Stacy: Why the one ‘F’ grade for Seahawks’ draft misses the mark

The Seattle Seahawks have drawn praise from a few analysts for their 2026 NFL Draft class — one that NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah called “boringly good” on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk — but not everyone is as eager to heap praise.

In fact, one outlet gave Seattle an “F.”

Notre Dame coach: Seahawks top pick Price’s ‘best is yet to come’

The Athletic’s Austin Mock gave the Hawks one of the three worst grades in his latest feature. The main concern? In his opinion, taking a running back (emphasis on running back) earlier than they needed to, and reaching on a few other picks.

Mock settled on his grades by trying to find the teams getting the most “surplus value,” using a few approaches to do so, including comparing the consensus big board to find out where reaches were, and then checking the difference in veteran and rookie position salaries (an edge that slipped to a team, for instance, would get points for both not being a reach and giving pretty massive financial value).

Here’s what Mock said about the Seahawks’ draft:

It all starts with selecting a running back at No. 32 — Jadarian Price ranked No. 47 on our consensus big board. Maybe there was a world in which teams were lining up for him in the early second round, but that’s a loss Seattle should’ve been willing to take.

Outside of that, the Seahawks had very little draft capital, and they made just three selections in the top 100 (and four in the top 150). I’m a fan of Bud Clark, but he was also a reach at No. 64;  the same for cornerback Julian Neal at No. 99. Three reaches inside the top 100 isn’t a recipe to continuing your reign atop the NFL.

Now, Mock is perfectly within his right to use his grading system the way he sees fit. And per his system… sure, this makes sense. The Seahawks took a player at 32 who typically fell into the 40s on most big boards, that player was a running back, and they also made a selection at No 64 (a safety!) when most expected them to trade back.

But what’s missing here, understandably, is context.

Mock said risking Price going to another team in the second round was a loss “Seattle should’ve been willing to take,” but that hardly feels fair for a team with such shallow running back depth after Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III left in free agency. Missing out on Price wouldn’t feel as costly if the next-best running back wasn’t far behind. But not a single halfback was taken in the second round, meaning the rest of the league saw a clear gap between Price and the third-best prospect. The odds Price fell to No. 47 (on the consensus board) felt very slim.

Plus, not trading back before taking Price wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Seahawks, on the record, explored trading back from 32 overall, but five trades were done before they were on the clock. Perhaps without those moves Seattle does trade back and get Price at 39 or 40, but they clearly didn’t want to risk not having a possible answer in a running back room with two players coming back from torn ACLs (Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh) and just one outside free agent addition (Emmanuel Wilson). The Seahawks’ offense needs a great running back tandem, and Seattle got closer to a Super Bowl return with insurance there.

Speaking of running back value, it’s not a coincidence that both Seattle and the Arizona Cardinals — the two teams to select running backs in the first round — received “F” grades. A large part is the gap (or lack of difference, rather) between running back value on a first-round rookie deal and running back value on a free agent contract. But again, the difference between a No. 3 overall pick and the 32nd overall pick is pretty massive here. The Cardinals are giving Jeremiyah Love a four-year, $53 million contract. Price, on the other hand, will sign a four-year, $16.7 million contract — or, roughly the value Walker’s deal with the Chiefs pays in one season ($14.3 million average annual value).

To be fair, I don’t know that a single Seahawks fan cares too much about a failing grade for the Seahawks, especially not after their 2012 draft class was dealt the same.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Report: Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook considering bids on Seahawks
• Bump’s hope for Seattle Seahawks’ rookies this season
• Seattle Seahawks sign a six-year NFL veteran tight end
• Five things to know about second-round pick Bud Clark
• Analyst calls fifth-round OL his favorite Seattle Seahawks pick

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