The 2024 NFL Draft is set to take place in Detroit, Michigan, from April 25-27. The event will see all 32 NFL teams select from a talented pool of prospects, including a number of players from the University of Washington.
The Seahawks have seven picks in the draft, including the No. 16 overall selection. They are expected to target an offensive lineman with their first-round pick, with UW product Troy Fautanu a possibility. Fautanu was part of the Huskies’ highest-rated offensive line in college football last season and has been consistently linked to the Seahawks.
Other positions of need for the Seahawks include linebacker and safety. The team had a lot of turnover at those spots this offseason, with Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, and Jordyn Brooks all being let go. Seattle has signed some veteran free agents to fill those spots for 2024, but the team is expected to target at least one prospect at each of those spots during the draft.
The Seahawks have only drafted two quarterbacks since 2010, taking Russell Wilson in 2012 and Alex McGough in 2018. The possibility of the team selecting a signal-caller in 2024 was diminished after the Seahawks made a trade in March to acquire Sam Howell from the Washington Commanders. Howell started all 17 games for Washington in 2023, throwing 21 touchdowns along with an NFL-high 21 interceptions.
This year’s draft class offers quite a few quarterbacks who are expected to be strong NFL players. Among them are a couple of prospects well-known in the Pacific Northwest. UW’s Michael Penix Jr. and University of Oregon product Bo Nix were Heisman Trophy finalists in 2023. Penix played for Grubb over his last two prolific seasons in college.
The Seahawks might opt instead to focus on other positions of greater need and then go after a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft. The team reportedly met with the University of South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler and the University of Central Florida’s John Rhys Plumlee. Rattler and Plumlee are expected to be late-round selections.
The NFL Draft will be televised by ESPN and NFL Network for the duration of the three-day event.
