The Seattle Seahawks have received glowing reviews for their 2025 NFL Draft, with most experts giving them above-average grades and speaking highly of the team’s 11-player draft class.
How experts grade Seahawks’ 2025 draft class as a whole
That includes The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and NFL.com’s Eric Edholm, who both appeared on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob earlier this week. Brugler ranked the Seahawks’ draft class as the third-best in the league, while Edholm also was complimentary of Seattle’s draft haul.
“I think it was a good mix of floor and ceiling,” Edholm said. “You have these potential players through the middle of the draft there – Emmanwori, Arroyo, Jalen Milroe – big upside players who, man, if they max out, this could be a class that we talk about for a long time.”
Here are some highlights of what Brugler and Edholm said about some of the Seahawks’ top picks.
Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State (Rd. 1, pick 18)
Edholm and Brugler were both big fans of the Seahawks drafting Zabel, who addresses their glaring need along the interior offensive line. Zabel, who Seattle plans to play at guard, was widely regarded as either the No. 1 or No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the draft.
“He’s a perfect fit for what they want to be,” Brugler said. “He’s a perfect fit in terms of need on that team. So for both the player and the team, it really was the perfect marriage.”
Edholm was among the analysts who said Zabel was the best offensive lineman at the Senior Bowl earlier this year.
“(He was) the best offensive lineman in Mobile, in my opinion,” Edholm said. “It was right from the get-go. He looked the part, has played every position. … He should be an excellent interior guy.”
Some have speculated that the Seahawks could have traded back and still grabbed Zabel later in the first round. But even if Seattle was able to find a trade partner in that range, Edholm isn’t sure Zabel still would have been available.
“Maybe not everybody had him quite that high, but they weren’t getting him five picks later,” Edholm said. “I think there was somebody behind them that would have pulled the trigger.”
Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina (Rd. 2, pick 35)
The Seahawks traded up 17 spots to take the Emmanwori, who was one of the most tantalizing athletes in the entire draft. The versatile 6-foot-4, 220-pound Emmarwori had an eye-catching performance at the NFL combine and was a big-time playmaker at South Carolina, where he showcased his versatility while roaming around and playing a variety of positions in the Gamecocks’ defense.
“He lived a lot up around the line of scrimmage, and for a guy his size, that makes a lot of sense,” Edholm said. “And they had a good defensive line at South Carolina, so he was shielded a little bit, protected pretty well. But you saw him flying from the backside, making plays.
“I wish he was a little bit more consistent a tackler. I felt like that’s still an area he can clean up. But you could say that about a lot of players.”
The big question for Emmanwori is how he’ll be used in head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense. Given his versatility, there are no shortage of options.
Edholm brought up Los Angeles Chargers All-Pro safety Derwin James – another ultra-versatile defensive talent.
“Derwin James took a few years to really kind of settle into a role in the league, and we’ve seen guys in the wrong hands or maybe miscast a little bit struggle to find their footing,” Edholm said. “But it sounds like they’re open to him doing a little bit of everything.
“I just hope he can master one or two things year one, and then kind of branch out from there.”
.@GamecockFB safety @Eman7Nick is ready to make big plays on Sundays 😤
📺: 2025 #NFLDraft – April 24-26 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ZX2IGcgjD8
— NFL (@NFL) April 19, 2025
Elijah Arroyo, TE, Miami (Rd. 2, pick 50)
Brugler thinks Arroyo is a great addition to Seattle’s tight end room. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Miami product has game-breaking athleticism and speed, which he displayed last season with 590 yards receiving, seven touchdown catches and 16.9 yards per catch – the latter of which was the most among FBS tight ends.
“I really like Elijah Arroyo,” Brugler said. “Really athletic. Nobody could cover him at the Senior Bowl. So you take that speed, the pass-catching ability you think about that tight end depth chart and how much it’s going to change in probably the next two to three years for Seattle – Arroyo is going to be a major factor in moving up consistently over the length of his rookie contract.”
Elijah Arroyo moving this fast at 6’4″, 245 LBS👀💨
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 9, 2024
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama (Rd. 3, pick 92)
In one of the most intriguing picks of the entire draft, the Seahawks took a third-round flier on Alabama dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe. Brugler acknowledges that Milroe has a long way to go as a passer, but thinks he’s absolutely worth a shot in the third round, given his rare athletic traits and special talent as a runner.
“He’s very raw and unpolished as a passer,” Brugler said. “But as an athlete, as a big-play creator, he is special and really dynamic, so you take a chance on a player like that, see what you have. That’s I think very much worth the risk at that point.”
Edholm agreed.
“This is a fascinating stab at greatness,” Edholm said. “I don’t think it’s gonna be perfect at first, but then again, Lamar (Jackson) wasn’t either. I watched Lamar in training camp live and thought, ‘Oh boy, this may not work.’ He had some rough practices. Three months later, he was lighting up the league.
“So just sometimes the light can go on. And I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about his character too. Everybody said this is a guy you want to go into battle with.”
NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE BUT FOUR RUSHING TDS FOR JALEN MILROE 😱
ABSOLUTELY TERRORIZING THE LSU DEFENSE 😳 pic.twitter.com/XuXOsCkLLC
— ESPN (@espn) November 10, 2024
Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State (Rd. 5, pick 166)
Edholm and Brugler both thought the Seahawks got some great value picks in the later rounds.
In particular, Brugler pointed to Horton. The speedy 6-foot-3 wideout posted back-to-back 1,100-yard receiving seasons in 2022 and 2023, but missed most of 2024 with a knee injury. Brugler and numerous other experts had projected Horton as a third-round pick.
“Tory Horton was one of the steals of the draft – to get him (in) the fifth round to help kind of fill out their wide receiver depth chart,” Brugler said. “I won’t be surprised if Horton’s really pushing for starting reps at some point this year as a rookie.”
First look at our 166th pick, Tory Horton. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/9YzEJAv0gb
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 26, 2025
Listen the full conversation with NFL.com’s Eric Edholm at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Hear the full conversation with The Athletic’s Dane Brugler at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story.
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