Why did the Seahawks pick defense, defense, defense with their three picks in the final round of the NFL draft?
Because with coach Mike Macdonald in Seattle, just like during their march to winning the Super Bowl last season, defense rules.
Cornerbacks Andre Fuller from Toledo and Michael Dansby from Arizona book-ended Minnesota defensive tackle Deven Eastern as the Seahawks’ choices in the seventh round to end the draft Saturday.
Seattle’s top-ranked defense from 2025 lost cornerback Riq Woolen in free agency to Philadelphia. Starting safety Coby Bryant signed as a first-time free agent for riches with Chicago.
General manager John Schneider and Macdonald responded those departures by drafting three cornerbacks and safety among Seattle’s eight selections in this draft.
Five of the eight picks were for Macdonald’s defense, the league’s top-ranked unit last season.
Curiously, none of those five rookie defensive players picked are edge rushers. That’s an area of need for the Seahawks with outside linebacker Boye Mafe signing with Cincinnati last month, Derick Hall entering the final year of his contract and Pro Bowl end/outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence turning 34 in three days.
Now, edge rusher could be an addition in later stages of free agency into this summer.
Defensive tackle Jarran Reed is entering his age-34 season. Byron Murphy, the team’s first-round pick two years ago, is excelling — and thus in line for a big payday this time next year to stay in Seattle.
And Macdonald can not accumulate too much depth on the interior front of the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
That’s why Eastern, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle from the University of Minnesota, was Seattle’s second of three choices in the seventh round Saturday.
Like with seven guys they’ve drafted in the last two years, Seahawks coaches made extra effort to get to know Eastern. He is the fourth of seven picks in this draft who visited the Seahawks on a top-30 pre-draft visit.
Nick Emmanwori, Tory Horton and Bryce Cabledue were the 2025 Seahawks draft choices who made 30 visits to Seattle.
“Great organization. I wanted to be a Seahawk,” Eastern said by phone Saturday afternoon after he became the 242nd-overall choice in this draft. “Super-proud to get picked by them.”
He said based upon his pre-draft visit Seattle’s coaching staff “are a lot of people that are willing to pour into me and develop me as a player.”
Eastern has college experience playing different defensive-tackle techniques:shading one side of the offense’s center, the inside shoulder of the guard, the outside shoulder of the guard. That’s what Reed and Murphy do exceptionally well in Macdonald’s changing, multiple defensive front.
“The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a defensive tackle is violence,” Eastern said. “That’s what I am.
“I like to bring the energy. I like to be violent.”
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “You know, just to even get a call is, was a dream. But to be able to get a call from such a great team, and such a great staff and organization is everything.”
Dansby, a Raiders fan growing up and attending McClymonds High School in Oakland, California, began his college career at San Jose State. He transferred to Arizona when SJSU’s coaching staff went to Tucson in a coaching change two years ago.