You’re sitting on the couch playing armchair general manager on your phone, and the Seattle Seahawks are paying John Schneider millions of dollars to mold their roster for a reason. Nevertheless, even the most casual NFL fan can easily identify the team’s biggest roster need heading into the 2025 offseason.
The offensive line, which has been a source of contention for this team since Hall of Fame left tackle Walter Jones retired, would be that. The Seahawks were spending more money on their offensive line that season than any other team, and even after winning the Super Bowl, they were practically a deal-breaking unit.
Nevertheless, Russell Wilson had to run for his life both in 2013 and throughout his tenure with the Seahawks. The same has been true of Geno Smith for the last three seasons, and now that front line unit is arguably worse than it’s ever been.
Signing some proven free agents to upgrade the interior is probably the way to go, but the Seahawks have historically avoided splurging in free agency, so most likely we’ll see Schneider attempt to address this issue in the draft.
With that in mind, a new 2025 mock from Dane Brugler at The Athletic has the Seahawks going all out to fill their biggest hole with their first pick. Brugler has Seattle taking Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. at number 18 overall.
The Athletic on Seahawks-Kelvin Banks
“There are plenty of differing opinions around the league on Banks. Some see him as a tackle; others as a guard. Some think he could sneak into the top 15; others see more of a late first-rounder. The Seahawks’ issues on the offensive line extend beyond their personnel, but Banks has “quality starter” written all over him and would help stabilize things.”
Banks (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) has spent the last two years playing left tackle for the Longhorns and has earned strong grades for his work, both in pass protection and run blocking. Most likely Seattle would choose to slide him inside to left guard, where long-time veteran Laken Tomlinson is on his way out after an awful 2024 season.
There’s also an outside chance that the Seahawks will decide not to sign current starting left tackle Charles Cross to a long-term deal. Cross showed some real progress this year after a couple of mediocre seasons to start his career. However, if he were to regress in 2025 – especially in pass protection – they might consider moving in a different direction on the blind side. By drafting Banks, they would have another promising option at that spot.
Seahawks go DT with second pick
While it’s by far their greatest need, the offensive line isn’t the only position group that will have to be addressed in the draft. With veterans Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins over 30 years old and no longer under contract, another early interior defensive line draft pick might be in the cards for Seattle.
Brugler has anticipated this need as well with his second mock pick. He has the Seahawks taking Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker at number 50 overall. Walker (6-foot-6, 344 pounds) would fit as the new franchise nose tackle, allowing Byron Murphy II to move full-time to defensive end where he could make a greater impact as a pass rusher rather than having to swallow double teams constantly. In 37 games with the Wildcats Walker has posted 10 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss and six passes deflected.