Which ‘Wild Cards’ Could Seahawks Select With No. 32 Overall Pick in 2026 NFL Draft?
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Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez looks to the sideline during the Big 12 Conference championship football game, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Credit: Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images [/caption]
Coming out of a free agency period where they managed to retain most of their Super Bowl roster, the Seattle Seahawks did lose multiple starters such as running back Ken Walker III and cornerback Riq Woolen, leaving a few significant holes to fill heading towards the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23-25.
Considering the loss of Walker, Woolen, safety Coby Bryant, and edge rusher Boye Mafe, conventional wisdom would suggest Seattle intends to plug those gaps early in the draft, particularly at the cornerback and EDGE spots that feature quality talent and depth in the 2026 draft class. However, with the exception of Walker and possibly Mafe, the Seahawks have quality succession options already on the roster to help fill those voids and the continuity on the roster as a whole gives general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald flexibility to draft the best player available rather than chase needs, particularly with the No. 32 overall pick in the first round.
Under the guise of picking the best player on the board, which prospects from “wild card” positions could the Seahawks potentially pursue with their first selection later this month?
Linebacker: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech
With starters Ernest Jones and Drake Thomas as well as reserve Tyrice Knight all under contract through 2027, linebacker isn’t anywhere close to the top of the food chain concerning Seattle’s draft needs. But the Seahawks have put themselves in a position where, if a dynamic playmaker with positional flexibility still remains on the board as the best player available, they may not be able to resist pulling the trigger.
Formerly a quarterback at Virginia before transferring to Texas Tech, Rodriguez finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting and won both the Nagurski and Bednarik Trophies after racking up 128 tackles, four interceptions, and an insane seven forced fumbles - most in the nation - for the Red Raiders, helping the program advance to the College Football Playoff for the first time. One year prior, he nearly hit half a dozen sacks, flashing elite blitzing talent to go with his run stuffing and coverage skills. A complete package with elite athleticism that squashed any questions on that front with a remarkable combine performance and pro-ready instincts who can play off-ball linebacker as well as occasionally rush from off edge, Macdonald would have a ton of fun unleashing a potential future All-Pro into the fold who could make a dominant defense even better from the jump.
Tight End: Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
Now entering his third season, AJ Barner has taken an unexpected star turn as one of Sam Darnold’s favorite targets and looks poised to be even better in 2026, while the organization remains confident athletic pass catcher Elijah Arroyo will take a massive step forward in his sophomore season, so the Seahawks certainly don’t have a major need at tight end. Even depth wise, Brady Russell re-signed on a two-year deal and Eric Saubert earned a one-year extension midseason last year.
But Schneider always has been enamored by field-stretching tight ends and if Sadiq, widely viewed as the consensus No. 1 tight end in this year’s class, somehow slips to the bottom of the first round, he may present the best value remaining on the big board as a fun weapon to add to Darnold’s arsenal. A two-year starter for the Ducks, he reeled in 75 receptions for 868 yards and 10 touchdowns during that span, and he also had an active role in the team’s run game as a rare tight end who received significant carries, toting the rock nine times for 42 yards in his college career. For being under 250 pounds, he also gives it his all as a run blocker, even if questions remain on how he will hold up physically against NFL edge defenders in that regard. A ridiculous athlete with sub-4.40 speed and elite explosiveness, he likely will be gone by the first 20-25 picks, but if available at 32, Seattle could once again opt for best player available rather than filling a bigger need.
Quarterback: Ty Simpson, Alabama
Okay, there’s absolutely no way to spin this into existence. Even if Schneider prescribes to the philosophy of drafting a quarterback every year similar to Ted Thompson in Green Bay and holds Simpson in high regard as a future starter in the league, Seattle won’t be investing a first round pick at the position with Sam Darnold and Drew Lock under contract and Jalen Milroe remaining an exciting development option behind them. Carry on.
Defensive Tackle: Kayden McDonald, Ohio State; Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
The Seahawks will welcome back Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, and Byron Murphy II next season as one of the NFL’s most formidable defensive tackle trios, but questions lie on the horizon in the trenches beyond 2026. Williams will be entering the final year of his contract, and while an extension seems inevitable, he will turn 32 years old in June and has 11 years of wear and tear on his resume. Reed has two years left on his current deal, but he turns 34 in December and carries a large $9-plus million cap hit in 2027. Aside from Murphy and 2025 fifth-round pick Rylie Mills, the team doesn’t have much young talent under contract, which could make finding reinforcements an under the radar need.
Pass rushing sells in the draft process, and Macdonald didn’t offer a ton of value to the Buckeyes’ defense on that front with just 10 pressures and three sacks as a junior last season. However, at 326 pounds, he served as an immovable object against the run with plenty of disruptive ability in the interior of Ohio State’s elite defensive front, amassing 65 tackles and nine tackles for loss along with two forced fumbles. Capable of holding up against double teams as well as penetrating through gaps quickly to wreak havoc in the backfield, he would provide immediate contributions as an early down run stuffing force for Seattle while the team hoped to unlock more from him as a pass rusher in similar fashion to what they did with Reed when he first came into the league out of Alabama.
