RENTON, Wash. — After years of hesitancy, will the Seahawks ultimately select a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft?
On the one hand, this year's class is full of highly-touted prospects who are expected to be difference-makers at the sport's most important position. On the other, the Seahawks have a proven starting QB in Geno Smith and acquired another who has 18 NFL starts under his belt, Sam Howell, in a March trade.
Since 2010, the Seahawks only have taken two quarterbacks in the NFL draft. One was Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft, after which he went on to a lengthy career in Seattle that included a Super Bowl title and nine Pro Bowl selections.
The other was Alex McGough, taken in the seventh round (No. 220 overall) in 2018. McGough never appeared in a regular season game for the Seahawks or any other NFL team, though he did lead the Birmingham Stallions to back-to-back United States Football League (USFL) titles in 2022 and 2023.
Pete Carroll and John Schneider tag-teamed personnel decisions during the former's tenure with the Seahawks, but Schneider alone now runs the front office after Carroll's ouster in January.
Mike Macdonald is the new head coach in Seattle and brought with him former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, now in the same role with the Seahawks.
Smith has been the Seahawks' starter since Wilson's trade in 2022, taking the team to the playoffs in his first full year starting and coming up just short of the postseason in 2023.
In the football world, new regimes often want to shake things up and bring in their own staff and players. Smith is a solid quarterback, but the Seahawks are clearly a step behind the top teams in the National Football Conference (NFC).
Howell was the first step in reshaping the offensive personnel of the Seahawks. The team did not give up much to acquire Howell from the Washington Commanders, essentially swapping draft picks with the organization. Washington has the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and has made it no secret that it intends to select a quarterback.
Most draft experts expect at least four quarterbacks to be off the board by the time the Seahawks' No. 16 pick comes up. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and J.J. McCarthy all likely will be taken within the first 10 picks, if not earlier.
Michael Penix Jr. is the name many Seahawks fans have clamored for since the season ended. Penix Jr., of course, led the UW Huskies to the National Championship Game during his final season on Montlake, also finishing second in the race for the Heisman Trophy, college football's equivalent of the MVP.
Penix Jr.'s offensive coordinator at UW, Grubb, is now with the Seahawks, leading many to consider this a perfect match. However, Penix Jr. has risen up draft boards recently per many draft experts. There is a reasonable expectation that he could be taken before the Seahawks are on the clock at pick No. 16.
Even if Penix Jr. is available when the Seahawks are up, the team has other positions with more of a need, such as on the offensive line and defense. Though it would make many of the combo Husky/Seahawk fans in Seattle sad, the team very well could choose to focus elsewhere and not take Penix Jr.
The more likely scenario is that the Seahawks focus on other positions and then target a quarterback later in the draft. The team brought in three quarterbacks for pre-draft visits, per multiple reports: Oregon's Bo Nix, South Carolina's Spencer Rattler and Central Florida's John Rhys Plumlee.
None of those QBs are expected to be first-round selections, with Plumlee and Rattler forecasted to be late-round picks. A quarterback drafted in the third round or later would not make a significant dent in the Seahawks' cap space, and they would not have pressure to play early on with both Smith and Howell in the fold.
Nix was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, like Penix, and put up big numbers for the Oregon Ducks over the past few seasons. Rattler is a former five-star recruit who has been high on draft boards since he was a teenager. His college career was underwhelming relative to expectations, but Rattler is undoubtedly talented.
Plumlee is a lesser-known commodity who played both football and baseball in college, just like Wilson did before the Seahawks selected him in 2012. Plumlee also is considered undersized for the position, which worked out once before for the Seahawks with Wilson.
Long story short, it would not be surprising to see the Seahawks break a years-long streak and select a QB during this weekend's NFL draft. However, it would surprise many if that signal-caller was chosen at No. 16 overall.
