Seattle Seahawks 2026 NFL Draft Needs, Picks & Depth Chart

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No matter how well they did in free agency, all 32 NFL teams head into the 2026 NFL Draft with holes to fill on the roster.

Leading into the draft, we will identify the top needs for every team and break down the depth chart position by position.

What are the Seahawks' top positions of need heading into the 2026 NFL draft?

Seattle Seahawks Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2026

1. Defensive Back
2. Edge Rusher
3. Running Back

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Seattle Seahawks 2026 Draft Capital

The Seahawks have the 29th-most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value.

Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.

Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft Predictions

Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Seahawks to draft:

• Brendan Donahue's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #2 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
• Ryan McCrystal's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #20 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.

Seattle Seahawks Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Seattle Seahawks, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Quarterback

1. Sam Darnold
2. Drew Lock
3. Jalen Milroe

Sam Darnold is coming off career highs in completion rate (67.7%) and yards per pass attempt (8.5).

He threw 25 touchdowns.

He did throw 14 interceptions, the most since his rookie season, but the season ended with Seattle hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Reunited with Klint Kubiak, Darnold was under center for a career-high 53.9% of his snaps.

Darnold was one of the most effective passers using play action last season, averaging 11.4 yards per pass attempt (2nd) with a league-high 16.8 yards per completion on those attempts.

With Kubiak taking a head coaching job in Las Vegas, the Seahawks brought in Brian Fleury as their new offensive coordinator.

Fleury is a first-time play caller, but he does stem from a similar foundation as Kubiak.

Fleury was with the 49ers from 2019 through last season.

He was even in a building with Darnold when he was with the 49ers in 2023, serving as the tight end coach that season.

Darnold is on the books for the next two seasons, carrying cap numbers of $37.9 million and $41.9 million.

Running Back

1. Zach Charbonnet
2. Emanuel Wilson
3. George Holani
4. Kenny McIntosh
5. Cam Akers
6. Velus Jones
7. Jacardia Wright

Seattle is approaching the NFL draft with a thin running back room.

Kenneth Walker left the team during free agency.

Zach Charbonnet is recovering from an ACL injury that he suffered in the postseason.

Charbonnet had his surgery on February 20th.

That puts his 2026 season in jeopardy with a very late-season timetable in place should he make it back this year.

Charbonnet is also in the final season of his rookie contract.

As of right now, the Seahawks do not have a running back under contract beyond this season.

They have restricted rights on George Holani and exclusive rights on Jacardia Wright.

The Seahawks are a good bet to add a rookie in this draft and likely even another veteran afterward since they have limited draft capital.

The team did add Emanuel Wilson on a one-year, $1.6 million contract.

Wilson can offer short-term support, after taking on a larger role to end 2025 while Josh Jacobs was banged up.

Wilson rushed for 4.0 yards per carry (36th out of 49 backs with 100-plus attempts) and a 41.6% success rate (16th), producing a run of 10 or more yards on 9.6% of his runs (32nd).

He ran behind a battered Green Bay line, averaging only 0.91 yards before contact per rush (43rd).

Holani chipped in during the playoffs last year after Charbonnet went down, playing 34.6% of the offensive snaps in the postseason.

We have next to no sample size to suggest that Holani is an effective runner to this point.

He has 30 career rushes for 93 yards (3.1 YPC).

Wide Receiver

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
2. Rashid Shaheed
3. Cooper Kupp
4. Tory Horton
5. Jake Bobo
6. Ricky White
7. Cody White
8. Montorie Foster
9. Tyrone Broden

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off an incredible regular season, catching 119 passes for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He became the first player in the Super Bowl era to lead the NFL in receiving yards while playing for a team in the bottom three in pass rate.

Smith-Njigba led the league in yards per route run (3.68), share of team targets (35.8%), and share of air yards (50.1%).

That performance netted Smith-Njigba a monster payday this offseason, signing an extension through 2031 that can be worth up to $168.8 million.

