Seahawks Leaving No Stone Unturned Looking at Talented Cornerback Class in 2026 NFL Draft
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Virginia Tech Hokies wide receiver Donavon Greene (3) tries to make a one handed catch behind South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Brandon Cisse (15) during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images [/caption]
Slated to pick last in the first round by virtue of winning Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks could go any number of directions on the opening night of the 2026 NFL Draft, including trading out of the round entirely to recoup additional selections in later rounds.
But while the Seahawks have other needs such as edge rusher and running back that could be addressed early with their first selection, regardless of whether they stick and pick or trade down, if the team’s reported official 30 visits serve as any indication, cornerback appears to be at the top of general manager John Schneider’s wish list. Out of 18 players reported so far to fly out to Seattle, seven of them played corner at some point during their collegiate careers.
This shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise development, as the Seahawks lost four-year starter Riq Woolen to the Eagles in free agency and while they did retain Josh Jobe on a three-year contract, coach Mike Macdonald has limited experience to lean on behind All-Pro Devon Witherspoon and Jobe on the depth chart. Third-year defender Nehemiah Pritchett has started one game in his career, veteran Shemar Jean-Charles spent all of last year on the practice squad and has two career starts, and free agent signee Noah Igbinoghene has started 17 out of 69 games played, hardly living up to his first round billing after being drafted 30th overall by the Dolphins in 2020.
Given that lack of experience away from Witherspoon and Jobe, Seattle appears to be big game hunting when it comes to finding a successor for Woolen in Macdonald’s defense, which relies heavily on personnel packages with five or more defensive backs on the field. Last season, the Seahawks played nickel with five defensive backs on the field 76.5% of the time, per TruMedia, second-highest mark in the NFL last season, and also ranked seventh in dime usage (15.7%) with six defensive backs on the field.
Among the cornerbacks who have already visited the Pacific Northwest, three of those players - South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse, Tennessee’s Colton Hood, and San Diego State’s Chris Johnson, the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year - have received consistent first round buzz as top-tier talents in a deep draft class at the position. All three could be in play at pick No. 32 or potentially after a trade down, though Schneider likely won’t be able to move down far if he wants to draft any of them.
With only two interceptions in his college career, Cisse may not have the flashy stats on his resume compared to other top corners in this year’s class, but he’s an elite athlete who excelled as a cover corner allowing a 51% completion rate in three seasons at North Carolina State and South Carolina and has the size and physicality to make his presence felt versus the run. Last season, opponents completed only 47% of their passes when targeting him in coverage and he yielded a single touchdown with a pick and seven pass breakups, helping anchor a quality Gamecocks secondary that continues to kick out NFL talent.
Starting his college journey at Auburn, Hood transferred to Colorado in 2024 before landing in Tennessee as a redshirt sophomore. An outstanding athlete with legit 4.4 speed and elite explosiveness, those traits show up on film with him rarely getting beat downfield in coverage and demonstrating the leaping ability to get his hands on passes at the catch point competing for jump balls, leading to three picks and 10 pass breakups over the past three years. He’s also a reliable run defender with the mentality to get downhill and rock ball carriers, though his pursuit angles can be sloppy at times.
Heralding from a non-Power 4 program, Johnson’s greatness has hovered under the radar in some draft circles, but statistically, no cornerback in college football played more dominantly than he did in 2025. Spry in coverage with enough juice to run with speedy receivers in space and receiver-like ball skills, evidenced by his four picks and two returns for touchdowns last season, he should be able to handle man or zone coverage duties on the boundary in a variety of schemes. He’s also a stout tackler with just a 5% missed tackle rate and brings his all supporting the run, making him a legitimate first round possibility.
If the Seahawks benefit from the board falling their way and at least one of the aforementioned traditional boundary corners remain on the board at No. 32 overall, it’d be hard to envision them going a different direction with their first pick. With that said, this class also offers several intriguing cornerback/safety hybrids expected to hear their name called early as well and Schneider and the scouting department have certainly done their homework accordingly.
Continuing to be enamored by South Carolina prospects after drafting Rookie of the Year runner-up Nick Emmanwori last spring, Seattle brought versatile nickel safety Jalon Kilgore into town in March for an official visit. Receiving intel from members of the Washington Huskies coaching staff on a former starter of Jedd Fisch’s, the team also invited electric corner/safety Treydan Stukes, who will meet with coaches and the personnel department later this week in the Emerald City.
Formerly a teammate of Emmanwori in Columbia, Kilgore blossomed into a talented NFL prospect in his own right as a three-year starter. Possessing good size at 200-plus pounds with 4.4 speed, he’s a versatile playmaker who has prior experience at both safety positions as well as in the slot, offering quality ball production with eight picks in three years against SEC competition. While he has some missed tackles on his film and technique can escape him at times in that regard, he has the right mentality to mix it up as a run defender in the box, which lends itself well to him seeing some action in the nickel role at the next level.
As for Stukes, the 6-2, 200-pound defender has a somewhat lengthy injury history, including tearing his ACL in 2024, and he will turn 25 years old in September. But he rebounded from that significant knee injury nicely to turn in a career year for the Wildcats last season, picking off four passes with six additional pass breakups and not allowing a touchdown in coverage while primarily playing in the slot. A lean frame coupled with inconsistent performance as a tackler, durability questions, and his age may put a cap on how high he gets drafted, but he could compete for reps right out of the gate as a corner or a safety.
In the event Seattle decides to go a different direction early, or even decides to double-dip at the position, Schneider has also kept tabs on a couple of intriguing cornerbacks in Toledo’s Andre Fuller and Georgia’s Daylen Everette, who likely will be late Day 2, early Day 3 selections and had visits with the team in recent weeks. Both offer plenty of size and excel in press coverage along with being solid tacklers who willingly play the run, best suiting them for playing on the boundary as developmental defenders in Macdonald’s scheme.
With Witherspoon expected to be signed to a massive extension in the near future and Jobe under contract through 2028, the Seahawks don’t have to force the issue selecting a corner later this month. If the right player isn’t on the board at No. 32, Schneider can explore moving down or selecting a prioritized player at a different position, letting the board come to him down the line seeking the best value to improve the depth in the secondary.
At the same time, however, Seattle’s interest in several of the highest-rated cornerbacks in this year’s pool of players should not be viewed as a smokescreen either. It’s a clear need that also happens to be at one of the strongest positions in the 2026 class. Having done the homework leading up to the NFL draft and clearly planning for a future without Woolen before free agency started, the stars seem to be lining up for Schneider and Macdonald to pounce early and bolster their defensive backfield in quick order.
