Which Players Have Seahawks Drafted After Official 30 Pre-Draft Visits?
With the 2025 NFL Draft only two weeks away in Green Bay, the Seattle Seahawks and all 32 teams are tying up loose ends and finishing official visits with a variety of prospects. These on-site meetings allow players to meet with coaches and personnel staff as well as undergo medical examinations and physicals.
So far, the Seahawks have been linked to 13 prospects for official 30 visits, including multiple potential first-round targets such as South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori and Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams.
In terms of relevance, the majority of players who fly out to Seattle for these pre-draft visits won't be drafted by the team, as only 23 of their 126 draft choices since 2011 have been used on players reported to make those visits, or just 18 percent. However, history does indicate at least one of their slated 10 picks in this year’s draft will be a player who visited the team facility this spring, while several others could be signed as priority undrafted free agents or brought in for a tryout at rookie minicamp. These visits offer plenty of significance for general manager John Schneider and the front office, and that trend continued even after the departure of Pete Carroll and the hiring of coach Mike Macdonald as his replacement.
Looking back at their past 14 drafts, with 2021 being excluded due to most visits being done virtually because of COVID protocols, which players who reportedly attended official “30” visits at the VMAC wound up being drafted or signing with the team?
*This is an unofficial account for previous official visits. Some players drafted by Seattle may have visited and it wasn't reported at the time.
2024
Interestingly, in the first season of the Schneider/Macdonald courtship, the Seahawks were as active drafting and signing players who visited the VMAC as they have been at any point in the past decade. Kicking off day three of the 2024 NFL Draft, the team invested a fourth-round pick in linebacker Tyrice Knight, who they had met both at the Senior Bowl and on an official visit. Thrust into the starting lineup at midseason, he flashed tremendous promise alongside Ernest Jones IV with 88 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two pass breakups. Later in the sixth round, they used one of two selections in the round on Findlay tackle Mike Jerrell, taking a shot on the Division II standout who wound up starting four games as a rookie in relief duty.
On the undrafted front, Seattle signed running back George Holani and cornerback Carlton Johnson shortly after the conclusion of the seventh round and both players participated in training camp with the former dressing for five games as a rookie. Quarterback-turned-receiver John Rhys Plumlee and linebacker Michael Dowell would latch on with the practice squad during the middle of the season after spending time with other teams and both remain on the 90-man roster heading towards the start of the offseason program with a chance to make the final 53 this summer.
2023
Before 2023, only one player who visited on an official 30 visit - Texas A&M offensive lineman Germain Ifedi - had been drafted by the Seahawks in the first round. But holding a top-five pick for the first time in Schneider's tenure as a result of the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade with the Broncos, he surprised many by selecting cornerback Devon Witherspoon. The hard-hitting defensive back quickly found his way into the starting lineup and demonstrated why the team invested such a high pick in him, tallying 79 tackles, an interception, three sacks, and 15 passes defensed. He enjoyed another stellar season in 2024 with 98 tackles and nine pass breakups while making the Pro Bowl for a second straight year.
Away from Witherspoon, Seattle drafted two other players who met with the team on top-30 visits. After trading down with Denver for a future third-round pick, Schneider selected LSU guard Anthony Bradford in the fourth round and while he has struggled at times, he started 20 games at right guard in his first two NFL seasons and may still be a fixture on the line moving forward. In the sixth round, the Seahawks picked safety Jerrick Reed II from New Mexico, who enjoyed a strong rookie year on special teams before suffering a torn ACL and ultimately not seeing much action in 2024. The team also claimed linebacker Drake Thomas off waivers from the Raiders at the end of training camp, adding another 30 visitor to the mix who remains on the roster.
2022
With a return to normalcy after two offseasons impacted by the pandemic, NFL teams could finally host players for 30 visits in person and the Seahawks wound up drafting two players who flew out to the VMAC that year. Coming off an All-Big Ten selection at Minnesota and an excellent Senior Bowl week, the team invested one of its two second-round picks on edge rusher Boye Mafe. After seeing limited snaps as a rookie, he busted out in his sophomore season with 9.5 sacks in 2023 and added six sacks in 2024, potentially being in line for a lucrative extension as a foundational piece of the defensive line.
