Seahawks could draft powerful edge who ‘exploded’ in 2025

There’s a case to be made that edge rusher may be the Seattle Seahawks’ biggest need ahead of next week’s NFL Draft.

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In the short-term, the Seahawks need to replace free agent departure Boye Mafe. And looking ahead, Seattle needs to keep the position stocked with young talent with DeMarcus Lawrence entering his age-34 season and Uchenna Nwosu heading into his age-30 season.

One possible early-round option for the Seahawks could be 6-foot-6, 262-pound Missouri edge rusher Zion Young, who was the subject of former NFL quarterback Brock Huard‘s Seahawks draft profile series Monday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

Young didn’t have much production over his first three college seasons, totaling 2.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss combined between 2022 and 2023 at Michigan State, and then 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss in 2024 at Missouri. But he exploded for a massive 2025 senior campaign, recording 6.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles while earning first-team All-SEC honors.

With his powerful frame, Young is also regarded as a strong edge-setter and run defender – particularly vital traits for edge rushers in Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense. Last season, he ranked 14th out of 908 FBS edge rushers in Pro Football Focus run defense grading.

According to ESPN, Young is the No. 5 edge rusher and No. 29 overall prospect in this year’s draft class.

“Many (draft experts) have said this is a Seahawk kind of guy, a Mike Macdonald kind of guy – 6-6, long, 260 (pounds), 33-inch arms,” Huard said. “… Went up to Michigan State for a couple years and was good, not great. Went down to Missouri and was good. And then exploded this year. First-team all-conference, put everything together.

“That kind of scares me a little bit, I’ll be honest. This is not a four-year track record of immense production. But this year was like, this is a top-20 pick.”

Can’t hide from Z 😤 @ZionReese3 #MIZ | #STP pic.twitter.com/xCnr0szBZf

— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) October 19, 2025

Young was arrested in December on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, which could explain why there’s a high variance in where he appears in various mock drafts. In a recent ESPN mock draft, Field Yates projected Young to the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 20 overall pick. Meanwhile, in a recent NFL Network mock draft, Chad Reuter projected Young to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 68 overall.

“There’s some immaturity and some poor decision-making that may lower that stock a little bit, that may scare some off,” Huard said. “(The Seahawks) are going to do their due diligence. And this may be one, honestly, where I can look at all this stuff, but (Seahawks general manager) John Schneider and staff and scouts have been looking back to this guy at Michigan State and are like, no, no, we’re not totally comfortable. He may be off their board for some of those things off the field.

“But on the field, there’s a whole bunch of traits and (ability for) stopping the run and the pass at 6-6, 260 with (DeMarcus) Lawrence kind of arms. That dude very much intrigued me.”

Listen to the full draft profile from Brock Huard at this link or in the audio above. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks offseason coverage

• Brock’s Seahawks Draft Profile: Pitt hybrid LB/S Kyle Louis
• Schneider details where Seattle Seahawks are at in prep for draft
• Brock: 3 Seattle Seahawks who can make a jump this offseason
• Daniel Jeremiah: 2 boom-or-bust draft prospects for Seattle Seahawks
• Brock’s Seattle Seahawks Draft Profile: Illinois edge Gabe Jacas

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