Seattle also retained Rashid Shaheed on a three-year contract worth up to $51 million.

Over his nine games with Seattle in the regular season, Shaheed caught 15 of 26 targets for 188 yards and no touchdowns.

In the playoffs, he had only 3 catches for 78 yards.

He was targeted on only 13.9% of his routes for 1.03 yards per route after joining the team.

He earned a target on 22.2% of his routes for 1.68 yards per route with New Orleans.

Shaheed does offer tactical leverage as a vertical threat in the offense and was an excellent kick returner.

With Seattle, Shaheed averaged 16.2 yards per punt return and 29.9 yards per kickoff return with 3 special teams touchdowns.

Cooper Kupp will turn 33 this June.

Kupp posted career lows of 2.9 receptions for 37.1 yards per game in his first season away from Los Angeles, also catching a career-low 2 touchdowns.

Kupp has two years remaining on his current contract, but he only has $4 million in dead cap after this season if Seattle does need to move on or create cap space next offseason.

Tory Horton had a promising start to his rookie season after being selected in the fifth round last spring.

Horton had 13 catches with 5 touchdowns with a special teams touchdown through eight games before a groin injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Horton had offseason surgery and is not expected to participate in team activities until the summer.

Tight End

1. A.J. Barner
2. Elijah Arroyo
3. Eric Saubert
4. Nick Kallerup

A.J. Barner had a solid second season, grabbing 52 of 68 targets for 519 yards and 6 touchdowns.

He also added a rushing touchdown with 10 attempts in Seattle’s version of the Tush Push.

Barner was second on the team in receptions.

He ended the year on a high note, catching 4 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl victory.

Elijah Arroyo did not get much run as a rookie, catching 15 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown.

As a rookie, Arroyo was on the field for 26.6% of Seattle's dropbacks, limited at the end of the year by a knee injury.

Offensive Line

LT: Charles Cross, Josh Jones, Logan Brown
LG: Grey Zabel, Christian Haynes
C: Jalen Sundell, Olu Oluwatimi, Federico Maranges
RG: Anthony Bradford, Bryce Cabeldue
RT: Abraham Lucas, Amari Kight, Mason Richman

The Seattle offensive line improved as the season went on last year, ending up ranking 12th in ESPN’s pass block win rate (65%) and eighth in run block win rate (73%).

11 players took a snap across the line for Seattle last year, and they are bringing all 11 back this season.

Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross are a strong young tackle combination, with both locked up on long-term deals.

Grey Zabel played all but 13 snaps at left guard in his rookie season.

Those three are the young core and foundation up front.

Seattle can add competition and contractual depth at center and right guard.

Jalen Sundell is an unrestricted free agent after 2026.

Anthony Bradford is also in the final season of his contract and was the weakest link on the line last year.

Bradford ranked 75th among guards in overall grade per Pro Football Focus, allowing a 5.8% pressure rate (65th at his position).

Seattle Seahawks Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Seattle Seahawks, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Defensive Line

1. Byron Murphy II
2. Leonard Williams
3. Jarran Reed
4. Mike Morris
5. Rylie Mills
6. Brandon Pili
7. Bubba Thomas
8. J.R. Singleton

The Seahawks fielded one of the best run defenses in the league in 2025, ranking first in yards allowed per carry to running backs (3.5) and top five in basically every important metric.

The three primary contributors from last year are back.

After just half a sack as a rookie, Byron Murphy recorded 7 last season, though his 10.6% pressure rate is good but not elite.

Leonard Williams also recorded 7 sacks with an 11.5% pressure rate, and he consistently made plays in the backfield against the run, finishing with 12 run stuffs.

Jarran Reed worked in more of a rotational role, but he also contributed 2.5 sacks in 13 games.

The Seahawks have some youth behind that established three in 2025 fifth-round pick Rylie Mills, but if looking for a hole in this unit, both Williams and Reed are older, and Williams will be a free agent after the season.

