Rob Rang is an NFL Draft analyst for FOX Sports and is returning for his fifth year of contributing to Seahawks.com's draft coverage. He began covering the NFL draft in 2000, with work published at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others. He also works as a scout with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

Rang's opinions and evaluations are his own and do not reflect those of the Seahawks. Follow him on Twitter @RobRang.

Winning the Super Bowl is the greatest achievement in professional football but for some, the glory was diminished with the sobering realization that a few players and coaches wouldn't be returning next season.

One can hardly fault Klint Kubiak for following in his father's footsteps, giving up his role as Seattle's offensive coordinator to become an NFL head coach.

While Kubiak was only in Seattle for one year before becoming the head coach of the Raiders, that was not the case for free agent defections Coby Bryant, Boye Mafe, Kenneth Walker III, Riq Woolen and Dareke Young, a handful of fan favorites from the famed 2022 draft class that ranks among the best in franchise history.

As the only general manager in NFL history to build two completely different Super Bowl champion rosters, 2025 NFL Executive of the Year John Schneider is quite literally the most qualified scout in the business to "run it back" again next year. As such, with all due respect to Bryant, Mafe, Walker, Woolen and Young, Schneider and his scouts might very well discover even better players in this draft.

The Seahawks goal, of course, is to field the best team, not replace former players with exact stylistic matches. But I thought it might be a fun exercise to look at the 2026 draft class through the very specific Seahawks-lens of doing precisely that.

So, here are this year's Doppelgangers – a list of prospects in the upcoming NFL draft who most closely resemble the five prominent former Seahawks who signed elsewhere in free agency.

Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana = Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs

Starring during his team's title game isn't the only reason that Black reminds me of Walker, but it certainly is a strong start.

Listed as one inch taller (and the same weight) as the 5-foot-9, 211-pound Walker, Black showed a similar flair for the dramatic as the former Seahawks runner, darting for 241 yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games, including 79 yards in the big win over Miami. Black also runs with a similar blend of burst and bounce, darting through and around traffic to generate yards in chunks.

Black even followed a similar career path as Walker, who started out at Wake Forest before transferring to Michigan State. Black scored a combined 10 rushing and receiving touchdowns over the 2022-2023 seasons for head coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison before following him to Indiana, where he generated another 10 touchdowns this past season.

While there are plenty of similarities between Walker and Black, one stark difference between the two is their draft stock. Walker was viewed as a "consensus" Day Two value and a likely Top 50 selection before the Seahawks selected him 41st overall back in 2022. Based off his tape, I gave Black a Day Three grade and NFL teams appear to think even less of him. Black was not among the 21 running backs invited to the Combine this year.

Over the past eight drafts, Schneider has used a first (Rashaad Penny) or second round selection (Walker, Zach Charbonnet) on a running back three times. If he were to do so this year, Notre Dame's Jadarian Price or Arkansas' Mike Washington, Jr. are excellent schematic fits.

But if looking for a K9 clone, a later bet on Black could also win big.

Jeff Caldwell, WR, Cincinnati = Dareke Young, Las Vegas Raiders

Caldwell is a full three inches taller than Young so admittedly their frames are a bit different, but in terms of sheer athleticism (and perhaps pro-readiness) the two are quite similar.

Young was one of late risers in the 2022 NFL draft, rewarding the NFL scouts who traveled to his Pro Day at D-II Lenoir-Rhyne to one of the great workouts of the year, including running the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds and an 11'3" broad jump after measuring in at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.

Caldwell played three years at Lindenwood, being named a finalist for the Walter Payton FCS Player of the Year in 2024, before transferring to Cincinnati this past season. The imposing 6-foot-5, 214 pounder turned 32 catches into six touchdowns with the Bearcats this past season, averaging just under 15 yards a catch. Even more explosive was his workout at the Combine, where Caldwell stole the spotlight at the receiver position with one of the year's elite overall performances, clocking in at 4.31 seconds in the 40-yard dash with a blistering 1.48 second 10-yard split. That means Caldwell isn't just fast, he's quick out of the gate too – unusual for a receiver of his size. And just imagine the catch radius he provides given his height, 32 5/8" arms and 42" vertical jump.

These traits, alone, will get Caldwell drafted; but not necessarily early as he's still very much a work in progress as a route-runner. Remember, the Seahawks nabbed Young with their ninth and final pick in 2022, at No. 233 overall.

With Rashid Shaheed (and Tory Horton) returning, the Seahawks already boast plenty of outside speed at receiver, but Caldwell's upside as a developmental receiver and gunner on special teams warrant consideration.

Tacario Davis, CB, Washington = Riq Woolen, Philadelphia Eagles

Replacing a freakish talent like Woolen won't be easy. Cornerbacks with his remarkable blend of size and speed simply don't come around very often. But it just so happens that Davis, his closest comp in this draft, happened to play his college ball at Husky Stadium, a half hour drive from Schneider's office in the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

Now, to be clear, Davis didn't run as fast as Woolen. No cornerback at the 2026 Scouting Combine came even reasonably close to Woolen's remarkable 4.26-second 40-yard dash. But like Woolen, Davis measured in at 6-foot-4 with 33+ arms and was plenty fast, clocking in at 4.41 seconds – the fourth fastest time registered by a cornerback in Indianapolis this year.

