The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off next week in Pittsburgh, and for the Seahawks, this year's draft represents a chance to add to a roster mostly made up of the players who were part of the team that won Super Bowl LX in February.

Because of the talent, depth and youth on Seattle's roster, players added in this year's draft will have to come in willing to compete for playing time, something Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider saw young players struggle with last decade during the peak of the Legion of Boom era. That eventually led to an adjustment in Seattle's evaluation process to make sure they were bringing in the type of players who had the right mindset to compete with established stars, and that trait will again be key for the 2026 draft class.

"Yeah, we'll be way more cognizant of it," Schneider said last month at the NFL Annual Meeting. "How do they feel about (Devon Witherspoon), how do they feel about Leonard (Williams), (Byron) Murphy? There's got to be a level of confidence, self-efficacy that we have to dig deeper into… Not just being fans of these guys, but like, 'I want to take their jobs.' The competition just rises to the top."

Things could change before or during the draft, but as things currently stand, the Seahawks hold only four picks, having traded their fourth and fifth-round selections to the Saints in exchange for receiver and return specialist Rashid Shaheed, and having sent their sixth-rounder to Jacksonville in a 2024 trade for defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris. But even with limited draft capital, the Seahawks head into this year's draft looking to add tough, smart and reliable players who can help the team in 2026 and beyond.

And with the draft coming up soon, Seahawks.com is taking a position-by-position look at where things currently stand for the Seahawks, as well as draft analyst Rob Rang's top draft prospects at each position. We'll also look at Seattle's draft history at each position over the past 16 drafts under Schneider.

So far we've covered quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line/outside linebacker, off-ball linebacker and safety, and today we wrap things up with a look at where things stand at cornerback.

Seattle's 2026 Draft Picks: Round 1, No. 32 overall; Round 2, No. 64 overall; Round 3, No. 96 overall; Round 6, No. 188 overall (from Cleveland).

Cornerback draft history under John Schneider: Walter Thurmond (No. 111 overall, 2010); Richard Sherman (No. 154, 2011); Byron Maxwell (No. 173, 2011); Jeremy Lane (No. 172, 2012); Tharold Simon (No. 138, 2013); Eric Pinkins (No. 208, 2014: Pinkins later switched to LB); Tye Smith (No. 170, 2015); Shaquill Griffin (No. 90, 2017); Mike Tyson (No. 187, 2017); Tre Flowers (No. 146, 2018); Marquise Blair (No. 47, 2019; played safety & nickel corner) Ugo Amadi, (No. 132, 2019; played safety & nickel corner); Tre Brown (No. 137, 2021); Coby Bryant (No. 109, 2022; later converted to safety); Riq Woolen (No. 153, 2022); Devon Witherspoon (No. 5, 2023); Nehemiah Pritchett (No. 136, 2024); D.J. James (No. 192, 2024).

Where The Seahawks Stand

Much like safety, cornerback is a position at which the Seahawks lost a key player in free agency, but still head into 2026 feeling good about that group.

Riq Woolen, who split time with Josh Jobe last season at one outside corner spot, left in free agency, signing with the Eagles, but the Seahawks were able to re-signJobe, meaning they still have both of their primary starters at that spot in Jobe and three-time Pro-Bowler Devon Witherspoon.

Behind that duo, the Seahawks also have 2024 draft pick, Nehemiah Pritchett, who emerged as a special teams standout last season; Shemar Jean-Charles, who spent last season on the practice squad; and Noah Igbinoghene, a free-agent addition with inside-out versatility who has played 69 games with 17 starts over a six-year career.

And while he is listed as a safety, 2025 rookie standout Nick Emmanwori also factors in the mix when discussing numbers at cornerback, because by handling the bulk of the nickel back duties, he is taking snaps that would traditionally go to a third cornerback.

Yet even though the Seahawks are returning both starters from last year, they onlytotal five total cornerbacks on the current roster, a number they'll want to add to prior to training camp, so if the right value is there, it's a position that Schneider and company could definitely want to address in the draft.

