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# ‘We’re On Our Way’: Mike Macdonald’s Vision Taking Shape With Seahawks’ 2025 Draft Class
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/were-on-our-way-mike-macdonald-vision-taking-shape-with-seahawks-2025-draft-class/
- Published: 2025-04-27T05:02:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:20:34.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Seahawks, 2025 NFL Draft, Grey Zabel, Nick Emmanwori, Tory Horton, Bryce Cabeldue, Mason Richman, Elijah Arroyo, Rylie Mills, Ricky White III, Robbie Ouzts, Jalen Milroe, Damien Martinez

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/untitled-1-format-original-2.png)

RENTON, Wash. - Not one to often waste words behind a microphone, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald isn’t about to steer the wagon ahead of the horses when it comes to his team’s latest draft haul. After all, the newest crop of rookies hasn’t even stepped on the practice field together yet.

But while Macdonald and the Seahawks have a long way to go to fulfill their goal of returning to Super Bowl contention, a different vibe permeated throughout the VMAC over the past three days, and even before that point with players reporting for the start of the offseason program last week. There’s a tangible excitement in the building from the offices upstairs to the weight room and meeting rooms on the first floor that could be easily felt during the entirety of the draft weekend.

“This is us getting together, carving this thing out one move at the same time, one decision at a time, one practice at a time. It's just how we want to become,” Macdonald told reporters at the conclusion of the draft on Saturday. “We're on our way. We're growing. It's our job to expedite that process. We're competing for championships this year. That's what we want to do. I'm really confident that we're going to have that opportunity. That's the expectation for us.”

After entering the draft with 10 selections, including five scheduled picks in the top 92, general manager John Schneider and company masterfully maneuvered up and down the board, orchestrating a quartet of trades before exiting with an 11-player class that embodies all of the characteristics both he and his young second-year coach want to form the identity of their football team.

“Smart, tough, reliable, swaggy, athletic, speed. We added a 275-pound fullback that runs 19 miles an hour. That's pretty cool,” Schneider laughed.

On a mission starting on Thursday night, Seattle came into this second draft under the direction of Schneider and Macdonald with a clear objective coming off a 10-win season that unfortunately ended without a playoff berth: get tougher and get more athletic across the board on both sides of the football. Whether diving into combine and pro day testing numbers, examining Relative Athletic Scores paired with size and length metrics, or digging into the backstories for every draft choice, it’s hard to imagine that they could have executed that blueprint much better over the past three days.

Right out of the gate, Schneider bucked past trends by investing the 18th overall pick in North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel, who shined at the Senior Bowl and posted fantastic testing numbers in Indianapolis as well as his pro day workout, notching a phenomenal 9.90 Relative Athletic Score. It marked the highest pick the Seahawks had used on a guard since Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson in 2001 and the first time Schneider had picked an FCS player in the top 100 selections.

Learning the power of hard work growing up on the family farm in Pierre, North Dakota, Zabel transformed himself from a zero-star recruit into an FCS All-American, becoming the latest offensive line success for the Bison, who have had seven different offensive linemen either get drafted or sign with an NFL team since 2021\. That perseverance coupled with his elite athletic traits, underrated physicality, and blue collar ruggedness made him an easy selection to bolster an interior offensive line that struggled mightily throughout the 2024 season and a perfect fit for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s system.

Fast forward to Friday, after Schneider hinted at having an itchy trigger finger in the aftermath of the first round by reiterating how long the Seahawks had to wait to pick again, he went into aggressive mode to land another coveted prospect in South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, shipping a second and third-round pick to the Titans to move up to No. 35 overall to make the selection. Offering rare size, speed, and ball skills, the 6-3, 220-pound defender ran the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds as part of a historic combine performance after racking up 88 tackles, four interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns in 2024.

An even better athletic specimen than Zabel, Emmanwori received a perfect 10.0 Relative Athletic Score, ranking first among strong safeties dating back to 1987\. A hard hitter with the flexibility to play in the box or the slot along with single or two-high deep safety, his play stood out to the coaching staff before he lit up the combine and further impressed on a 30 visit to Seattle, making him a must-have worthy of trading up 17 spots for.

Rounding out Day 2, the Seahawks snagged athletic pass catching Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo with the 52nd pick to pair with Noah Fant and AJ Barner and then threw their first curve ball by taking a shot with the 92nd pick on uber-athletic Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who ran a blazing 4.39 40-yard dash at his pro day and rushed for 20 touchdowns to go with 16 passing touchdowns last season. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, their first four selections averaged a 91 athleticism score, the highest by any team since 2003.

