NFL Draft: A ‘home run pick’ at edge rusher for Seahawks

With Boye Mafe departing in free agency, DeMarcus Lawrence entering his age-34 season and Uchenna Nwosu heading into his age-30 season, the Seattle Seahawks could very well target an edge rusher in the early rounds of this month’s NFL Draft.

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If they go that route, who would be a good fit?

When posed that question on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah mentioned Oklahoma edge rusher R Mason Thomas.

Thomas totaled 15.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles over the past two seasons at Oklahoma, earning second-team All-SEC honors in 2024 and first-team All-SEC honors in 2025.

With a 6-foot-2, 241-pound frame, Thomas is a bit undersized for his position, but Jeremiah said he makes up for that with relentless effort and explosiveness.

Jeremiah ranks Thomas as the No. 9 edge rusher prospect and the No. 49 overall prospect in this year’s draft class, so he could be a potential first-round or second-round option for Seattle. As the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks’ first two picks are currently at No. 32 and No. 64 overall.

“He’s got an extremely explosive get-off,” Jeremiah said. “He plays with big energy. He’s got active hands. He’s not the biggest guy in the world. He’s 241 pounds, but I thought he played bigger than that, played violent. There’s a touch of tightness in there, but to me, it’s just the effort and the energy and the juice that he brings off the edge.”

Uncaged 😤 @thomss_r | 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/JCh2SjBurw

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 20, 2025

In particular, Jeremiah thinks Thomas would be a great fit in Seattle, where he wouldn’t have to be the focal point of the Seahawks’ pass rush.

“He’s the absolute home run pick who would fit in that role,” Jeremiah said. “As the No. 2 rusher on a team, he’s a good player. … But (he’d be better) when he’s your No. 3 rusher and he’s part of that rotation – when you’re keeping him fresh and he’s just throwing fastballs the whole time. I’m an R Mason Thomas fan.”

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

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