Earlier this month, per the player’s Instagram account, Huskies running back Jonah Coleman made the short drive across highway 520 and down 405 from Washington’s campus to the VMAC for a pre-draft visit. According to league rules, that visit doesn’t count against the team’s 30 official visits, instead being accounted for as a local visit.

Starting his career at Arizona before transferring to join coach Jedd Fisch in Seattle, Coleman had a highly productive collegiate career both as a runner and a receiver. Running with a low center of gravity at 5-9, 220 pounds with thighs that could be mistaken for tree stumps, he totaled 3,054 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns on the ground, including scoring 15 times in 2025 despite battling through injuries for much of the second half of the season. He also hauled in 87 passes for 838 yards and three touchdowns and didn’t have a single drop in four college seasons, a testament to his polished all-around game.

Playing at well below 100% for a big chunk of last season may have hurt Coleman’s draft stock in some corners, but talent evaluators only need to look one year earlier to see his immense talent as a punishing runner with underrated speed and burst. Thriving in a pro style system with a zone-centric lean in the run game, he bullied his way through defenders with 65 missed tackles forced and ripped off 13 runs of 15-plus yards with a 36% breakaway run rate, receiving Third-Team All-Big Ten honors.

With Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald demanding a physical ground attack since arriving in 2024, Coleman’s previous experience in a pro style scheme coupled with a punishing, attitudinal running demeanor and soft hands out of the backfield could be a fantastic fit at some point on Day 2, when the team holds the 64th and 96th overall picks.

But if there’s a position where Seattle may be even more inclined to take a bite out of the local talent apple, it would be a surprise if Schneider isn’t smitten by the possibility of a former Husky helping replace Woolen on the boundary. Like Coleman, cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock started with Fisch at Arizona before eventually transferring to Washington, jumping right into the lineup as a rare pairing of two towering 6-4 defenders on the outside.

There isn’t a picture perfect doppelganger for Woolen in this year’s draft class - there may never be another 6-4 cornerback who runs a sub-4.30 40-yard dash as the ex-Seahawk did coming of UTSA in 2022 - but Davis easily tops the list when it comes to the closest resemblance in size, athleticism, and football traits. Along with being 6-4 with near-34-inch arms, he sprinted to a 4.41 40-yard dash time and posted a 37-inch vertical jump at the NFL combine, showing he had bounced back from injuries that dogged him in his lone year at Washington.

On the field, Davis allowed a paltry 50.6 passer rating in coverage when he was healthy for the Huskies, intercepting two passes with six pass breakups while holding opposing receivers to under 10 yards per reception and a 53% completion rate. Two years prior, though he did allow four touchdowns on the back end and occasionally got beat downfield on vertical throws, he limited wideouts to a 43% completion rate with a pick and 12 pass breakups, utilizing his length and ball skills to wreak havoc at the catch point and slam windows closed for quarterbacks trying to sneak throws past him.

If there’s a noteworthy difference between Davis and Woolen in comparison, the former isn’t a converted receiver and has been playing cornerback throughout his college career. From that perspective, he’s not near as a raw coming into the NFL, and he also proved himself to be a far more reliable tackler than the latter with an impressive 6% missed tackle rate at Arizona and Washington. He projects to be much further along on the development trail, albeit without quite the same ceiling as the freakishly athletic Woolen, with some draft pundits predicting he could be drafted at some point on Day 2 with the fourth round as his floor.

As for Prysock, he posted nearly identical height/weight and athletic testing scores to Davis, measuring in at 6-4 with 33 1/8-inch arms while running the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds and beating out his former teammate with a 39-inch broad jump. He checks off all of the size and traits boxes, though NFL scouts may have more questions about him between the lines going into the NFL draft, which could make him more of a true Day 3 candidate than his fellow Husky.

Consistency wise, Prysock excelled in coverage with three straight seasons holding receivers under a 58.9% catch rate to close out his college career, and during his sophomore and junior seasons, he allowed two total touchdowns. That number unfortunately ballooned to five in 2025, but he still held his own away from the scores by holding receivers to just 8.3 yards per reception with an interception and four pass breakups. Penalties remained an issue with a tendency to get grabby at the top of routes, as he drew 13 total flags in his two years at Washington, and he only had two picks in his entire career.

Prysock has a career 10% missed tackle rate which, while not as good as Davis, comes with some additional context. On film, he’s been a more aggressive player against the run, and that’s mostly been a positive as he has tallied 184 solo tackles in four college seasons compared to just 76 for Davis. With him being more involved in that regard, he’s had more chances to miss tackles and has remained quite efficient with his opportunities, even if he’s been prone to whiffs on empty dives at ball carriers from time to time.

While Macdonald isn’t near as picky when it comes to size and length at cornerback as his predecessor Pete Carroll, Davis and Prysock bring that element to the equation with plenty of the prerequisite skills in coverage and as run defenders and the mindset the coach desires from the position, which could have each of them squarely on the Seahawks big board.

As for wild cards to watch, edge rusher Zach Durfee struggled through injuries in his two seasons with Washington, preventing him from fulfilling his potential on Montlake. With that said, he produced four sacks and 35 pressures in 11 games for the Huskies last year, posting a strong 22% Pass Rush Win rate that ranked eighth in the nation among edges with at least 200 pass rushing snaps. When he suited up, he created problems for opposing tackles with his speed, quickness, and overlooked power, flashing NFL tools in spades.

Those traits showed up big time in Durfee’s recent pro day workout as well, as he ran a blazing 4.62 40-yard dash with a 39-inch vertical jump and lightning quick 7.01 3-cone drill time at 247 pounds. Even if that’s a little lighter than Macdonald would like off the edge, the athleticism is undeniable and if medicals check out, he could be a surprise Day 3 target for a number of teams, including the Seahawks as a fun roll of the dice with the 188th pick in the sixth round.

Historically speaking, Schneider has only picked a Washington player in two of his previous 16 drafts and other teams will have interest in talents such as Coleman, Davis, and Prysock, so it’s far from a given that he will nab an ex-Husky next month. This will be especially true if he doesn’t manage to acquire additional picks to get a few more throws at the dart board.

But considering the most glaring needs on the roster at the moment for the Seahawks in the aftermath of losing Walker, Woolen, and Mafe, few programs may have better offerings in terms of prospects who could fill those voids in the 2026 NFL Draft. Nobody should be surprised if Schneider comes away with at least one of Fisch’s former players and keeping the pipeline from Seattle to Renton alive and well.