2023 NFL Draft Recap: Seattle Seahawks
The 2023 NFL Draft has concluded after months of scrutiny about these prospects, potential landing spots, team and scheme fits, and so on. Now we get to start the entire process all over again now that we have team landing spots for these college prospects with their new NFL teams.
Today, we tackle the Seattle Seahawks and how they fared in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Seattle's 2023 NFL Draft Selections:
- Round 1, Pick 5 - Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
- Round 1, Pick 20 - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio St.
- Round 2, Pick 37 - Derick Hall, OLB, Auburn
- Round 2, Pick 52 - Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA
- Round 4, Pick 108 - Anthony Bradford, G, LSU
- Round 4, Pick 123 - Cameron Young, DT, Mississippi St.
- Round 5, Pick 151 - Mike Morris, DE/DT, Michigan
- Round 5, Pick 154 - Olusegun Oluwatimi, C, Michigan
- Round 6, Pick 198 - Jerrick Reed II, S, New Mexico
- Round 7, Pick 237 - Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia
The 2023 Fantasy Football Impact:
It's crazy to think just 14 months ago the Seahawks were finalizing a deal to ship its star quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. The move was widely believed to signal the beginning of a full rebuild for an organization who appeared in two Super Bowls and eight playoff appearances since Wilson was drafted in 2012.
With the added draft capital, nobody would've been shocked if Seattle went with a new franchise quarterback early. Not only did the Seahawks not draft a quarterback, but they also signed veteran Geno Smith to a three-year, $105 million deal with $40 million guaranteed earlier in this offseason. The front office added another dynamic weapon for Smith with the addition of Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20 overall. The Ohio State product joins a receiving core led by DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to form one of the best trios in the league. The biggest question for this offense headed into preseason is will all three receivers be on the field at once? Seattle ran 11 personnel just about half of their snaps last season with the emphasis on a balanced rushing attack with running backs Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Walker III.
If Seattle switches gears and runs more three-wide sets in 2023, JSN can become one of the best values in fantasy drafts as an every-week WR2 option. Even if Seattle continues a balanced attack, JSN still should be on the radar as a WR2/Flex in most formats. If Metcalf or Lockett miss time for any reason JSN could take over a starting role and never relinquish it for years to come.
For the second straight draft, Seattle used second-round draft capital to boost the running back position. Rashaad Penny, the team's former first-round pick, chose to sign with Philadelphia in free agency this offseason. Zach Charbonnet was generally regarded as the third-best running back in this class behind Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs and steps into a role to complement Kenneth Walker III.
So what can fantasy managers expect from the UCLA product? When you turn on the film, you can see flashes of another running back in the NFC West: James Conner. As mentioned above in the JSN section, whether Seattle runs more 11 personnel this season is the ultimate question. What kind of workload will each running back receive heading into the season? Should we even be interested if both are sharing duties and it becomes near impossible to start the right player? At first glance, the expectation for Charbonnet should be similar to Green Bay's AJ Dillon - A RB3 unless Walker misses time for any reason.
What sets Kenny McIntosh apart from Walker and Charbonet, is his ability as a receiver. A developmental player in the seventh round, McIntosh can make the team with his NFL-type frame and blocking ability alone. When you turn on the film you can see flashes of ability for the Georgia product and it makes you wonder why he wasn't more productive in college. Was he just overshadowed by the ultra-talented Georgia team who won the last two BCS Championships? If McIntosh can develop into a decent receiver, he has a chance to make fantasy rosters down the road in PPR formats.