Seahawks double down on trenches in Mel Kiper and Field Yates’ mock draft

Finally, a mock that doesn’t have the Seahawks taking Troy Fautanu.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Field Yates have a brand spankin’ new three-round mock draft to get NFL fans talking. For once, Seattle doesn’t have Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu mocked to them at No. 16, so we actually have something new to talk about for a change.

Both Michael Penix Jr and Bo Nix were on the board when the Seahawks were on the clock in the first round, but Seattle bypassed both of them. Instead, Yates has Seattle taking arguably the best defensive tackle in the draft, Byron Murphy II.

From the paywalled article:

Yates’ pick: Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas

Seattle needs to hammer the interior of the defensive line at some point early in the draft, and Murphy is the best defensive tackle in the class. He is explosive as a pass-rusher and he plays with power, torque and leverage in the running game.

We’re going to address Murphy indirectly a little later on this week, but he’s definitely someone the Seahawks could choose. He’s an outstanding athlete and could be a great fit for Seattle as a blue-chip interior defensive lineman. Murphy has had an official pre-draft visit, so keep him on your radar.

Penix Jr goes to the Los Angeles Rams in a trade-up to No. 33 overall, Nix heads to the New York Giants five picks later, and Spencer Rattler is taken by the Denver Broncos five picks before the Seahawks are on the clock again. This time it’s Mel Kiper’s turn to be pretend Seahawks GM, and he has Seattle picking one of the top guards in the country prior to his unfortunate leg break against Ohio State.

Kiper’s pick: Zak Zinter, G, Michigan

Zinter broke his leg against Ohio State in November, forcing him to miss the Wolverines’ College Football Playoff run. I don’t think there’s any reason to worry about him missing his rookie season, though. Seattle has just two picks in the first two days of the draft, and it has to add competition at guard with one of those.

Zinter was a unanimous All-American in 2023 for the national champion Wolverines, as well as first-team All-Big Ten in each of the last two seasons. If not for the injury it’s highly likely he would’ve been higher up the draft boards. He played exclusively at right guard, an area where the Seahawks’ projected starter is 2023 fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford.

There’s been a clear deficit between the top teams and the Seahawks in terms of winning in the trenches, so the process is sound to me. Are those the two players you would take if the Seahawks went to the interior with their first two picks? Let us know in the comments!