Moments before the 2026 draft kicked off, Seahawks general manager and president of football operations held a brief meeting in which he noted, among other things, "I don't know if we're going to pick tonight or not."

It was no secret coming into the draft that Schneider, whose team held only four picks, was looking to add more, and the easiest way to do that is to trade back, especially out of the first round. But in the end, the Seahawks did pick in the first round, when a perfect example of need and best-player-available aligned, with Seattle selecting Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price.

The trades would come eventually, and Schneider managed to turn his four picks into eight, adding what the Seahawks hope will be a fifth consecutive class that can make big contributions both in the short and long term.

For more on the selection of Price, as well as the rest of the Seahawks' draft, Seahawks.com is once again taking you inside the Derrick Jensen Draft Room during the 2026 NFL Draft.

Day 1

4:51 pm

With the draft about to start, Schneider gathers the entire personnel staff, coaching staff and members of several other departments, to express gratitude for the work that has gone into getting the Seahawks ready for the draft.

Schneider shouts out some of the new coaches in the room including offensive coordinator Brian Fleury and senior offensive assistant/running backs coach Thomas Hammock and describes what a Seahawks draft room will be like. He tells them it'll be a good time and that there will be music playing, borrowing one of head coach Mike Macdonald's favorite phrases, calling it "loose and focused." And, Schneider being Schneider, he jokes that "loose and focused" is a phrase he came up with, looking at Macdonald with a grin as he says it.

Before leading the room in a prayer, Schneider has one last note for the room before the draft kicks off, "I don't know if we're going to pick tonight or not."

7:17 p.m.

After the Chargers take linebacker Akheem Mesidor at No. 22, the Seahawks, who as the defending champs hold pick No. 32, are nine picks away from being on the clock. Dallas selects defensive end Malachi Lawrence, and Seattle's draft board reflects what was the perception of this class coming in, which is that while the draft had some sweet spots and depth, it didn't have a ton of surefire blue-chip players. With ten picks left to go in the first round, the Seahawks only have a couple of players left on their board with first-round grades, plus a handful more that are right on the line of being late-first or early-second rounders.

7:20 p.m.

After the Browns take receiver KC Concepcion, there's a small issue in the room that needs to be remedied. Personnel and football operations assistant Callie Minshew has taken over music duties this year from Jack Schneider, John's son, and the song currently playing isn't going over well with the room. Vice president of player acquisition Matt Berry asks for Minshew to skip the song, and a few minutes after that, Schneider turns to the room and says, "This is really important… Can you ask Callie to play some Bob Marley." The problem is that Minshew has briefly stepped out of the room—people are coming and going from the draft room throughout all three days, leading to football operations coordinator Hailey Holtz firing off a quick text to Minshew, who quickly returns to the room to put on the aforementioned Bob Marley.

Somewhere in the 20s—and no, we're not going to tell you where—a player is selected that was not particularly high on Seattle's board, something the personnel department refers to as an upset. That term can also be used for when a player Seattle likes comes off the board right in front of them, and yes, this can be confusing.

Anyway, the playful tradition in Seattle's draft room, which started with longtime Seahawks scout Jim Nagy, now the general manager for University of Oklahoma football, is that when a significant upset happens, someone yells out "Major!", as in a major upset, to signify that a player went off the board well before the Seahawks thought he should. In recent years, that role has gone to assistant director of pro personnel Armani Perez, but in this particular case Perez was busy with something else and forgot to call it out, leading to Berry wondering outloud, "Did anyone say 'major' yet?"

Berry, in his best deadpan delivery, then says to area scout Jack Green, who is sitting next to Perez, "Jack, get him right."

After the first round, Schneider was asked if it was a little harder to know what teams were thinking compared to most drafts, and said, "It's been a unique first round."

It wasn't all good news and "majors" for the Seahawks in the second half of the first round, however. At least one defensive player the Seahawks liked went off the board late in round one, drawing a reaction from the room, but the good news is there are still players the Seahawks really like atop their board, including Jadarian Price.

7:27 p.m.

As the Seahawks pick gets a little closer, Macdonald walks to the back of the room and starts studying the wall that has the current roster of every NFL team. Macdonald pauses at the New York Giants roster and looks at the group of edge defenders, which includes last year's first-round pick Abdul Carter, three-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns and 2022 first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. A couple hours earlier, the Giants added Arvell Reese, who figures to factor in as an off-ball linebacker and edge rusher, with the fifth-overall pick. Looking at that collection of talent, Macdonald shakes his head and says, "That's just stupid," in a very complimentary way.

7:30 p.m.

The Texans move up to select guard Keylan Rutledge with pick No. 26, the first of a flurry of trades at the end of the first round. A minute later, the 49ers trade No. 27 to Miami, which takes cornerback Chris Johnson. With each passing trade ahead of them, it's getting harder for the Seahawks to find a trade partner at 32.

7:40 p.m.

Schneider made no secret of the fact that, with only four picks coming into the draft, he would like to trade back and add more picks, and at about the same time the Patriots move up to acquire the 26th pick, Schneider is on the phone with a team looking to move up from the second round, a trade that would give the Seahawks a pick early in the second round as well as an additional pick, but the compensation isn't enough to make Schneider say yes right away.

