Seahawks ought to pick a pass rusher rather than a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft

It’s that time of year again when at least half of the pro football world’s focus shifts to the NFL Draft.

The playoffs are still within sight for the Seattle Seahawks, but with the team on a four-game losing streak and on the outside looking in, many Seahawks supporters are looking ahead to late April 2024. For those hoping the team selects a quarterback, the newest ESPN mock draft sees Seattle selecting top pass rusher Jared Verse instead.

Seahawks Draft Florida State EDGE Jared Verse in Latest Mock Draft

On Monday, Dec. 12, ESPN’s NFL draft expert unveiled his latest 2024 mock draft, in which the Seahawks pick No. 12 overall. This is one position ahead of where they actually are in the new draft order following Week 14, according to NFL.com, but it provides us a good sense of where the team will pick in the present situation.

Miller believes the Seahawks will take Florida State EDGE Jared Verse with their first-round choice rather than a quarterback.

“A strong pass-rusher who can set the edge against the run is exactly what Seattle needs in a draft class that is deficient at defensive tackle (another potential gap for the Seahawks).” At 260 pounds, Verse can bounce inside or outside of opposing offensive tackles, and he plays very similar to Trey Hendrickson,” Miller says. “Verse — who transferred from Albany before the 2022 season — has been on a hot streak and has nine sacks through the end of the regular season, showing he is getting better with more reps and experience.”

The Seahawks need a defensive end in the 2024 NFL Draft. With Boye Mafe (7.0 sacks), Darrell Taylor (4.5), Uchenna Nwosu (on IR, 2.0), and Derick Hall (0.0), the team boasts a strong young pass-rush rotation. They could use a dominant or at least consistent edge rusher to play opposite the rising Mafe.

Verse could be the one. Most mock drafts, including this one, have him as the second EDGE taken after Alabama’s Dallas Turner.

That said, will John Schneider and Pete Carroll be comfortable going into another season with Geno Smith and Drew Lock at quarterback after what transpired this year against the league’s (and division’s) finest signal-callers?

Which QBs are Available in Matt Miller’s Mock?

For the “let’s draft a quarterback to replace Geno Smith” faction, there is good and bad Seahawks draft news. While the team does not select a player in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft in this mock, there are multiple options available when Seattle (hypothetically) picks 12th.

In this scenario, the top four quarterbacks — USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy — are all gone by 12 minutes. Still, the Seahawks have other choices, including Pacific Northwest favorites Michael Penix Jr. from Washington and Bo Nix from Oregon.

The problem the Seahawks will have in the 2024 NFL Draft is that if they do not select a quarterback in Round 1, they will most likely have to wait until Round 3 when they have two picks. Because of the Leonard Williams trade, the franchise’s second-round pick now belongs to the New York Jets.

A lot may and will change before the draft begins on Thursday, April 25, 2024, but waiting until the third round will almost certainly result in a major reduction in potential. Yes, the team did draft Russell Wilson in that round back in 2012, but he was an outlier. If the team waits on a quarterback this year, Seattle supporters should consider Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Tennessee’s Joe Milton, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, or Florida State’s injured Jordan Travis.

Any of those names implies that Smith will be driving for at least another year.

Tags: Seattle Seahawks