Daniel Jeremiah: The ideal QB draft scenario for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks already have their presumptive 2025 starting quarterback in Sam Darnold, who they signed to a three-year, $100.5 million contract in free agency.

And after reuniting with Drew Lock on a two-year deal last week, they could very well already have their backup too.

Report: Seahawks open to trading backup QB Sam Howell

But the league’s best franchises are always looking years in advance. And the reality is that Darnold’s contract is really more of a team-friendly, prove-it deal that the Seahawks could get out of after two seasons. That means they could continue to search for young QBs in the NFL Draft, which would allow them to hedge their bets at the position going forward.

So if the Seahawks were to select a quarterback in next week’s draft, what would be the ideal scenario for them to do so – both in terms of QB and draft capital spent? NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah was posed that question on Wednesday during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

After giving it some thought, Jeremiah went with Ohio State’s Will Howard in the third round at pick No. 92. That’s the last of five picks the Seahawks currently hold over the first three rounds: No. 18, No. 50, No. 52, No. 82 and No. 92.

“I’ll say of all the options, looking at all their picks up to the third round, I would say the 92nd pick, I would take (Howard),” Jeremiah said. “I’d rather take him with that least resource than to use a more valuable resource on some of the other guys.”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates have Howard as the sixth quarterback off the board in their latest mock draft, with the Ohio State QB going to the Los Angeles Rams at pick No. 90. The five QBs they have ahead of Howard are Miami’s Cam Ward at No. 1, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at No. 9, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart at No. 29, Louisville’s Tyler Shough at No. 34 and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe at No. 68.

Howard spent four seasons at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State, where he quarterbacked the talent-laden Buckeyes to a national championship this past season. He finished second in the FBS with a 73% completion rate last year and threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. During the Buckeyes’ four-game run through the College Football Playoff, he completed 75.2% of his passes for 1,150 yards, eight TDs and two interceptions.

The 6-foot-4, 236-pound Howard also showed some scrambling ability while rushing for 226 yards and seven TDs last season, including 57 yards in the national title game victory over Notre Dame.

Most pundits consider this year’s quarterback class to be a weak one, but Seahawks general manager John Schneider pushed back against that notion recent during one of his weekly appearances on Seattle Sports.

“Yeah, I’d be careful when you hear people say this isn’t a great (QB class),” Schneider said. “… I think it depends on the team, how they view the quarterback, how you’re going to acquire him, where you’re going to acquire him.”

The Seahawks currently have four quarterbacks on their roster: Darnold, Lock, 2024 backup Sam Howell and 2024 practice-squad QB Jaren Hall. It’s possible that number could change soon, as ESPN reported on Friday that the Seahawks are open to trading Howell in the wake of signing Lock.

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.

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