7:41 p.m.

New England selects tackle Caleb Lomu with the pick they just acquired, and soon after, Schneider, Macdonald, Berry, assistant general manager Nolan Teasley and vice president of player personnel Trent Kirchner all huddle up to talk about their trade options.

7:44 p.m.

Kansas City takes defensive tackle Peter Woods, meanwhile, phone calls continue with the Seahawks now three picks away.

7:47 p.m.

Yet another trade. This time it's the Jets coming up to get the 30th pick from the 49ers, who have already moved back once. After the Jets use that pick on receiver Omar Cooper Jr. the Seahawks are two picks away and still have not decided if they're moving back or picking. Schneider playfully pulls at his shirt and starts singing Nelly's 2022 hit, "Hot In Herre" before switching to a quote from the movie "Stripes," saying, perhaps to himself, "Lighten up, Francis."

7:55 p.m.

The Titans trade up to the 31st pick, marking the fifth trade in the last six picks, and they use it to select defensive end Keldric Faulk. That puts the Seahawks on the clock, and Schneider once again is back on the phone. With so many trades happening in front of them, the Seahawks' options to move back aren't as good as they might have been without so many other teams jumping up in the picks before Seattle's at 32.

And with Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price both fitting a need and also standing out at the top of players remaining on the board, it's an easy decision to stay at 32 and not try to move back.

7:58 p.m.

Schneider makes the call to Price.

"We're really excited for you, man," Schneider says. "All your stuff throughout the spring was outstanding, it's so fun watching you play. We can't wait to make you a Seahawk."

"Yes sir, I appreciate you," Price says, his voice cracking with emotion.

Macdonald then takes the phone from Schneider, saying, "Hey, you're a Seahawk, man."

"Let's go!" Price replies.

Next up, Macdonald hands the phone to Fleury, who tells Price, "I loved meeting you at the combine, I love everything about your attitude. That chip on your shoulder, don't lose that. That's what's going to make you great in this league."

Hammock takes the phone next, telling Price, "It's been a long process, but worth it… Those emotions are real, man. Enjoy this moment, enjoy it with your family, and congratulations."

8:04 p.m.

Not long after the call to Price ends, the TV broadcast catches up, and Seattle's pick is about to be announced. The TVs in the room, usually muted, are turned up, and Dylan Pratt, a two-time cancer survivor and Seahawks fan, takes the stage to make the pick. A clearly amped up Pratt said he was excited to be representing the 12s before screaming, "Oh, and the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seahawks!" which drew a huge cheer from Seattle's draft room.

With the selection of price, Round 1 of the 2026 draft came to an end. While a lot of people, Schneider included, thought the Seahawks might move back, it didn't work out that way because of how things unfolded, and the Seahawks still came away thrilled with the end result of their day.

"We thought he had some (trade) opportunities for a minute," Schneider said after the first round, "Fell apart. A lot of trading going on right ahead of us, but I mean, (Price) kind of stood alone. Great player. The person's outstanding, the competitor, he's a Seahawk. It's really cool. We were kind of concerned people were going to go ahead of us because we felt like he was so out there in terms of mock drafts and what have you."

Day 2

5:38 p.m.

After the Patriots move up to take defensive end Gabe Jacas 55th overall, the Seahawks are eight picks from being on the clock at pick No. 64, the final pick of the second round. Moving back remains a consideration for the Seahawks, who at the moment have just three picks remaining, but they also only have a couple of players left with second-round grades, one of them a pass rusher, and the other being safety Bud Clark, as well as a handful of players with high third-round grades.

Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" plays at a low volume while options are discussed. The question seems to be that of, if the Seahawks move back, will they be missing out on a player they really like that would be there at No. 64?

After New England's pick is in, Schneider picks up a call, though not on his cell phone as usual, but at the landline installed by his seat at the front of the room. The call is about a potential trade back with a team picking early in Round 3, but before Schneider can talk business, he has to give the caller a hard time about calling on a landline.

5:40 p.m.

Just after the Jaguars select tight end Nate Boerkircher at No. 56, Armani Perez informs the room that the Eagles just traded for Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. That's important information for the room to have, because among the many factors the Seahawks are considering as the draft goes along is the needs of other teams, which can help predict who they will/won't want to select.

Continuing the 80s vibe in the room, "Africa" by Toto is the next song in the cue. Callie Minshew is off to a strong start on her second day as draft room DJ.

5:41 p.m.

Schneider is back on the phone to talk about another trade just before the Bears take center Logan Jones at No. 57.

5:47 p.m.

Not long after his last call, Schneider is standing at the front of the room, studying his draft board intently, when the phone rings yet again. With the 58th pick, Cleveland takes safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, which gets a sigh of relief from the room. That's not because the Seahawks didn't think highly of McNeil Warren, but rather because the Seahawks thought the Browns might be targeting someone Seattle was hoping would still be available at 64.

Shortly after that pick is in, Schneider announced that one potential trade back was no longer on the table.

5:53 p.m.

