Seahawks draft Alabama starTyler Booker in The Athletic’s 3-round mock draft

Another week, another mock draft in which the Seattle Seahawks take an offensive lineman in the first round.

We’re still pre-NFL Scouting Combine, so that’s extra reason to take these mocks with a grain of salt, but we’ll still highlight them for the purposes of generating discussion. The Athletic recently did a three-round mock without any mock trades, which means the Seahawks stayed put at No. 18, No. 50, and No. 82.

Here’s their reasoning for Seattle taking Alabama guard Tyler Booker at No. 18:

One of the most powerful big men in the country, Booker is a 6-5 house of a man who features great bend and athleticism to complement his ability to move people inside. A three-year starter, Booker weighed more than 350 pounds as a true freshman but played at closer to 320 this season and flashed dominant run-blocking stretches.

Booker is only 20 years old (for about two more months) and established himself as one of the top offensive linemen in college football in 2023, when he made the All-SEC first-team for the first time. He was a first-team All-American in 2024 even with Alabama having a down year at 9-4.

Of course, we know John Schneider’s stance as far as guards being overdrafted and overpaid. The only time the Seahawks have taken a college guard in the first round under Schneider is… actually, never. James Carpenter was considered a reach in the first round as a tackle back in 2011 and was eventually kicked over to left guard, where he played his entire career. Germain Ifedi was a guard for his rookie season in 2017 and that was a wrap. If you want to expand out to the second round, Seattle drafted Ethan Pocic (center) and Justin Britt (tackle) both had one-year stints at guard but nothing more than that.

I’m also unsure that Booker will fit Klint Kubiak/John Benton’s outside zone blocking scheme, as tempting as he may be due to his incredible size and athleticism.

The other Seahawks draft picks were Arkansas edge rusher Landon Jackson at No. 50, which would mark a third second-round pick used on an edge in four seasons, and Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor at No. 82. Seattle’s willingness to take a wide receiver early will surely be dependent on whether or not the team parts ways with Tyler Lockett as a cap casualty. I’m not thinking the Seahawks will actually trade DK Metcalf, but I also won’t totally rule it out. Either way, receiver is certainly an area the Seahawks could look to invest in earlier than expected.

As an aside: I promise you that we’re going to be doing more of our own mock drafts than aggregating other sites’ mock drafts over the next couple of months. We tend to know our own team better than outsiders.