On day three, the Seahawks made a rare investment in a small school prospect, drafting uber-athletic Lenoir-Rhyne receiver Dareke Young in the seventh round. Beating the odds, he won a spot on the roster as a rookie due to his special teams ability and played in 13 games, registering seven tackles and two receptions. Injuries kept him from playing much in 2023 and he was limited to special teams last season, but he will have a chance to once again compete for a roster spot heading into the final year of his rookie deal in a revamped receiving corps.
2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL shut down in-person visits in early March 2020 and few visits were made league-wide. But before that decision was made in conjunction with the entire world coming to a screeching halt, Tennessee defensive end Darrell Taylor visited the Seahawks at the VMAC only a few months after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his leg. While he wound up not playing at all his rookie season due to a longer than expected recovery from the operation, Seattle's medical staff felt comfortable with him after he underwent a through medical examination. The team traded up and drafted him in the second round anyway. He played three seasons with the team after recovering from his injury, generating 21.5 sacks and 34 quarterback hits in 49 games before being traded to the Bears last August.
2019
In the last normal pre-draft cycle prior to the unexpected pandemic, the Seahawks met with several players who wound up being early draft choices that year. Among those, they used their 29th overall selection in the first round on TCU defensive end L.J. Collier, who had met with the team at the Senior Bowl as well as an official visit at the VMAC. Unfortunately, that pick proved to be an utter failure for Seattle, as Collier produced 40 tackles and 3.0 sacks in 45 games before leaving as a free agent to sign with Arizona. None of the other players who met with the team on 30 visits that year were drafted or signed as priority free agents, though the team did sign running back Darwin Thompson to audition in training camp and had tight end Jace Sternberger on the practice squad briefly.
2018
In a rare occurrence during the Schneider era, not one of the players Seattle met with on a 30 visit during the 2018 offseason wound up being drafted by the organization. However, they landed a future starter in Texas defensive tackle Poona Ford, who somehow went undrafted before signing with the Seahawks as a priority free agent. By the end of his rookie season, the South Carolina native was in the starting lineup and in five seasons with the team, he amassed 181 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 28 tackles for loss, and four pass deflections before bolting in free agency.
2017
While the results were mixed at best - and most fans would view them as an unmitigated disaster - the Seahawks drafted a pair of players early in the 2017 NFL Draft who previously met with the team on a 30 visit. Trading down three times before making a pick, they chose Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell with their first selection early in the second round. After suffering injuries in an ATV accident a few weeks prior to training camp, he never played a down for the team before eventually making a brief comeback with the Browns, making him one of the biggest misfires of the Schneider era.
On the flip side, just one round later, Seattle snagged a future Pro Bowl cornerback in Shaquill Griffin, who found his way into the lineup midway through his rookie season playing across from and eventually succeeding Richard Sherman. In four seasons with the franchise, he started 53 games and produced 249 tackles, 48 passes defensed, and six interceptions. He joined the Jaguars as a free agent prior to the 2021 season and has bounced around in recent years with the Texans, Panthers, and Vikings.
2016
Seeking help in the trenches, the Seahawks used a pair of early selections on offensive linemen who met with the team on official 30 visits in 2016. After trading down to 31st overall in the first round with the Broncos, the team selected Ifedi, initially starting him at guard before sliding him back outside to right tackle. While penalties and inconsistent play in pass protection were an issue throughout his four seasons with the team, he started 60 games at right guard and right tackle during that span, proving to be a serviceable, yet unspectacular starter. He saw snaps for the Browns as recently as last season.
Seattle also used a third round pick on Boise State tackle Rees Odhiambo, who stepped into the lineup as an injury replacement for left tackle George Fant at the beginning of the 2017 season. Struggling mightily in those seven starts, he suffered season-ending finger injuries and the team promptly traded for Duane Brown, securing an All-Pro blind side protector who started for the next four seasons. Odhiambo was released at the end of the preseason in 2018 and played one more season with the Cardinals before his NFL career came to a close.