> The [@Seahawks](https://twitter.com/Seahawks?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) targeted elite athletes throughout the draft, selecting a league-high four players with an NGS athleticism score of 85 or higher.  
>  
> Seattle’s first four picks had an average athleticism score of 91, the highest by any team in the draft since 2003\. [pic.twitter.com/WV5ANXEbDw](https://t.co/WV5ANXEbDw?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) [April 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1916258015864623126?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)

Scheduled to make five selections on Saturday, Schneider continued to wheel and deal with sights on top-tier athletes, first trading back from No. 137 to No. 144 with the Patriots and following up by trading quarterback Sam Howell to the Vikings as part of a pick swap to acquire pick No. 142\. Moments later, he traded down from No. 144 with the Browns, turning that selection into a fifth and sixth round pick, plugging a big gap with the team previously not having any selections from 175 to 223.

Now armed with three fifth rounders, a sixth rounder, and three seventh rounders, Seattle started off a flurry of picks by nabbing Notre Dame defensive end Rylie Mills, who likely would have been drafted earlier if not for a torn ACL suffered in January. Before the injury, he produced a career-high 7.5 sacks in his final season with the Fighting Irish while moving around at multiple positions along the front line and according to assistant general manager Nolan Teasley, he finished in the 92nd percentile for burst getting off the snap, another sign of top-notch athleticism.

Though Schneider didn’t seem as optimistic on his recovery timeline, Mills told reporters after his selection that he’s “really ahead of schedule” and believes he could be back to doing football activities by the start of training camp or even before then, and the Seahawks clearly felt comfortable with his recovery after meeting with him on a 30 visit after the combine.

“He can play at least two spots. Then run four-down, our sub stuff. Playing inside,” Schneider said of Mills. “We'll see how he plays the big ends, like a six-technique. The multiple gap things on early downs. Going through him and meeting him and talking football with him, seeing how he approaches the game, his approach with the rush, how they orchestrate their pass-rush games, it's really impressive. Sounds like a five-, six-year vet.”

Making two more selections in the fifth round, Schneider and the Seahawks added much-needed speed to their receiving corps by selecting Colorado State receiver Tory Horton, who has fully recovered from a leg injury that required surgery in November and reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.35 range two weeks before the draft, along with bruising 275-pound fullback Robbie Ouzts, a converted tight end who loves to bully defenders and tested fairly well agility and explosiveness-wise.

Over their final four picks, Schneider kept stockpiling athletic blockers, using a sixth-round selection on Kansas guard Bryce Cabeldue and a seventh-round pick on Iowa tackle Mason Richman. Cabeldue primarily played tackle for the Jayhawks, but he turned heads at the East/West Shrine Bowl playing inside and like Zabel, he scored north of a 9.90 Relative Athletic Score among guards with an impressive pro day workout. Richman started 52 games at left tackle for the Hawkeyes, but after posting excellent agility testing numbers of his own, Schneider hinted that guard could be in his future down the line too.

The other two picks checked off toughness and physicality as much as athleticism, starting with punishing Miami running back Damien Martinez, who averaged north of 4.5 yards after contact per carry for the Hurricanes last season and posted a respectable 4.51 40-yard dash and 8.19 Relative Athletic Score. To cap off their exciting haul, they nabbed UNLV receiver Ricky White III, who had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for the Rebels, blocked four punts in his college career, and returned a punt for a touchdown last season.

With rookie minicamp set for May 2 and May 3, Macdonald and Schneider won’t have to wait long to see Zabel, Emmanwori, and their new draft class on the field. In addition, both expressed excitement about priority undrafted free agents that they were courting following the seventh round as they continue to assemble a roster that fulfills the coach’s vision.

Though hope springs eternal for all 32 teams this time of year coming out of the draft, it’s not difficult to understand why there’s so much positivity in the VMAC with OTAs and minicamps just around the corner and training camp a little over three months away, and Macdonald can’t wait to hit the field next week to get a first peek at a group that he hopes will help lift the Seahawks to the next level.

“The last week of the guys being in the building, the spirit, the conversations we're having, it's so much fun to come to work every day. I can't wait to come back and get back to the second week of Phase One \[of OTAs\]. That's the way it should be. That's the environment we're trying to create, these guys are excited to come to work every day, keep connecting, getting tougher. Wring out every day, let the results speak for themselves.”