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How much cap space Seahawks will need for 2023 draft class

New York Jets v Seattle Seahawks Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

The 2022 season is officially in the books for the Seattle Seahawks following their loss in the Wild Card round of the playoffs to the division rival San Francisco 49ers. The players on the roster for 2022 have cleaned out their lockers, and fans have begun to look forward to the process of building the roster for next season.

For the Seahawks a big portion of the roster for the 2023 season will almost certainly include the players the team will select in the draft come April, with the five selections on Day 1 and Day 2 likely to gather the most focus. (Author’s Note: A big, hearty thank you to the Denver Broncos.) Thus, with Super Wild Card Weekend coming to a conclusion on Monday evening with the Dallas Cowboys defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Hawks learning where their picks fall in the draft, it is now possible to project how much cap space will be necessary to sign those players.

So, without wasting any time, here is what OverTheCap.com projects will be the 2023 cap hit for each of the nine picks Seattle currently holds in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Projected 2023 Cap Hits for Seattle Draft Picks

Pick 2023 Cap Hit Replacing Net
Pick 2023 Cap Hit Replacing Net
1.5 $6,183,723 $0 $6,183,723
1.20 $2,766,341 $0 $2,766,341
2.37 $1,727,696 $0 $1,727,696
2.52 $1,288,958 $0 $1,288,958
3.83 $1,009,086 $0 $1,009,086
4.122 $945,971 $750,000 $195,971
5.151 $836,759 $750,000 $86,759
5.154 $835,247 $750,000 $85,247
6.197 $797,087 $750,000 $47,087
Total $16,390,868 $3,000,000 $13,390,868

During the offseason only the 51 highest cap hits count against the salary cap, and per OverTheCap.com the Seahawks currently have 46 players under contract for the 2023 season. Thus, the first five picks would see their entire cap hit count against the cap space of the team, while the next four would see their cap hit offset by the player they bump into the 52nd spot. Thus, as things stand as of right now, the Hawks will need approximately $13.39M of cap space in order to sign their 2023 draft class.

That is a number that will change in the coming weeks and months as the team adds more players for the 2023 season, and by the time the draft arrives in late April, the number is likely to be in the $9M-$10M range.