Rob Rang's Top 5 Cornerbacks

Overview: Retaining free agents Josh Jobe and Shemar Jean-Charles and signing of former first rounder Noah Igbinoghene lessen Seattle's need at cornerback, but I still expect at least one of their draft picks this year to be spent on the position. LSU's Mansoor Delane will likely be a Top 10 selection, but scouts are mixed on the order after him. Among my favorite fits for the Seahawks outside of the five listed below are Arizona State's Keith Abney II, Clemson's Aveion Terrell, Indiana's mighty-mite D'Angelo Ponds and Texas' Malik Muhammad, with relatively local products Tacario Davis (Washington) and Jadon Canady (Oregon) offering intriguing upside, as well.

1. Mansoor Delane, LSU, 6-0, 187, First Round

Delane caught the attention of talent evaluators at Virginia Tech but took his game to an entirely different level this past season at LSU, showing remarkable route awareness and fluidity to remain in the hip pocket of wideouts. Three of his four college seasons Delane allowed two or fewer touchdown receptions, per PFF, including zero this past season. He moves so well some questioned his speed – until he was clocked at 4.38 seconds at his March 23 Pro Day.

2. Jermod McCoy, Tennessee, 6-1, 188, First Round

Given the way that the NFL prioritizes the passing game now, the value of true sticky cover corners has never been higher. McCoy is an excellent example of this phenomenon as he missed the entire 2025 season and yet still is widely expected to get drafted in the first round. McCoy tore his ACL during offseason training and did get back onto the practice field for the Vols late this year but he was never allowed to play. He eased concerns about his health at the Combine and during his March 31 Pro Day, clocking in at 4.40 in the 40-yard dash. He is an explosive athlete who originally signed with Oregon State out of the football-rich state of Texas, where he was the triple and long-jump champion as a senior. His size, speed and ball-skills (16 PBUs over the 2023-2024 seasons) would normally generate a Top 20 selection.

3. Colton Hood, Tennessee, 6-0, 193, First Round

The Vols had hoped to pair the aforementioned McCoy with Hood – a transfer from Colorado – but the injury to the former ruined that. Hood took over as Tennessee's top cornerback, however, and was arguably even better than McCoy. He's slighter shorter and stouter than his former teammate and I like his instincts and closing speed in zone coverage even more than McCoy. According to PFF, Hood allowed just one touchdown in his three seasons of college football – and that one can from the two-yard line. Only the fact that Hood spent time at three different programs (Auburn, Colorado) in three years might keep him from being selected in the first round, though notably, the coaches at Tennessee gush about Hood's character.

4. Chris Johnson, San Diego State, 6-0, 193, First-Second Round

Had Johnson played his college ball in the SEC or Big Ten, he might also be viewed as a first-round cinch. Perhaps the fact that he played at a high level four consecutive years at San Diego State means even more, as Johnson turned down opportunities to transfer to stay local to the Aztecs. There is no doubt that he dominated in the Mountain West, earning Co-Defensive Player of the Year this past season. He has an exciting track record of creating turnovers and turning them into scores, forcing nearly as many fumbles (five) as he snared interceptions (six) and returning two of the latter for touchdowns. Johnson silenced critics of his raw athleticism at the Combine with a 4.40 40-yard dash time.

5. Brandon Cisse, South Carolina, 6-0, 189, First-Second Round

If the aforementioned Johnson is my favorite fit for the Seahawks among the relatively pro-ready cornerbacks of this class, Cisse (pronounced See-Say) might offer the most upside. Cornerbacks are supposed to be confident and how about this for bravado – Cisse entered the NFL after starting just one season at the college level, emerging as an immediate difference-maker at South Carolina after transferring from North Carolina State, where he was a valued reserve on defense and special teams his first two seasons. Cisse moves as smoothly as his name rolls off the tongue and he shows the field smarts and grit against the run that Mike Macdonald (and defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Karl Scott) have prioritized.