Seattle billed as one of the most improved teams following the NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus
The Seattle Seahawks continue to earn praise for how they drafted.
Much of the Seattle Seahawks' NFL Draft strategy was to take the best player available, and it seems to have worked out.
Following the draft, the Seahawks were labeled as one of the most improved teams in the NFL, alongside the Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals by Pro Football Focus.
It is a designation for Seattle that is well deserved. The Seahawks walked away with cornerback Devon Witherspoon and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba after round one. Both Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba were listed as the No. 1 cornerback and receiver. Those selections were followed up by using Day 2 to fill critical team needs. And on Day 3, Seattle appeared comfortable taking the best player available again. In all, the Seahawks walked away with a solid crop of players, and PFF is taking note of that reality.
PFF's high regard for the Seahawks draft has to do directly with how they view the talent level of the players the team now possesses.
"Witherspoon plays with an exceptional ability to read the game and anticipate what’s coming, and targeting him last season yielded a 25.3 passer rating, more than 10 points worse than just throwing the ball at the dirt every play instead," Sam Monson wrote in the draft breakdown. "JSN [Smith-Njigba] is a route-running technician who spent over 90% of his snaps in college in the slot, the one area where Seattle was without a major receiving threat."
The pick that was seen as a bit of a reach by the Seahawks was the selection of Derick Hall, the pass rusher out of Auburn.
"Hall is something of a one-trick pony in terms of a pass-rusher right now, but he has the tools to develop into more, and that one trick (power combined with a long-arm move) has been very productive in the SEC," Monson wrote.
PFF's analysis of Hall doesn't align well with what head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider think about him as a player. Both, following Day 2 of the draft, spoke highly of his "stout" build and gushed about his potential to be a major disruptor along the defensive line.
"Speed and power are really his strength, and he pursues the ball really well — he chases it," Carroll said. He’s really a constant. He plays with great energy, and he played a ton of plays.
As for the most confusing picks of the draft, PFF labeled that selection as running back Zach Charbonnet. With Kenneth Walker III on the team, Monson didn't understand why exactly Seattle would use such a high pick on another running back. But, PFF did concede that the Seahawks now possess a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield. And that was much of the thought process the Seahawks drafted with when selecting Charbonnet.
"He’s going to be right in there with Ken (Walker III)," Carroll said. "It’s going to take both guys to get the workload with some help from DeeJay (Dallas)… There will be a rotation there as well. We’ll have to see how it plays its way out. Like is there a strength that we should stay with Zach and he should get more of that time or Kenny should? We’ll wait and see. The versatility is awesome. "
It is safe to assume that Seattle walked away with a good group of players in the 2023 NFL Draft. The team is excited about what most of their top picks bring to the table. And PFF is giving the Seahawks the credit they deserve for drafting well all weekend. On the surface, it looks like the Seahawks outsmarted and out-drafted the rest of the league.
