The Seattle Seahawks will (presumably) make their first pick in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday, April 25. That is a safe assumption, of course, because Seattle now holds the 16th pick in the draft, but there is also a significant potential that Seattle trades later in the first round or opts out entirely. The team should strive to acquire at least one second-round pick back.
Seattle’s needs early in the draft are the interior of the offensive and defensive lines. Seattle doesn’t need a running back or a wide receiver right now. Off-ball linebacker is another a position in need, albeit not in the immediate future.
Among the many changes made by the Seahawks this summer, free agency linebackers Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks were released. Wagner is a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he has already left Seattle twice and is unlikely to return. Brooks was not a good coverage player and would not have fit well into new head coach Mike Macdonald’s style.
The Seattle Seahawks may find it difficult to select an off-ball linebacker in the 2024 draft.
Seattle signed Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson to one-year contracts to replace Wagner and Brooks, but that simply means the team may be searching for one or two more inside linebackers in 2025 to start immediately. One of these players could be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah has a warning for NFL teams looking for off-ball linebackers in the draft: “Not a good year to need off-ball linebackers.”
Jeremiah expressed his ideas in a tweet but did not elaborate on his opinion on social media. Instead, he revealed his top 150 prospects on NFL.com, with the first off-ball linebacker not appearing until 29. That player is Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper. The next inside linebacker is North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson, who is ranked 41, followed by Michigan’s Junior Colson at 43. The next linebacker is ranked 75.
Jeremiah plainly believes that a team in desperate need of inside linebackers will not get a good one in 2024. Cooper might be good, and Jeremiah believes his greatest football is still to come, but if Jeremiah truly believed in Cooper, why not rate him higher?
However, there is some good news. In Jeremiah’s profile of Cooper, he describes the Texas A&M prospect as possessing characteristics that the Seahawks require. Jeremiah describes a “rangy linebacker with excellent speed and coverage ability.” Against the pass, he plays with vision and understanding, and his drops are smooth. He is quite comfortable in man coverage and has the speed to get tight ends up the seam.
That is exactly what Seattle need in an inside linebacker in 2023, as well as the type of off-ball linebacker who fits seamlessly into Macdonald’s scheme. If the Seahawks trade back into the draft’s top 20 and choose Edgerrin Cooper, that decision may be tremendously beneficial. Or Seattle could just choose a QB and surprise everyone (or no one).
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