Adding some more young talent along the defensive front makes sense.

Edge Defenders

1. Uchenna Nwosu
2. DeMarcus Lawrence
3. Derick Hall
4. Jared Ivey
5. Jamie Sheriff
6. Connor O’Toole
7. Jalan Gaines

The Seahawks finished sixth in pressure rate (39.9%) last season while recording 47 sacks (7th).

Seattle suffered one of their many losses on defense along the edge with Boye Mafe joining the Bengals in free agency.

They do return Uchenna Nwosu, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Derick Hall, who all played important roles in the rotation last season.

Nwosu tied for the team lead with 7 sacks with a 13.5% pressure rate, and Lawrence was just behind with 6 sacks despite a slightly better 13.7% pressure rate.

Lawrence was also a force against the run, tying for the team lead with 12 run stuffs.

Hall only recorded 2 sacks, but his 16.7% pressure rate would have ranked in the top 15 among pass rushers if he had gotten enough snaps to qualify.

Seattle might be able to get by with just those three in 2026, but Lawrence is 34 while Nwosu and Hall are scheduled to be free agents after the season.

The Seahawks need to add some depth and start planning for the future along the edge.

Linebacker

1. Ernest Jones IV
2. Drake Thomas
3. Tyrice Knight
4. Patrick O’Connell
5. Chazz Surratt
6. Chris Paul Jr.
7. Ja’Markis Weston

Seattle re-signed Drake Thomas this offseason, which keeps their linebacking corps intact heading into 2026.

Ernest Jones led the group in snaps despite missing two games, finishing as a second-team All-Pro.

Thomas showed well against the run, recording 10 run stuffs and a tackle on 17.6% of his run defense snaps.

Tyrice Knight was better on his limited opportunities, recording a stuff on 5.0% of his run defense snaps.

With those three under contract for two more seasons, Seattle is in a good spot at linebacker.

Cornerback

1. Devon Witherspoon
2. Josh Jobe
3. Noah Igbinoghene
4. Nehemiah Pritchett
5. D’Anthony Bell
6. Shemar Jean-Charles

The Seahawks also shut down opposing passing games last year, finishing first in yards per attempt allowed (6.0) and fifth in EPA allowed per pass attempt.

Seattle suffered another big loss at cornerback with Riq Woolen joining the Eagles in free agency.

Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe do return, and Nick Emmanwori (listed below with the safeties) will continue to chip in against slot receivers.

Witherspoon has established himself as one of the best corners in the league, and Jobe allowed just a 74.1 quarterback rating in his coverage last season.

Jobe signed a new three-year extension in March, keeping him under contract through 2028.

The Seahawks have already picked up Witherspoon's fifth-year option for 2027, and they will likely look to work out a long-term extension in the near future.

The depth behind the top two is the question.

Seattle did add Noah Igbinoghene in free agency, but while he has starting experience, he has not been particularly good.

The Seahawks need to add some young talent to this cornerback room.

Safety

1. Julian Love
2. Nick Emmanwori
3. Ty Okada
4. Rodney Thomas II
5. AJ Finley
6. Maxen Hook

Continuing the theme, the Seahawks lost Coby Bryant in free agency after he led the safety group in snaps last year.

Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, and Ty Okada are back.

As mentioned above, Emmanwori is the do-it-all option in this safety room, playing closer to the line of scrimmage and covering the slot.

Love struggled through injuries last season, playing just eight games in the regular season, but he was a starter in the playoffs.

Okada got good experience last year as a result, playing 742 snaps in his first extended run of action in the NFL.

Seattle added Rodney Thomas as depth in free agency.

While he does have starting experience from early in his career, Thomas has been more of a special teams contributor the last couple of seasons.

Safety is an important position in Seattle’s defense, so while they have enough here to get by, adding some more talent makes sense.

2026 Depth Chart Analysis & Team Needs for All 32 NFL Teams