Expect several future Seahawks to come out of 2022 Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is today, and while I have a whole lot of ignorance about college football compared to obsessively following it as a child, I do know that if history is a guide we will have a few players from the game drafted by the Seattle Seahawks.

This has been somewhat of a running joke but one founded in reality... Seattle loves them some seniors. They’re not unique in this regard — the 49ers took Senior Bowl participants Deebo Samuel and Fred Warner and the Rams’ notable picks who played in the Senior Bowl include Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Joe Noteboom, and Greg Gaines — but a significant part of their draft strategy in recent years has been to look for players who’ve used up all of their collegiate eligibility.

The list below includes every Seahawk taken in the NFL Draft under Pete Carroll and John Schneider who played in the Senior Bowl, as well as any players immediately signed as UDFAs.

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2021

Dee Eskridge, 2nd round

Tre Brown, 6th round

2020

Jordyn Brooks, 1st round* (did not play in Senior Bowl due to injury)

Darrell Taylor, 2nd round

Damien Lewis, 3rd round

Alton Robinson, 6th round

Stephen Sullivan, 7th round

2019

L.J. Collier, 1st round

Marquise Blair, 2nd round

Gary Jennings Jr, 4th round

2018

Rashaad Penny, 1st round

Shaquem Griffin, 5th round

Poona Ford, undrafted

2017

Ethan Pocic, 2nd round

Amara Darboh, 3rd round

Justin Senior, 6th round

2016

Jarran Reed, 2nd round

Nick Vannett, 3rd round

Quinton Jefferson, 5th round

2015

Tyler Lockett, 3rd round

2014

Kevin Norwood, 4th round

2013

Jordan Hill, 3rd round

Chris Harper, 4th round

Ty Powell, 7th round

2012

Bobby Wagner, 2nd round

Russell Wilson, 3rd round

2011

James Carpenter, 1st round

John Moffitt, 3rd round

K.J. Wright, 4th round

2010

Anthony McCoy, 6th round

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If you’re keeping score, the Seahawks have spent a 1st or 2nd round pick on a senior who played in the Senior Bowl for an incredible six consecutive years, and they’ve used their first pick of the draft on a Senior Bowl participant/invitee (in Brooks’ case) in each of the last four years. Germain Ifedi actually could’ve sorta counted on this list, as he was present at the Senior Bowl meeting with teams but was actually a redshirt junior and wasn’t part of any roster.

Compare that with 2010-2015, where only Bobby Wagner and James Carpenter were taken in the top-64 on the back of a Senior Bowl invite. Clearly there’s been some sort of shift in recent classes that has impacted at least their early-round decision making.

Of course, we should note that the director of the Senior Bowl is Jim Nagy, who used to be a scout for the Seahawks under Pete and John.

As for who could be a Seahawk from the 2022 Senior Bowl... damned if I know, but you can check the rosters here. One name probably worth keeping an eye on is the guy in the photo selection, Auburn CB Roger McCreary, who was first-team All-SEC in 2021.

You can watch the Senior Bowl at 11:30 AM PT on NFL Network. And you better believe John Schneider is there.