It’s officially mock draft season, and even though the NFL Scouting Combine has yet to start, draft analysts are already out in full force trying to determine which college football stars fit best on each of the 32 NFL teams.
Touchdown Wire released its first mock draft of the season this week. No hypothetical trades were included in the projections, meaning the Seahawks kept their first-round pick at No. 21 overall.
Seattle is, of course, notorious for trading down and out of the first round, a scenario that seems all the more likely considering they only have four total picks in this year’s draft.
Regardless, this latest mock has the Seahawks selecting Mississippi State edge defender Montez Sweat.
“While the need for an elite free safety looms large with the departure of Earl Thomas, Carroll has always believed that you can never have too many pass rushers,” Farrar writes in the post. “A slim, athletic marvel, Sweat is just about unblockable when he puts it all together, and he reminds me a bit of Bruce Irvin, who Seattle took in the first round of the 2012 draft. Sweat is a superior athlete in need of a plan.”
Sweat is not the first reported Seahawks target to be compared to Irvin, with Florida edge defender Jachai Polite drawing a similar comparison.
Drafting an edge defender certainly makes sense, as Seattle will need pass rushing even if they bring Clark back into the fold.
While the most likely scenario remains a trade down to acquire more picks, in a class that is loaded with pass rush talent, Seattle could choose to make a splash in the first round.
