Two Seahawks players with ‘the most to lose’ (or gain) in the 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away.

Are you ready for it?

PFF is.

In an article that was published on Friday, PFF identified 20 NFL players with the most to lose, gain from the 2023 NFL Draft

Seahawks EDGE Darrell Taylor made their list.

So did CB Michael Jackson.

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Here is what PFF said about Darrell Taylor and why they included him on their list:

The Seahawks used an early second-round pick on Minnesota edge defender Boye Mafe in last year’s draft and have continued to overhaul their defensive line in free agency this offseason. With Uchenna Nwosu the clear top option after a strong 2022 season, what if the Seahawks are sitting at No. 5 overall and a player like Will Anderson Jr. or Tyree Wilson falls to them? Will they be too good to pass up, thus pushing Taylor down the depth chart?

Taylor had a strong year as a pass rusher in 2022, earning a 74.0 grade with 9.5 sacks, but the sack number is a bit misleading considering he had just 27 total pressures on a sub-10% pressure rate. Nevertheless, rushing the passer isn’t the issue, but back-to-back run defense grades in the 40.0s could perhaps diminish his role if a first-rounder is added to the rotation. If not, he could continue to build on a promising career after dealing with an injury as a rookie.

Aside from the bit about Taylor having a “sub-10% pressure rate”, I’m not sure anything that PFF wrote will come as a surprise to most of the 12s reading this article.

The pecking order atop Seattle’s depth chart is clearly Nwosu over Taylor so if Will Anderson Jr. slides to #5 (and if Seattle selects him), that pecking order probably changes even before Anderson strides onto the stage.

However, if Seattle goes another direction at the top of the draft, Taylor could be breathing a sigh of relief.

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As for Michael Jackson, here’s what PFF said about his situation:

Jackson was solid starting opposite rookie Tariq Woolen in 2022 and re-signed with the team as an exclusive rights free agent this offseason, but there’s no question Seattle could upgrade at the position and potentially have a loaded secondary from top to bottom.

With their own first-round pick sitting at No. 20 overall, the Seahawks seem to be in the middle of the range where the second tier of cornerbacks should be flying off the board.

This one feels a bit more speculative - in part because of the lack of stats in the write-up, but mostly because Jackson is likely already facing a challenge from inside Seahawks HQ with Tre Brown (and potentially Coby Bryant) gunning for his starting job.

Is a rookie CB going to leapfrog potentially three other corners for the privilege of starting opposite Tariq Woolen?

Perhaps.

But I wouldn’t necessarily hold my breath.

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What say the 12s? If you were Darrell Taylor or Michael Jackson, would you be nervous about the upcoming draft?

Join the discussion by scrolling to the comments below!