NFL

Seattle Seahawks Make Shocking Pick In Matt Miller’s Too Early NFL Mock Draft

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6 months ago

July 2, 2024

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Seattle Seahawks Make Shocking Pick In Matt Miller’s Too Early NFL Mock Draft

The 2025 NFL Draft isn’t for 10 months and mock drafts that come out in July aren’t meant to be perfect. What they do is provide, however, an interesting blueprint for what could happen down the road. For the Seattle Seahawks, such prognostications offer an interesting idea.

ESPN’s Matt Miller released a mock draft before the beginning of training camp to give us a semblance of what could happen come April. For the Seahawks, it’s a fascinating one as they select Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

Seattle has one of the NFL’s best receiving corps, but it’s also a unit poised for a breakup. Tyler Lockett — who is entering his age-32 season — and DK Metcalf both have potential outs in their contracts after this coming season. Yes, second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will factor into the Seahawks’ future plans, but adding a true No. 1 receiver with size is a sneaky need. McMillan is massive at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, and his catch radius seems unlimited. He grabbed 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and is poised for another huge year with quarterback Noah Fifita returning.

– ESPN’s Matt Miller

It’s both an interesting and somewhat head-scratching selection. First, Miller had the Seahawks selecting at 11th overall, which is based on ESPN’s FPI rankings. The Seahawks are likely going to be selecting later than 11th overall once April comes around.

Secondly, the idea of moving on from one of DK Metcalf or Tyler Lockett is also a fascinating storyline by itself. Lockett is a candidate to potentially retire after the season, as his initial goal was to retire at 30. The Seahawks could save $17 million on the 2025 salary cap by moving on from Lockett with $13.89 million in dead cap whereas Metcalf would save slightly over $22 million with $7.5 million in dead cap.

Moving on from one of them could make sense financially as the Seahawks are currently projected to be over the salary cap in 2025. Now, extensions can push that money out relatively easily, but it’s worth noting.

McMillan should be one of the most intriguing receiver prospects in the 2025 class. Going into his third year at Arizona, McMillan is a massive prospect at 6-5 and 210 pounds. He isn’t your standard tall receiver either. McMillan moves like a much smaller receiver, making things look effortless as he attacks the ball in the air. The fluidity he shows is incredibly rare for a player his size and the athleticism is borderline elite. Imagine a taller DeAndre Hopkins with improved speed.

Could that make sense for the Seahawks? Having three high-end weapons on the outside would provide defenses a difficult challenge each week, but of course, a significant departure would likely need to precursor drafting McMillan next spring with other major needs to address.