Why draft analyst calls 5th-round OL his favorite Seahawks pick

There’s a lot to like about the Seattle Seahawks’ 2026 NFL Draft class.

Even though taking a running back in the first round is something teams have gone away from in recent years, the Seahawks’ decision to grab Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price has been fairly well received.

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Adding TCU safety Bud Clark in the second round to head coach Mike Macdonald’s Super Bowl-winning defense was a popular pick, too.

And then on Day 3 of the draft, the Seahawks made a move that has been seen as a potential steal. Seattle traded their 2027 fourth-round pick to move into the fifth round, where they took Iowa offensive guard Beau Stephens.

On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said Stephens could make a run at playing time at right guard as a rookie. And later in the day, Rob Staton of SeahawksDraftBlog.com added his voice to the chorus.

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“I think any time that you can get a lineman from Iowa, it’s a good thing. You’ve kind of got to do it,” Staton said during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

The Seahawks’ selection of Stephens was Staton’s favorite of the draft.

“I had him as a player who could go on Day 2,” Staton said, referring to the day dedicated to the second and third rounds of the draft. “It was surprising that he lasted, and he wasn’t the only one. (Oregon guard) Emmanuel Pregnon lasted a lot longer than I think people expected, as well. So to see him there at the start of Round 5, the Seahawks clearly thought, this is a bit of an opportunity here, we’re going to use some of our stock for next year to go and get him.

“Now you’ve got the third-best zone blocking guard in the draft coming in. Everybody at Iowa loves him, won back-to-back years leadership awards for the way that he carried himself on and off the field. He can come in and compete with Anthony Bradford (at right guard) this year, and the worst-case scenario is perhaps you’ve got somebody who could take over from him in a year’s time. That was the one that had me sort of celebrating the most.”

Hear the full Bump and Stacy conversation with SeahawksDraftBlog.com’s Rob Staton at this link or in the player below. Catch Bump and Stacy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

More Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft reaction

• A Seahawks draft pick you can expect to make immediate impact
• Why RB Price passed up more money to stay at Notre Dame
• One big question remains for Seahawks after the draft
• Where Seattle Seahawks’ draft picks could fit on the depth chart
• What experts said about Seattle Seahawks’ draft class

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