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The Seattle Seahawks are urged to ignore “a bit rich” Kenneth Walker III plan in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft and target a different position.<\/p>\n
Many expect Seattle Seahawks<\/a> general manager John Schneider to use the 32nd pick in the 2026 NFL draft to replace Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III<\/a>, but one analyst thinks using a first-round pick to take a running back would be \u201ca bit rich,\u201d especially if a \u201cpower-based\u201d replacement for edge-rusher Boye Mafe<\/a> is still on the board.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a scenario mapped out by Todd McShay of The Ringer<\/a>. He noted \u201cA lot of people want to plug Jadarian Price in here as Seattle\u2019s immediate replacement for Kenneth Walker III, and while I wouldn\u2019t rule it out entirely, it feels a bit rich at this spot.\u201d<\/p>\n McShay\u2019s alternative is for the Seahawks to take Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker. The reasoning is based on Parker being \u201ca power-based edge who can collapse the pocket and set a strong edge against the run. Based on his 2024 tape and Senior Bowl performance, he still profiles as a first-round talent, making this a potential high-value pick for Seattle, and one that helps offset the loss of Boye Mafe in free agency.\u201d<\/p>\n That note about replacing Mafe is significant. He cashed in his role in last season\u2019s title win to join the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> in free agency, robbing the Seahawks of some niche skills in their deep and versatile pass-rush room.<\/p>\n Skills appreciated by head coach Mike Macdonald, and enough to prompt some to predict the Seahawks will go edge-rusher in the opening round<\/a>.<\/p>\n T.J. Parker One of Many Potential Boye Mafe Replacements<\/p>\n McShay acknowledged the risks<\/a> of picking Parker. As he put it, \u201cParker was viewed as an ascending talent entering the 2025 season, but things didn\u2019t quite go as planned (which was the case for several Clemson prospects). NFL<\/a> teams seem to think there were some off-field factors\u2014including getting married during the season and adjusting to a new defensive coordinator\u2014that contributed to the uneven year.\u201d<\/p>\n Betting first-round value on what a player did two seasons ago is a gamble. Even though Parker compares favorably to the top edge-rushers in this class, with PFF College<\/a> noting how \u201cSince 2023, only Rueben Bain Jr & David Bailey have more QB pressures than Parker.\u201d<\/p>\n Clemson\u2019s T.J. Parker\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n Since 2023, only Rueben Bain Jr & David Bailey have more QB pressures than Parker<\/p>\n Schneider doesn\u2019t necessarily need to take a risk, despite the obvious need to replace Mafe. A need spelled out by Macdonald: \u201cProbably the best thing that Boye does is quick wins early, which was something that you need. You need to be able to affect the quarterback fast. Can he finish a little bit better? Yeah, absolutely, but if you get the quarterback off the spot, it means somebody else is probably making that play, too,\u201d per ESPN\u2019s Brady Henderson<\/a>.<\/p>\n The desire to find another speed rusher was likely behind the Seahawks hosting a big-play edge defender<\/a> described by draft analyst Rob Rang<\/a> as a \u201cBoye Mafe-clone.\u201d<\/p>\n Rang also pointed out \u201cTexas A&M\u2019s Cassius Marsh, Oklahoma\u2019s R Mason Thomas and Michigan\u2019s Jaishawn Barham play with the ferocity and intensity Mike Macdonald demands.\u201d<\/p>\n Parker offers more bulk at 263 pounds, so the 22-year-old might be more of a successor for DeMarcus Lawrence<\/a>, than a replacement for Mafe. Lawrence is 34 and there\u2019s already been speculation retirement is near<\/a>.<\/p>\n Schneider using one of the mere four picks<\/a> at his disposal to find Lawrence\u2019s heir apparent<\/a> makes sense. Particularly when Macdonald\u2019s schemes rely on rotating in a fleet of fresh and roving pass-rushers to maintain consistent pressure from all angles.<\/p>\n Following this strategy is the smart move, provided the temptation to select another Walker doesn\u2019t prove too great.<\/p>\n Seahawks Sure to Miss Kenneth Walker<\/p>\n There\u2019s no mystery behind why Price is such a popular pick<\/a> for the Seahawks. He possesses the workhorse traits to ensure Walker isn\u2019t missed too much.<\/p>\n The latter\u2019s prolific postseason run powered Seattle\u2019s push to the Lombardi Trophy, culminating in rushing for 135 yards against the New England Patriots<\/a> in the big game. Walker\u2019s patience, deceptive breakaway speed and sudden cuts were also perfect attributes for the zone-based schemes underpinning the Seahawks\u2019 ground attack.<\/p>\n Schneider hasn\u2019t put an obvious replacement on the roster, despite adding Emanuel Wilson<\/a> in free agency. It\u2019s why Price is emerging as the consensus 32nd-overall pick<\/a>, with one analyst even warning Schneider<\/a> about the risks of ignoring the former Notre Dame power back.<\/p>\n Not taking Price, or another back, would leave the Seahawks without an obvious starter. They could rely on the same committee approach Macdonald trusts at edge-rusher, a strategy the Seahawks can reinforce by selecting Parker.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJames Dudko<\/a> covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Seahawks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Seattle Seahawks are urged to ignore “a bit rich” Kenneth Walker III plan in the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":867465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[7,6,238,237,261,2635],"class_list":{"0":"post-867464","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-seahawks","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-seahawks","11":"tag-seattle","12":"tag-seattle-seahawks","13":"tag-seattleseahawks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116412300776967910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}