Will Seattle Seahawks Have New Draft Trends Under Mike Macdonald?

For nearly 15 years, Pete Carroll worked with John Schneider to regularly draft his "kind of guys." What type of players can we expect Mike Macdonald to be interested in entering his first draft with the Seattle Seahawks?

Mar 26, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald speaks to the media / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Every team, every head coach, every general manager, approaches the NFL Draft a little differently. Everyone is looking for an edge on the competition. They have their own secret sauce. The recipe is, of course, proprietary.

With the partnership of Pete Carroll and John Schneider running the Seattle Seahawks over the psst 14 years, the trend seemed to be finding defensive backs that fit a certain mold. Plus, one of their calling cards was making hay in days two and three of the draft instead of going for the flashy, splash pick in the first round.

Carroll wanted “his kinda guys.” More often than not, he found them. Guys with chips on their shoulders. Guys who were underappreciated or under-scouted.

Now, Seattle has a new man at the helm with a new mindset for draft weekend. What will be Mike Macdonald’s draft trend? And how much will it be similar or different than Carroll's?

Perhaps his time as defensive coordinator in Baltimore provides clues.

After a dominant college career at Notre Dame, Kyle Hamilton continued to play at a high level immediately after joining Baltimore in Mike Macdonald's defense. Will Seattle look for a similar player with proven college production on Thursday night? / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Macdonald joined the Ravens staff under John Harbaugh, first in 2014 as an intern. Through the next seven years, he coached defensive backs and linebackers. In 2021, he traded the purple and black of Baltimore for the Maize and Blue of Michigan as their defensive coordinator. He then bounced right back to Baltimore, this time as the head man on defense for two seasons before being anointed the heir apparent to Carroll in Seattle on January 31.

In all, that marks nine seasons with Baltimore, nearly a decade’s worth of drafts.

During that time, the Ravens drafted Marlon Humphrey out of Alabama in 2017’s first round at 16th overall. That certainly worked out well, as he became a three-time Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro in 2019. The next year, they didn’t select a defensive player until Round 4. Once again, they selected a defensive back from Alabama in Anthony Averett.

2020 was one of Baltimore's better drafts in recent years. Linebacker Patrick Queen was the centerpiece, being selected 28th overall after starring at LSU. He earned a Pro Bowl bid last year, with 133 tackles. Justin Madubuike was an excellent find in the third round out of Texas A&M, bursting onto the scene in 2023 with 13.0 sacks, 33 QB hits, and a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Baltimore found another gem on defense in the seventh round, in safety Geno Stone out of Iowa. Stone snagged a whopping seven interceptions with nine passes defensed in 2023. Not bad for a seventh round pick, as he turned that breakout year into a multi-year contract with Cincinnati in March.

Skip to 2022, when Macdonald returned to Baltimore, this time as defensive coordinator. With the 14th overall pick, the Ravens selected a do-everything safety in Kyle Hamilton out of Notre Dame. All he did was become one of the best young defensive backs in football in 2023, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods.

What do all these key picks have in common? They were productive players at big-time college programs.

Between 2017 and 2020, then 2022 through last year, the Ravens selected 25 defensive players. Between those 25 players, 20 came from what are now formerly known as “Power 5” programs.

Last year, the top five defenders for the Ravens per Pro Football Reference’s “Approximate Value” metric, were all top players for major college programs. Most of them were also former first-round picks.

It appears as if the Ravens, and by association Macdonald, liked taking defensive prospects from bigger schools who were productive in college. They tended to avoid projects or “raw” players. They wanted guys who already proved their abilities (and durability) at the highest level of college football.

Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton were All-Americans. Patrick Queen was All-SEC and a national champion. Madubuike and Stone were very productive in college.

Could Macdonald bring those preferences to Seattle?  If so, what does that mean for the 2024 draft?

It’s hard to gauge that metric for offensive linemen. Perhaps durability and postseason accolades are the best way.

Troy Fautanu started every single game for the Washington Huskies in his final two years on Montlake. That’s 28 straight starts, while bouncing between left tackle and left guard. He helped the UW offense storm their way to the CFP National Championship Game. Interior lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson was an All-American center at Oregon, though he only started full-time for one season in Eugene.

On the defensive side, Laiatu Latu was as productive a defensive end as you will find in college football. He stuffed the stat sheet with 13.0 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. He was named a First Team All-American at UCLA and has a polished pass rushing arsenal.

Along the interior, Jer’Zahn Newton out of Illinois earned an All-American bid with 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss last year.

Defensive back Cooper DeJean seems to fit the mold of a possible Kyle Hamilton-type that Macdonald likely covets. At Iowa last year, DeJean snagged two interceptions after picking off five passes the yea before. He also wracked up 406 punt return yards and one score during his time with the Hawkeyes. He, too, was named a First Team All-American.

Byron Murphy II could be this year’s version of Justin Madubuike along Macdonald’s defensive line. At Texas last year, Murphy accumulated 5.0 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss bouncing around multiple alignments along the defensive line. That earned him Second Team All-American status.

If Macdonald’s mentality is to take players with proven production at “power” college programs, those are the players to look for Thursday night, regardless of whether the Seahawks trade down or not.