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.

Welcome to the Dark Side.

Any rookie the Seattle Seahawks incorporate into a defense that helped power the second championship in franchise history must not only boast impressive physical traits, but rare grit, competitiveness and maturity for a player first entering the NFL. Fitting into Mike Macdonald's defense simply isn't the same as it would be for the other 31 teams in the NFL.

These requirements limit the realistic candidates for the Seahawks' 2026 draft class, but with quality players at safety, cornerback and pass rusher leaving via free agency, John Schneider and his scouts have little choice but to look to rookies for reinforcements.

The Seahawks currently have a league-low four draft picks. That probably won't be the case for much longer. There is a league-wide expectation that Schneider will trade back – perhaps more than once - to acquire more selections.

But we are not projecting trades in this mock, so the Seahawks – for now, at least – are stuck with four picks. Here is how I think Seattle would attack the 2026 NFL draft if each of their four picks were spent on defensive players.

First Round, No. 32 overall: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M

After he registered a career-low two sacks a year ago, it would be easy to scoff at the idea that the Seahawks should prioritize replacing Boye Mafe's "production" off the edge in this year's draft. And yet, in my opinion, that should be the club's greatest focus. Mafe was the team's biggest threat as a traditional "speed" rusher and while he didn't get home very often, his upfield burst forced quarterbacks (and running backs) to alter their plans, where the rest of Seattle's defense lay in wait.

While I argued earlier that UCF's Malachi Lawrence was a Mafe Doppelganger, Howell might be an even better replacement.

While sacrificing an inch and a half and eight pounds to the 6-foot-4, 261-pound Mafe, Howell (6-2 ½ and 253 pounds) is even quicker off the snap and more flexible around the corner. He is the SEC's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, leading the conference's draft-eligible defenders with 11.5 sacks this past season and ranking second with 14 tackles for loss for a Texas A&M squad that made the College Football Playoff for the first time.

Howell began his college career at Bowling Green, where he led the Falcons with 9.5 sacks in 2023.

It is the 2024 season in between that I think makes Howell an especially intriguing fit for the Seahawks, however. After his breakout 2023 campaign, Howell entered the transfer portal and signed with Texas A&M. The Aggies already boasted a talented defensive line that featured three players selected among the first two rounds of last spring's draft and therefore Howell was relegated to more off-ball linebacker duties.

In this role, Howell showed impressive agility, balance and instincts. He recorded 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, as well as a career-high seven pass deflections, including an interception. Despite primarily attacking quarterbacks as a rusher, Howell again showed uncommon awareness of passing lanes this past season, as well, recording six more passes defensed. Howell lacks elite length and power against the run, but his versatility and instincts are first round caliber.

His ability to affect quarterbacks as a rusher and dropping back into coverage would provide Macdonald with a highly versatile edge defender. I think he'd be capable of contending for the team lead in sacks as a rookie, while also confusing opposing quarterbacks with the sudden, surprising ability to effectively cover, as well.

Second Round, No. 64 overall: Keith Abney II, CB, Arizona State

Like at edge rusher, the Seahawks have quality players returning to offset the loss of Tariq Woolen in free agency, but with veterans Shemar Jean-Charles and Noah Igbinoghene only on one-year deals and Nehemiah Pritchett halfway through his rookie deal, Seattle should be looking to this strong class of cornerbacks for depth behind starters Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe.

At 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, Abney lacks prototypical size for the outside but that's where he starred the past two seasons at Arizona State, leading the Sun Devils in both passes defensed (21) and interceptions (five) over that time. Jumping inside to nickel isn't for the faint of heart – it takes real physical toughness to play that much closer to the mass of humanity along the line of scrimmage – but Abney shows the necessary grit and awareness to handle this transition, should his NFL team require it.

Like many Seahawks draft picks of the past, Abney comes with a fascinating backstory.

It isn't often that rookies enter the NFL with national records in their history, but Abney is unique, having set the US standard in the 200 and 300-meter inline skating realm prior to dedicating himself full-time to football in high school. Speed skating may not be a traditional pipeline to football but there is something to be said for the core strength, balance and ability to compete under pressure Abney showed as a youngster.

And champions are champions, after all.

The same big-play potential, durability and versatility that made Howell such a good fit in the first round also applies to Abney in the second. I see a rookie with the toughness and skillset to contribute immediately with future starting potential.

Third Round, No. 96 overall: Kaleb Elarms-Orr, LB, TCU

The Seahawks appear set at linebacker for at least the next two years with starters Ernest Jones IV and Drake Thomas and top backup Tyrice Knight all returning. But all those violent tackles make linebacker a position of attrition and one that should have always have new talent waiting in the wings.

Elarms-Orr is among my favorite fits in this linebacker class for the Seahawks, specifically. He offers prototypical size for the position at 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds and turned heads at the Combine by running the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.47 seconds. A 40-inch vertical jump also demonstrated his explosiveness.

Like the presumptive No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Elarms-Orr began his college career at Cal and was a productive starter there before transferring to TCU, where this past season he simply led the Big 12 with 130 total tackles, including 11 for loss and four sacks.

What I like most about Elarms-Orr is that he is still just scratching the surface of his potential, as he didn't start playing football until high school. He starred on special teams in college and that is where I think he could initially excel for the Seahawks – but also offer legitimate starting potential, whenever called upon.

Sixth Round, No. 188 overall: Dalton Johnson, S, Arizona

Like linebacker, the Seahawks appear pretty set at safety with Ty Okada, D'Anthony Bell and AJ Finley all being brought back and the club bringing in former Indianapolis Colts starter Rodney Thomas II. Okada seems likely to take over for Coby Bryant as a starter opposite Julian Love with Nick Emmanwori, of course, operating as more of a nickel/linebacker hybrid (but being listed as a safety), as well.

Given how often Macdonald employed three-safety looks this past season, however, this is another position that should surprise no one if the Seahawks seek reinforcements in this draft, perhaps even in the early rounds.

One late round candidate that I like a lot is Johnson, one of three Arizona defensive backs who I expect to be drafted this year (along with Treydan Stukes and Genesis Smith).

At 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, Johnson lacks his former Arizona teammates' flashy size/speed combinations, but I thought he was the most instinctive and consistent of the trio. He led the Wildcats in tackles each of the past two seasons and tied for tops on the squad in interceptions this past season with four. The 2025 team captain also has shown a real knack for forcing fumbles, generating seven of those and was a core-four special teams standout throughout his career.