2015
Though the selection was a controversial one at the time due to domestic violence allegations that led to his dismissal from Michigan’s football program, after meeting with the team on a 30 visit, defensive end Frank Clark wound up being one of the better picks of the Schneider era. He had to wait his turn behind Pro Bowlers Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, but he broke out with double digit sacks in 2016. Taking over as a full-time starter the next year, he produced 22 combined sacks in 2017 and 2018 before being traded to Kansas City in exchange for multiple high picks, eventually returning for a handful of games in 2023.
In that same draft, the Seahawks selected three other players - guard Mark Glowinski, tackle Terry Poole, and center Kristjan Sokoli - who had 30 visits at the VMAC during the pre-draft process. Poole and Sokoli played in one combined game with the organization and attempted to latch on in other professional leagues, while Glowinski started all 16 games at left guard in 2016 before inexplicably being waived midway through the 2017 campaign. He quickly latched on with the Colts and became a full-time starter in 2018. Still in the league, he started five games in Indianapolis last season and has 101 starts on his resume.
2014
After meeting with him in a 30 visit, the Seahawks tabbed Colorado receiver Paul Richardson as their first draft choice at No. 45 overall in the second round. The speedy wideout battled injuries during his first three seasons before finally turning the corner in 2017, producing career-highs with 44 receptions for 703 yards and six touchdowns. He played two seasons in Washington after signing a mega deal and only lasted a few days after being re-signed by Seattle in training camp in 2020, bringing an end to his playing career unceremoniously.
Among other players who had 30 visits that year that ended up with the team, the Seahawks used a sixth-round pick on San Diego State safety Eric Pinkins, who dressed for six games as a converted linebacker and produced a pair of tackles in his tenure with the organization. The team also signed Montana linebacker Brock Coyle, who produced 33 tackles in three seasons as a key special teams contributor and started five games as an injury replacement before joining the 49ers as a free agent signing.
2013
The Seahawks only selected one player who met with them on a pre-draft official visit back in 2013, but it ended up being a notable selection and not for positive reasons. Texas A&M running back Christine Michael put on a show at the NFL combine that year, running a 6.69-second 3-cone drill and posting a ridiculous 43-inch vertical jump. Possessing rare athletic traits, the team invested a second-round pick on him believing he would be Marshawn Lynch's successor in the near future to keep the running game rolling. But that never came to fruition, as he barely eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for his entire career bouncing around the league and failed to play to his potential in two separate stints in Seattle.
2012
Headlining one of the best draft classes in NFL history, the Seahawks met with Utah State linebacker Bobby Wagner for an official 30 visit after not being able to participate in the NFL combine. In fact, the future Hall of Famer told reporters at one point the visit was "the worst" thanks to linebacker coach Ken Norton Jr. deciding to showcase most of his bad plays in film review. Nonetheless, they loved him as a prospect and the decision to pick him in the second round could not have possibly worked out better as he set a team record for tackles, led the team to a Super Bowl win, and earned nine All-Pro selections in 11 seasons with the franchise among other accolades.
Wagner wasn't the only notable player from Seattle's pair of Super Bowl squads who made a 30 visit either. Cornerback Jeremy Lane arrived as an unheralded sixth-round pick out of Northwestern State and immediately became a key special teams player before eventually earning a spot as a starter in the slot. He produced 146 tackles, 15 passes defensed, and two interceptions in six seasons with the organization. The team also signed Portland State safety Deshawn Shead as an undrafted free agent after a 30 visit and after several seasons thriving as a special teams ace, he became a full-time starter at cornerback in 2016 and later would serve as an assistant coach on Carroll’s staff.
2011
Seattle only invested one selection on a player who met with the team on a 30 visit in 2011, but he turned out to be one of the best value picks in franchise history. Reuniting with Carroll, who previously coached him at USC, linebacker Malcolm Smith joined the team as a little-known seventh-round pick. Mostly playing special teams, he had 16 tackles as a rookie before taking on a larger role over the next couple of seasons. He made his mark under the brightest of lights returning an interception of Peyton Manning for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVIII, eventually earning MVP honors in a 43-8 throttling of the Broncos. While he bounced around with six teams, he played in the league until 2021, capping his career off playing in 15 games for the Browns before announcing his retirement.