Another big-bodied defender with plenty of girth and length, Hunter enjoyed a breakthrough senior season with the Red Raiders, plugging up gaps on the regular and making more than his share of plays in the backfield. A ferocious bull rusher from the middle whose brute strength and power can overwhelm even the strongest guards and centers, he had more than double the pressures Macdonald did with 25. He also cleaned up in the run game, stacking up blockers and shedding them away to stonewall ball carriers to a tune of 10.5 tackles for loss. He didn’t test well at all in Indianapolis, which could cause him to drop into the late first round or even the second round, but his production on film is undeniable and he’d plug a major hole as a long-term nose tackle for the Seahawks with enough juice to play some snaps as a 3-tech as well.
Receiver: Denzel Boston, Washington; Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
No position received greater investment this spring from Schneider than receiver, as he not only extended Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a record-setting $168.6 million deal, but he also re-signed speedy wideout/kick return specialist Rashid Shaheed on a three-year, $51 million deal and also matched the Jaguars’ offer sheet to keep special teams standout Jake Bobo on a two-year deal worth up to $7 million. Cooper Kupp has two years left on his contract and Tory Horton will be back from a shin injury by the start of training camp, so this position seems good to go for Day 1, and yet, nobody should be surprised if the Seahawks select a receiver early as the best player available.
A local fan favorite for the Huskies, Boston thrived in two years as a starter snagging passes from Demond Williams, totaling 118 catches for nearly 1,600 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. Though he isn’t an elite athlete speed-wise, he’s uber competitive at the catch point and fully takes advantage of his 6-4, 212-pound frame to haul in contested catches over the middle and sky up over smaller cornerbacks and safeties for jump ball victories. He forced 15 missed tackles over the past two years, demonstrating consistent ability to create with the football in his hands, and he scored touchdowns on nearly 20% of his catches, proving to be a real read zone problem for opponents. His size and skill set would be different than anyone else on Seattle’s roster currently and Darnold would love to have another reliable red zone mismatch weapon, making the chance of keeping him in the Pacific Northwest more than a longshot.
While Cooper doesn’t have the height/weight specs Boston brings to the table, he’s a junkyard dog who opposing tacklers hated to see with the ball in his hands at Indiana. He forced a ridiculous 24 missed tackles in 2025 alone, functioning like a bowling ball after the catch in the rugged Big Ten as he slipped out of and powered through defenders on the regular to a tune of 7.1 yards after the catch per reception for the eventual National Champions. He’s physical at the catch point and doesn’t shy away at all from absorbing big hits in traffic, often simply bouncing off and quickly accelerating to rack up extra yards, and he has acrobatic footwork navigating the sidelines, evidenced by a phenomenal game-winning catch against Penn State last year. He gets after it as a run blocker and could be used more in the run game in the NFL, offering the diverse skill set that fits in quite well with a Shanahan-style offense like the one the Seahawks deploy.
Safety: Jalen Kilgore, South Carolina; AJ Haulcy, LSU
In theory, losing Coby Bryant to the Bears in free agency would seem to make safety an area of need. However, the Seahawks have Julian Love and Nick Emmanwori returning as standout starters and Ty Okada, who re-signed as an exclusive rights free agent, played at a high level in 11 starts last season and looks ready to take on a bigger role in Macdonald’s defense. The team also brought in quality veteran reserves D’Anthony Bell and Rodney Thomas in free agency as depth pieces, making safety far from a major concern. But Macdonald loves to deploy three and even four safety looks and the right talent late in the first round could be too much to pass up.
Possessing good size at 200-plus pounds with 4.4 speed, Kilgore is a versatile playmaker who has prior experience at both safety positions as well as the slot, offering quality ball skills with eight picks in three years against SEC competition. As a junior, he limited opposing receivers to a 52% completion rate when targeted in coverage, earning Second-Team All-SEC honors for a second straight year as an anchor for South Carolina’s stingy defense. Though he has been prone to miss an arm tackle attempt from time to time, he loves to mix it up as a tackler against the run and has enough athletic juice to be able to handle smaller receivers out of the slot as well as playing single and two-high safety looks. Finding his position at the next level will be key, but his schematic flexibility and past ties to Nick Emmanwori as former teammates with the Gamecocks would make him a fun Day 2 possibility to plug into Macdonald’s defense in Seattle.
Bringing a well-built 6-0, 215-pound frame to the field, Haulcy has a vintage style to his game, as he loves to dish out the punishment to receivers who dare trying to make a catch over the middle in his presence and though his fundamentals can slip away from him outside of the box in pursuit, he more than happily will throw his helmet into the ring to make big hits in the run game as well. Leading to excellent ball production at three schools, including five interceptions at Houston in 2024, he has a knack for undercutting throws and excels at not only breaking up passes, but picking them off with receiver-like hands. He ran in the low 4.5s at the NFL combine and may not be quite fleet of foot enough to be a deep safety away from two-deep sets, but he would be an intriguing fit to pair with Emmanwori and Julian Love in Seattle’s talented safety room.