Despite his undeniable physical tools, Woolen famously fell to the fifth round of the 2022 draft in part because he was viewed as so raw. As you might recall, he was a former wide receiver who had only switched to cornerback three years earlier.

Davis played cornerback throughout his college career but also could prove a steal after suffering an injury-plagued senior season with the Huskies. He suffered a rib injury after landing on the ball awkwardly while intercepting a pass against UC-

Davis in Week Two and dealt with a severe hamstring strain later in the year, as well, limiting him to just seven games.

Like Woolen and most long-levered cornerbacks, Davis is a bit sticky in changing direction and that presents problems against the ultra-quick receivers he'll face in the NFL. He has an effortlessly gliding running style which allows him to accelerate in a flash, however, and his height and long arms minimize passing lanes. He broke up 25 passes in 37 career college games, dating back to his days at Arizona, before following Jedd Fisch to UW.

The 2026 NFL draft isn't as talented as most years, but cornerback (as well as edge rusher and receiver) is a relative strength with nine potential Day One starters among my favorite Top 100 prospects in this class. There are others in this class who I think are cleaner fits in McDonald's scheme (San Diego State's Chris Johnson, Arizona State's Keith Abney II and South Carolina's Brandon Cisse) but if the Seahawks were looking for this year's closest match to Woolen, they needn't look far.

Malachi Lawrence, Edge, UCF = Boye Mafe, Cincinnati Bengals

Given that he started just four games for the Seahawks last season (and finished with just four quarterback hits and two sacks), the three-year, $60 million dollar deal Mafe signed with Cincinnati might have been the biggest surprise of free agency – at least from a fan's perspective. NFL teams know that true speed rushers with Mafe's size (6-foot-4, 261 pounds) are highly valued.

Schneider and the Seahawks were betting on the same traits when they drafted Mafe out of Minnesota with the 40th overall pick back in 2022. He was fresh off his third consecutive season of 3+ sacks, had turned heads at the Senior Bowl and finished the pre-draft process with a spectacular showing at the Combine, registering receiver-like numbers in the 40-yard dash (4.53 seconds), vertical jump (38") and broad jump (10'5").

The numbers suggest that Lawrence, a 6-foot-4, 253-pounder, is a tick better than Mafe in almost every way, which could make him a candidate for the Seahawks as early as No. 32 overall.

Lawrence recorded at least five sacks each of the past three seasons at UCF, generating a career-high 11 tackles for loss in 2026 as well as seven sacks (the same Mafe had in his senior season) and scouts in Frisco, Texas at this year's East-West Shrine Bowl characterized him as the best player on the field. Lawrence then followed that up with one of the best all-around workouts by any player at the Combine, running the 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.52 seconds, with a 40" vertical jump and a 10'10" broad jump.

Most importantly, the explosiveness shown in these tests are reflected in the burst Lawrence generates off the edge. He pounces off the snap and possesses the core flexibility to quickly change direction. It is his ability to stalk ballcarriers and close quickly from behind that should allow him to continue to rack up sacks in the NFL, though like a young Mafe, Lawrence is currently more effective rushing than setting the edge in run defense.

Keionte Scott, DB, Miami = Coby Bryant, Chicago Bears

Drafted as a cornerback, moved to nickel and excelling at safety, Bryant proved to be one of the great steals of the Seahawks famed 2022 draft class, far outplaying his fourth-round selection (109th overall). If the Seahawks were to prioritize replacing that versatility with a prospect in this class, the similarly-built Scott would make a lot of sense on Day Two.

The 5-foot-11, 193-pounder primarily played nickel in college but also lined up at safety, linebacker, outside cornerback and even punt returner over the past four seasons, taking one back 74 yards for a touchdown against Arkansas, while he played at Auburn. He transferred to Miami this past season in the hopes of playing for a national championship and nearly brought one back to "The U," helping the Hurricanes qualify for the big game by stuffing the stat-sheet with career-highs in tackles (64), tackles for loss (13), sacks (five), passes broken up (five), interceptions (two – with both returned for touchdowns) and forced fumbles (two). It is like history repeating itself with Bryant (who is two inches taller but the same weight), who helped the Cincinnati Bearcats reach the College Football Playoffs in 2021 with a banner senior season that earned him the Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back.

Like Bryant, Scott is a moveable chess piece with an exciting blend of coverage talent, instincts and physicality. He shows impressive timing on the blitz – a priority in Macdonald's defense, of course – and the folks at Miami rave about his leadership.

With Ty Okada and AJ Finley retained and former Indianapolis Colts' starter Rodney Thomas now on board, the Seahawks don't necessarily need to address the safety position in the draft. But Scott's maturity, versatility and reliability would make him an excellent fit.