Daniel Jeremiah: Why the Seahawks got 2 late-round steals

May 1, 2025, 8:24 AM

Seattle Sports

Most of the praise surrounding the Seattle Seahawks’ draft class has centered on the four talented and high-upside players they added over the first three rounds.

Two analysts detail what they liked about Seahawks’ draft

But according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, the Seahawks also got a pair of late-round steals.

During his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, Jeremiah raved about two of the Hawks’ fifth-round picks: Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills and Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton. Here’s a closer look at both players.

Rylie Mills, DL, Notre Dame (Rd. 5, pick 142)

The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Mills had a highly productive five-year career at Notre Dame, where he piled up 17 sacks and 26 tackles for loss over 61 games. And along the way, he showed his versatility by playing both defensive end and defensive tackle.

This past season, Mills led the Fighting Irish’s stout defense with 7.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 13 games before tearing his ACL in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

That injury is ultimately why Mills fell to the fifth round, according to Jeremiah. Mills was ranked No. 108 on Jeremiah’s list of the top 150 prospects entering the draft.

“If he can come back and be healthy, he would have been in my top 50 players,” Jeremiah said. “When I watched him on tape and he was healthy at Notre Dame, I thought he was a top-50 pick. I love him.”

Caution: Rylie Mills incoming. ⚠️

All 17 @ryliemills99 sacks at @NDFootball. pic.twitter.com/1vnb9ugzKC

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 28, 2025

Jeremiah also pointed to Mills being a high-IQ player and a great teammate. Mills couldn’t fly on a plane after undergoing surgery, so his family rented an RV and drove him to Miami because he wanted to support Notre Dame in its CFP semifinal game at the Orange Bowl.

Jeremiah, a former NFL scout with the Baltimore Ravens, said Mills reminded himself and some former colleagues as a Ravens type of pick.

“I talked to all my buddies (from) the Ravens and now everybody’s scattered throughout the league in different roles – we all liked Rylie Mills,” Jeremiah said. “Like, that was kind of all our guy, because he kind of felt like a guy we’d been around with the Ravens.”

Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State (Rd. 5, pick 166)

The 6-foot-2, 196-pound Horton began his college career at Nevada before transferring to Colorado State and posting back-to-back 1,100-yard receiving seasons for the Rams.

In 2022, Horton totaled 71 catches for 1,131 yards and eight touchdowns. And in 2023, he had 96 catches for 1,136 yards and eight TDs. He finished among the top 20 of the FBS in receiving yards both years.

But in 2024, Horton suffered a knee injury in October that disrupted most of his season and required surgery. Similar to Mills, that likely impacted Horton’s draft stock. Jeremiah ranked Horton as the No. 73 prospect in the draft.

“He just fell because of some medical stuff,” Jeremiah said. “He should never have been there (in the fifth round), talent-wise, at that point in time. … The ’23 tape makes him a top-50 pick every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”

First look at our 166th pick, Tory Horton. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/9YzEJAv0gb

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 26, 2025

At the NFL combine earlier this year, Horton tied for 14th out of 39 receivers with a 4.41-second 40-yard dash. It was particularly impressive given where Horton was in his recovery process. Horton told reporters in his post-draft media session that he’d only resumed running two weeks prior to the combine.

“The guy can do everything,” Jeremiah said. “He can play inside, he can play outside, he’s smooth, he’s fluid, he can separate. He ran a 4.41. He’s got just a beautiful, flowing change of direction. He can go up and get it. He’s got a big catch radius.

“So I mean, honestly, my notes read (that’s he’s) better than 73. And that would have been a bargain if they got him there (at pick 73).”

The medical evaluations

The Seahawks brought in both Mills and Horton for pre-draft visits, which gave them an opportunity to see how they were recovering. So ultimately, as former NFL quarterback Brock Huard said, the Seahawks are trusting their medical evaluations with both of these picks.

“ACLs are funky,” Huard said with regard to Mills. “Some come back in eight months and some come back in 18 months, so you never really know. … This comes down to their medical staff.”

Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.