The worst mock draft yet? NFL.com mock has Seahawks taking Joey Porter Jr. at No. 5

What’s worse than seeing the 1,200th mock draft that has Seattle taking Texas Tech EDGE Tyree Wilson with the fifth overall pick?

I offer up this mock draft from NFL.com’s Chad Reuter as the answer to that rhetorical question.

R1.05: CB Joey Porter Jr. (Penn State)

Jaw, meet floor.

Ignoring for the moment that Pete Carroll and John Schneider have never taken a CB in Round 1 (or Round 2) and that the highest pick they’ve ever used on a CB is No. 90 . . .

Joey Porter is the third cornerback on PFN’s Consensus Big Board, and aside from his lineage, his best attribute might be his arm length.

That’s not to say Porter is a bad CB; he’s just not CB1 (or CB2) in this year’s draft, and using the 5th overall pick on him would be incredibly disappointing.

Reuter didn’t even have us trade back from No. 5 before making the pick.

He did, however, have us move back from No. 20 (to No. 27) . . .

Which meant giving up the opportunity to select Georgia’s Nolan Smith (No. 20), Clemson’s Myles Murphy (No. 22), Northwestern ’s Adetomiwa Adebawore (No. 23), etc.

Reuter doesn’t actually provide the details of the trade, but by scanning the rest of his 4-round mock, we know that R3.91 is part of it.

Hopefully there’s more, but whether that’s a Day Three pick or a future pick . . . ?

Who knows.

R1.27: WR Zay Flowers (Boston College)

Given Seattle’s need for a top-flight WR3 (this year) and an eventual successor for Tyler Lockett, drafting someone that Reuter describes as “a Tyler Lockett clone” makes sense, especially after trading back and adding some draft capital.

That said, TCU‘s Quentin Johnston (#13 on the Consensus Big Board) was still available at #27 which makes the selection of Flowers at least a little suspect.

Ten picks later . . .

R2.37: OC John Michael Schmitz (Minnesota)

Austin Blythe was very not-good last year. Blythe retired. To replace him, the Seahawks signed free agent C/G Evan Brown.

Out of 196 interior offensive linemen (Centers and Guards) that PFF graded in 2022, Austin Blythe’s Overall grade was #147. By comparison, Evan Brown was tied for #56.

Could Seattle use an upgrade at the position? Probably. But, would a rookie end up being an upgrade?

Maybe, maybe not.

There’s no Creed Humphrey in this year’s draft. Instead, there are three Centers with similar projections / grades (JMS, Luke Wypler, and Joe Tippmann).

Why be the team that takes the first one off the board earlier than you need to?

Especially when you also need a guard?

The top two guards in this year’s draft are Florida‘s O’Cyrus Torrence and TCU’s Steve Avila. In this mock draft, Torrence was selected by Washington at #16. Avila, however, is still available at #37.

Might Avila be a better choice than JMS at this point in the draft? Especially since he can also play Center?

How about someone who isn’t an offensive lineman?

After the Seahawks take JMS, these are the next six picks in Reuter’s mock draft:

• Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs
• Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald
• Clemson DT Byran Bresee
• Kansas State EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah
• Georgia TE Darnell Washington
• Michigan DT Mazi Smith

And, just to drive home the point that the Seahawks taking JMS at #37 is a mistake (in this mock draft), zero interior offensive lineman come off the board between Seattle’s two 2nd-round picks.

R2.52: DT Gervon Dexter (Florida)

No real complaints about this pick since we hadn’t yet taken a D-lineman.

There are a couple of superficial complaints though . . .

Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton is ranked 12 spots higher on the PFN Consuensus Big Board (#57 vs. #69) and would arguably be the better choice for the Seahawks.

Also, Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders (#59), IOL Steve Avila (#64), and Auburn EDGE Derick Hall (#65) were there for the taking.

R3.83: LB Daiyan Henley (Washington State)

PFN’s Consensus Big Board has Henley as LB4 behind Trenton Simpson, Drew Sanders, and Jack Campbell. In this mock draft, those three linebackers were selected at #17, #59, and #75, respectively. Thus, the value is there.

More importantly, Seattle needs a linebacker with top-notch coverage skills and Henley, a former wide receiver, fits the bill.

That said, Seattle is five picks into its draft and has yet to select an EDGE.

Interestingly, BJ Ojulari was selected one pick earlier (#82 overall) which begs the question: Why didn’t we trade up?

With Ojulari ranked #45 on the Consensus Big Board, this seems like a HUGE missed opportunity.

Not to fear though, Seattle uses the R3 they got from the Buffalo Bills in the Day One trade to address the EDGE position.

R3.91: EDGE B.J. Thompson from Stephen F. Austin State

Um . . . who?

PFN’s Consensus Big Board has 300 players on it. None of them are named B.J. Thompson.

PFF’s Big Board does have Thompson on it. At #231.

Can you say “reach”?

For context, and to circle back to the decision to not trade up for BJ Ojulari . . .

• PFF has Ojulari as their 8th-best EDGE
• Thompson is EDGE #38

Just to twist the knife a little bit more . . .

Remember when Ohio State Center Luke Wypler was mentioned in the write-up for R2.37?

He was still on the board when Reuter inexplicably opted to have us select B.J. Thompson, and Wypler stayed on the board until pick #104.

R4.123: OG Jordan McFadden (Clemson)

Ah, yes, another reach.

SIGH.

Want to cry? Reuter has DT/NT Siaki Ika going to the Jacksonville Jaguars at #121.

Ika is #55 on the PFN Consensus Big Board.

McFadden is #201.

Go Hawks!

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Bonus Coverage

Check out this draft class that Reuter gives the Houston Texans:

• R1.02: QB Bryce Young
• R1.12: RB Bjian Robinson
• R2.33: WR Quentin Johnston
• R3.65: EDGE Derick Hall
• R3.73: TE Zack Kuntz
• R4.104: OC Luke Wypler

Draft envy, anyone?

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How about this one that Reuter gives the Eagles?

• R1.10: Traded for #23, #87, and Minnesota‘s 2024 R1 (the Vikings used #10 on Will Levis)
• R1.23: EDGE Adetomiwa Adebawore
• R1.30: Traded to the Raiders for #38, #109, and ?? (Vegas used #30 on Hendon Hooker)
• R2.38: RB Jahmyr Gibbs
• R2.62: S Antonio Johnson
• R3.87 LB Henry To’o To’o
• R3.92: EDGE Zach Harrison
• R4.109: OT Braeden Daniels

Seattle starts Day One with better draft capital (#5 + #20) than Philadelphia (#10 + #30) but the first 2 picks that the Eagles make (Ade’ Ade’ and Jahmyr Gibbs) would arguably be better picks for the Seahawks than the 2 player Seattle took (Joey Porter Jr. and Zay Flowers) and, on top of that, the Eagles end up with an extra R1 next year.

Draft envy for sure.