With 11 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Seahawks took a lot of players. Unsurprisingly, they took the most at fantasy football-relevant positions (six players… but one’s a fullback, so 5.5). Let’s look at new quarterback Sam Darnold’s new toys for 2025!
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 18 | Grey Zabel | OG | North Dakota State |
| 2 | 35 | Nick Emmanwori | S | South Carolina |
| 2 | 50 | Elijah Arroyo | TE | Miami (FL) |
| 3 | 92 | Jalen Milroe | QB | Alabama |
| 5 | 142 | Rylie Mills | DT | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 166 | Tory Horton | WR | Colorado State |
| 5 | 175 | Robbie Ouzts | TE | Alabama |
| 6 | 192 | Bryce Cabeldue | OG | Kansas |
| 7 | 223 | Damien Martinez | RB | Miami (FL) |
| 7 | 234 | Mason Richman | OT | Iowa |
| 7 | 238 | Ricky White III | WR | UNLV |
Round 2, Pick 50: Elijah Arroyo, Tight End, Miami (6’5″, 250 lbs)
TALENT
In watching Arroyo, you see a carrying trait for the NFL: he wins from various starting positions (inline, in the slot, and the backfield), and he wins at all three levels. That’s very intriguing for a tight end prospect, as that versatility will allow his coaches to use him as a chess piece rather than a strict inline tight end. That said, Arroyo doesn’t do much in the blocking game; he is an avid blocker, but he’s a bit light in the shorts blocking and will need to ratchet up the tenacity at the next level if he’s going to be tasked with run blocking.
He’s a fluid route runner, even if he doesn’t snap off his routes as nicely as I would like. Arroyo is constantly pushing downfield, giving Miami a verticality from tight end that you generally don’t see in college (and you rarely see in the NFL). He also has nice and soft hands, though he can get bullied at the point of the catch at times. Arroyo also shows some speed from the position that isn’t normal for the NFL. While there are injury issues in his past (two lost seasons in college due to knee injuries), this is football; everyone has injuries. He bounced back nicely in 2025 and should have no issues starting his NFL career.
NFL Comparison: Kyle Pitts
Predraft Grade: 2nd Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
TE1 Noah Fant
TE2 Elijah Arroyo
TE3 AJ Barner
TE4 Eric Saubert
At this point, it’s too soon to tell how the Seahawks will deploy Arroyo. He will start the season behind Noah Fant, a rumored cap casualty, and he likely starts ahead of A.J. Barner. If Fant is a cap casualty, he has a path to viability. It was a different offense, but Noah Fant finished with 64 targets last year. Klint Kubiak took over this season, and Kubiak spent the previous season coordinating the Saints’ offense. They targeted tight ends at the sixth-highest rate last season (27.9% target share), which likely carries over to the Seahawks.
So, there is a path forward, opportunity-wise, for Arroyo in his rookie season. But, there’s a bit of a circuitous route to get there.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
A lot has to clear out in front of Arroyo before I feel good about taking a flier on him in redraft leagues. But, should things clear up, he likely ends up on the short list of waiver wire pickups within the first half of the season. Keep an eye on Arroyo, as his draft capital, skill set, and the Seahawks’ new offensive scheme have me tilting towards taking a shot on him at some point in 2025.
Round 3, Pick 92: Jalen Milroe, Quarterback, Alabama (6’1″, 217 lbs)
TALENT
Milroe will be the classic “guy who isn’t quite good enough to start consistently, but when he does start, he’s a must-start in fantasy football” quarterback. The guy is a two-trick pony. Trick #1 is running the ball. Milroe loves getting out of the pocket and scrambling for yardage at the hint of defensive pressure. He usually guns it up the middle, which means a simple spy could be enough to neutralize his scrambles at the NFL level. Alabama also called many designed runs for Milroe and was pretty good with them. Not excellent, not terrible. His patience as a runner will be helpful at the NFL level, should his next team decide to continue to run him.
And now for Milroe’s second trick: chucking it deep to rookie wide receiver Ryan Williams. Ryan Williams burst onto the scene at Alabama as a child in 2024, and Jalen Milroe is likely riding that wave to the NFL. And yes, that’s right, a literal, legal child—a 17-year-old. And, Milroe knew where to get his bread buttered. He gave Ryan Williams so much attention that it made Chris Hansen worry that he would have to come out of retirement.
That said, they have an incredible connection on the field. Milroe throws a ton of questionable passes Williams’ way, but Williams comes down with them more often than not. He makes good decisions, mainly because every read is “run it or hell, Ryan Williams is down there somewhere.” His arm strength is decent, but let’s be honest, when he’s throwing deep, it sometimes looks like he’s chucking a waterlogged Nerf ball into a headwind.
Ultimately, he’s nothing more than a backup in this league unless he takes a Jayden Daniels-esque step forward.
NFL Comparison: Justin Fields
Grade: Round 4
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
QB1 Sam Darnold
QB2 Drew Lock
QB3 Jalen Milroe
The Seahawks have already announced that Darnold will get about 90% of the snaps, which most assume means that Seattle will rotate Milroe onto the field on a package basis. We’ve seen this before, with Colin Kaepernick and Trey Lance in their rookie seasons. We’ve also seen packages from a veteran dual-threat quarterback in New Orleans, with Taysom Hill. OC Klint Kubiak spent last season with the Saints, learning the Dark Arts of Taysom Hill B.S.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
So much of Taysom Hill’s value came because he had tight end eligibility, something Milroe won’t have. I don’t see any path forward for him in his rookie season unless Sam Darnold suffers an injury or suffers from Sam Darnold Syndrome (being bad at football). If Milroe gets any starts in 2025, his dual skillset makes him a must-add in all formats and all size leagues.
