2024 NFL Draft – Inside the Seahawks Draft Room

After the 49ers selected Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing, the Seahawks are back on the clock with the first fifth-round pick, one of the picks they got in their trade with Denver earlier in the daytime.

Aaron Hineline, the director of college scouting, gets the green light from Schneider to call Auburn cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett. This is the third call, but not the last, this year in which Schneider has asked someone other than himself to make the first call to deliver the good news.

“We’re about to select you here,” Hineline told him. “…We’re going to bring you here and make you a Seahawk, okay?”

Macdonald then picks up the phone and tells Pritchett, “I’ve got a lot of love in the building for you, man.”

After Durde and defensive backs coach/defensive passing game coordinator Karl Scott also spoke to Pritchett and welcomed him to the team, the room quieted down. Barring a trade, it will be a while before Seattle picks again at No. 179, its first of three sixth-round picks.

With some downtime and knowing a busy sixth round awaits them, Schneider, Berry, Hineline and Southwest region recruiter Ryan Florence stand in front of the board to discuss their options going forward in the afternoon.

As the fifth round comes to a close, the Seahawks still have a handful of players with fifth-round grades on their board, meaning there’s a chance to get some real value in the sixth round depending on the way things happen.

Holtz leaves the room again to ask Grubb, Huff and assistant offensive line coach Brendan Nugent, for an indicator, with an offensive lineman being one of the best players remaining on the board, of where the team is headed the Seahawks with their next pick.

West zone scout Josh Graff calls Utah offensive lineman Sataoa Laumea to inform him he is the Seahawks’ pick at No. 179 overall.

“Are you ready to stop waiting and come to Seattle?” Graff said. “We’ll take you here to 179, okay?”

After Mike Macdonald greeted Laumea and was greeted with a “‘Sup?” he asks if Laumea is excited. When Laumea says he is, Macdonald deadpans: “I can hear it in your voice… sort of.”

Grubb and Laumea then share jokes, followed by Huff picking up the phone to tell Laumea, “I made a mistake and didn’t recruit you out of high school, but now we have you.”

“Yeah, it’s funny,” Laumea told the former University of Washington offensive line coach. “You wanted me at D-tackle.”

Just before the Seahawks’ selection of Laumea is announced on television, NFL Network cuts to a commercial again. Schneider playfully brings it up to Pearson once again.

Arizona selects Alabama-Birmingham wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer, meaning the Seahawks are back on the clock.

“Let’s go!” » shouts Schneider, before adding. “Ezzz.”

The reference to Ezzz, for those who don’t know, is to former Seahawks and special teams defensive back Neiko Thorpe, who is now a player engagement and football operations assistant for her former team.

Thorpe uses “Ezzz” as a greeting, as an expression, as a response to a simple “how are you”, and even has these letters on a chain he wears daily and on a hat he wore that day. Ezzz is, he explains, a way of life, a catch-all phrase he’s used since growing up in Atlanta.

So why does Schneider call Thorpe? Because for the second time in as many rounds, the Seahawks are selecting an Auburn cornerback, this time DJ James, so Schneider is going to let Thorpe, himself a former Auburn cornerback, make the decision.

“Thanks for calling,” James said to Thorpe. “I was waiting for you all.”

“How do you feel about being a Seahawk, bro?” » Thorpe responds. “I can’t wait to have you, brother. Congratulations.”

Thorpe ends the call by saying, “I’m going to introduce you to head coach Mike Macdonald. Ezzz.” The final punctuation of the conversation makes the room laugh. »

Macdonald jokes with James that Scott, a former Alabama assistant, “is going to be upset, because he coached at Alabama. He’ll be fine.” To which James responds: “That’s my guy.”

After Scott got on the phone, James said to his new defensive backs coach, “You know you just got a dog, man?”

Scott responds, “Is that true? You know what they say, I see better than I hear, so you’re going to have to show me.”

Finally, Schneider offers his congratulations by saying, “DJ, congratulations man. Are you okay? It’s not where you start, it’s where you end. Come here and kick some ass, okay .We love your juice, man. It’s fun to watch you play.”