Seahawks rookie class given low ranking by ESPN in annual review

Is it possible the Seattle Seahawks rookie draft class may not be as good as we previously thought?

Back in September Grey Zabel was starting every game at left guard, Elijah Arroyo was chipping in, Jalen Milroe was active on game days, Robbie Ouzts was blowing open big holes in the running game and Tory Horton was hauling in touchdown passes. Even Nick Emmanwori, who missed most of the first four games of the season due to an ankle injury, had shown enough in camp for us to expect a big contribution from him once he got healthy.

And then, one by one, the performances began to fall off. Milroe's early attempted use in sub-packages was a disaster and he was relegated to the inactive, emergency-QB role for the rest of the season. Arroyo's production was spotty, and Horton got hurt. So too did Ouzts, but not until after the college tight end revealed some of his deficiencies as he attempted to learn how to play fullback in the NFL.

In all, it wasn't enough to impress the analytics folks over at ESPN. They rank the Seahawks rookie class 19th overall in their postseason rankings released today.

To be clear, ESPN focused on production in a number of key metrics rather than projection. They were only concerned with the here and now, which ended up weighing heavily in favor of rebuilding teams who played a lot of their rookies early and often. That's why the Saints, Browns and Giants led the way - claiming the top three spots.

Seattle Seahawks rookie guard Grey Zabel has started every game for them at left guard after being their first pick in 2025. — Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel is selected as the No. 18 pick by the Seattle Seahawks during the NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

And Seattle may have fared much worse had it not been for the dynamic performance of Emmanwori, who showed off his versatility and play-making prowess once returning from injury.

Here's what ESPN's Aaron Schatz had to say about the Seahawks group of first-year players.

"First-rounder Grey Zabel started all 17 games at left guard. He led all guards with an 83.0% run block win rate when no other guard was above 80%, but he had a below-average pass block win rate of 89.9%. The other major addition for the Seahawks was second-round pick Nick Emmanwori. Nominally a safety, Emmanwori actually bounced between linebacker and slot cornerback. His ability to play the run allowed the Seahawks to constantly stay in nickel personnel, even on clear run downs. Emmanwori finished the season with 81 combined tackles, 11 passes defensed and 2.5 sacks."
Aaron Schatz, ESPN Analytics

Remember, these rankings are based purely on 2025 performance. If you're looking for a silver lining, there's still plenty of untapped projection in this class. Arroyo and Horton should be major pieces of the 2026 offense, Ouzts looks much more comforable, and dangerous, as a lead blocker since coming off the injured list, and defensive tackle Rylie Mills has had some promising reps in his late-season return from the ACL injury he suffered at Notre Dame. Even the two offensive linemen, Mason Richman and Bryce Cabeldue, have been on the 53-man roster all season and often active on game days. It's plausible that one of them ends up supplanting fourth-year right guard Anthony Bradford in 2026. Even 7th-round WR Ricky White III got a call up earlier this season after being on the practice squad all year.

They may only look like the 19th-best rookie class at the moment, but we may feel a lot better about this group when we look back again a year from now.

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