Round 5, Pick 166: Tory Horton, Wide Receiver, Colorado State (6’2″, 196 lbs)
TALENT
Tory Horton is a zone-beater and a deep threat who lacks versatility in his game. He is a great ball tracker downfield and uses his burst to get open against zone coverage underneath. Unfortunately, all a team needs to do at the NFL level to neutralize Horton is put a tenacious man-coverage defender on him. If you do that, he’s fully neutralized. He might find some usefulness as a boom-bust WR3 in the NFL, but he has so much working against him that I wouldn’t count on any sustained success from Horton outside of flashes here and there.
NFL Comparison: Robbie Chosen
Predraft Grade: 4th Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR2 Cooper Kupp
WR3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR4 Jake Bobo
WR5 Tory Horton
WR6 Ricky White III
Horton has much going against him for fantasy football relevance in his rookie season. Namely, he will compete with Certified Target Hogs Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp for attention in Sam Darnold’s passing game. He also has to earn those targets while being a project. I doubt he gets more than 35 targets this season.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
I have more interest in the Horton who hears a Who.
Round 5, Pick 175: Robbie Ouzts, Tight End, Alabama (6’3″, 274 lbs)
TALENT
Ouzts is a fullback and a blocker, not really a tight end. He’s a massive beef ball of a man who primarily uses his mass to move defenders. If he gets a target, it’s nothing to write home about. He has no fantasy football relevance, though he likely makes a roster as a fullback.
NFL Comparison: Patrick Ricard
Predraft Grade: UDFA
Depth Chart:
FB1 Robbie Ouzts
2025 OPPORTUNITY
I almost didn’t put Ouzts on this list, since fullbacks are mini-offensive linemen.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
If you have a league with a Fullback spot, can I join? Is Kyle Juszczyk the #1 overall pick?
Round 7, Pick 223: Damien Martinez, Running Back, Miami (6’0″, 217 lbs)
TALENT
I’m a millennial fan of the 49ers, so I spent a formative time watching Frank Gore disappear in a pile, only to see him fly out the other side for a 20+ yard gain. I haven’t seen a player do that with such proficiency until Damien Martinez. Others came close (his comparison, which we will get to later), but that’s the #1 trait that jumps off the page when watching Martinez. He is the best prospect I’ve seen at navigating a truly nasty pile and coming out of it (somewhat) unscathed. He’s patient at the line of scrimmage, with good vision.
What keeps Martinez from getting a Frank Gore comparison is that he tends to run out of gas and get caught from behind, probably because he just moved a 232-pound body through the eye of a needle at the line of scrimmage. He also doesn’t have a very deep bag of tricks, mostly hitting dead legs and jump cuts en route to getting north-south as soon as possible. He likely has an over-eager coach in his past who preached the importance of breaking through the hole; he predicates all his moves on getting to use that skill.
Martinez doesn’t have many receptions on tape, but much like Kenneth Walker, I am not taking a lack of examples as a lack of skill. From the limited amount I have seen, he is a good catcher; he just wasn’t asked to do it at Miami.
All in all, he’s a good back who would best fit as the thunder in a thunder and lightning system. His comp is a player who looked like he would thrive in that system until an Achilles tear took him from us.
NFL Comparison: D’Onta Foreman
Predraft Grade: 5th round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
RB1 Kenneth Walker III
RB2 Zach Charbonnet
RB3 Damien Martinez
RB4 Kenny McIntosh
Damien Martinez seems to be a pure depth play on the Seahawks, and he likely is the straight backup to Kenneth Walker, with Zach Charbonnet settling into a pass-catching and change-of-pace role for Seattle, even in the event of a Kenneth Walker injury. Injuries are the fastest path forward for Martinez, who went far later than I expected. But, even then, if he comes in for an injured Walker, it’s unlikely that Martinez garners the 72.5% opportunity share that Walker enjoys. He probably takes most of the carries, but Charbonnet is talented enough to eat into his productivity.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
If Martinez takes over for Walker, then he likely has flex appeal. But I’m not drafting that player. However, I would snatch Martinez off the waiver wire should things break bad in Seattle.
Round 7, Pick 238: Ricky White III, Wide Receiver, UNLV (6’1″, 184 lbs)
TALENT
White is a fun receiver because he’s always fighting for extra yards and is more often successful on average. He’s a shifty receiver who can work inside or outside, but due to his frame and lack of downfield skills, he likely ends up as a slot receiver in the NFL. He is ultimately going to be most successful as a jitterbug possession receiver, working through the junk in the middle of the field to get the hard yards.
He has a skill set that will play in the league, and he could get a decent target volume in the second half of his rookie year, like Ladd McConkey or Amon-Ra St. Brown before him. However, the dog in him isn’t quite up to Sun God levels, and McConkey isn’t quite within his skillset. Hisskillset team ability will get him onto a roster, and his tenacity will get him targets. He is an intriguing draft-and-stash target for dynasty leagues, and he’s going to be very inexpensive.
NFL Comparison: Kendrick Bourne
Predraft Grade: 4th Round
2025 OPPORTUNITY
Depth Chart:
WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR2 Cooper Kupp
WR3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR4 Jake Bobo
WR5 Tory Horton
WR6 Ricky White III
I liked White more than fellow rookie Tory Horton predraft, and I couldn’t be more distraught about his destination. White is somewhere between a Poor Man’s JSN and a Poor Man’s Cooper Kupp, so there isn’t a path forward for him in his rookie season.
2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
I don’t have any interest in him, even in the event of an injury. He could end up taking one of JSN/Kupp’s spots in that event, but the targets will just tilt away from him.