The Titans trade up to take linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. at No. 60. It's noted in the room that, by the trade chart the Seahawks use, the Titans won that trade. That's keeping with a theme that has come up a few times in the first couple of rounds, which is that the teams moving up tended to be getting pretty good value, at least by Seattle's chart (as Schneider has explained on a few occasions, there is no longer one universally accepted trade value chart used by teams anymore so opinions can differ). Perhaps that was a factor in Seattle's unwillingness to move back in the first couple of rounds.

5:58 p.m.

After the Rams take tight end Max Klare at No. 61, the Seahawks are just two picks from being back on the clock, and the music has gone back another decade, with the Cars' "Just What I Needed" playing over the speakers.

After another call, Schneider talks it over with the room, and concludes, "We're getting our ass kicked." In other words, that's a no.

6:04 p.m.

Buffalo picks cornerback Davison Igbinosun at No. 62 meaning the Seahawks are just two picks away. The music selections have gone back to the 80s, with Genesis' "Invisible Touch" now playing, a song some have described as the group's undisputed masterpiece.

6:07 p.m.

A trade hasn't yet been ruled out, but Schneider tells area scout Josh Graff that if the Seahawks are picking, he is going to be the one making the call.

6:09 p.m.

The Chargers pick center Jake Slaughter at No. 63, meaning the Seahawks are back on the clock. Knowing that the Seahawks are about to take TCU safety Bud Clark, Macdonald excitedly calls to safeties coach Jeff Howard, "Jeff, you good? Jeff, let's go!" In the back of the room.

As the room buzzes with anticipation of the pick, Kirchner says to Macdonald, "How does it feel," a reference to Macdonald getting a pick he coveted. Earlier in the second round, a player Kirchner really liked was selected, leading to someone cueing up a snippet of "Taps" to mourn Kirchner missing out on his guy. One of the cruel realities of the draft is that scouts will spend months and months learning about players, including the ones they think would be great Seahawks, only to watch them get plucked off the board by other teams.

6:10 p.m.

As Schneider promised, Graff, Seattle's West Area Scout, is the first to call Clark.

"You ready to come back up to the Northwest, man?" Graff says.

"Yes sir, let's do it," Clark responds.

"I told you you were going to come back up here in a week and see those bald eagles again," Graff says, referencing Clark's pre-draft visit to Seattle in which he was impressed by the scenery at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. "We're about to take you right here at 64, all right? Welcome to the Seahawks, Bud."

"Yes sir, let's do it," Clark says. "I appreciate you so much, let's do it, man."

After Macdonald takes the phone from Graff, he tells Clark, "I tell you what, we're fired up, you've got a lot of fans in this building… We're so excited, brother. You're going to have a great time here, and you're a Seahawk.

Clark, bubbling over with excitement and enthusiasm, replies, "Yes sir, let's do it, let's do it! Yes sir, I'm ready, I'm ready!"

Next up is defensive coordinator Aden Durde, who greets Clark with, "Congratulations, my dawg," which, by the way, sounds significantly more charming in a British accent.

Clark replies, "Yes sir, let's do it, I'm ready, let's do this."

Howard and Karl Scott, the team's defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach, also exchange a few pleasantries with Clark, with Scott adding, "Just be ready to be coached by some pit bulls. No poodles this way."

6:13 p.m.

After the call ends, the room continues to celebrate the pick, with Howard giving out hugs and high fives to scouts and coaches. For the second year in a row, Howard is one of the happiest people in the room during the second round, having also been fired up at this time last year when the Seahawks selected Nick Emmanwori in Round 2.

7:30 p.m.

With pick No. 88, the Jaguars take Emmanuel Pregnon, meaning the Seahawks are eight picks away, and at the moment, holding only two more picks in the 2026 draft.

As the draft moves into the 90s, there's a few more of what the room would call "Major upsets," and a new tradition is born. Instead of Armani Perez calling out "Major!", it instead comes from the back of the room from both Hugh Macdonald, Mike's father, and Bill Schneider, John's brother, who sat together enjoying the entire draft from the back of the room. The two would reprise this role a few times throughout the draft, an amusing change of pace.

For Mike Macdonald, having his father attend the draft was particularly meaningful considering that it was around this time last year that Hugh was told he needed a kidney transplant. The elder Macdonald got that transplant last fall and was able to attend the Super Bowl, among other games last season.

"It's awesome," Macdonald said of having his dad in the draft room. "Appreciate John for the way we operate here. It's pretty unique. It's been awesome to have him here. See him and Bill hang out, figuring out the draft board, getting the binoculars out, solving the problems. Play a little golf. Any time we get the chance to spend time together is definitely cherished, especially where we're at on the map."

But again, within those majors, there are also picks that don't go Seattle's way, including a defensive player they were considering at 96 going late in the third round. The room is hardly despondent over the pick though, knowing they have players they really like still on their board with a similarly high grades.

7:45 p.m.

Schneider is back on the phone discussing another trade, and for the second time in as many rounds, he expresses his unhappiness with the offer, saying, "They're kind of kicking our ass, aren't they?" That trade won't happen, but Schneider and company keep making calls.

7:48 p.m.

Miami takes receiver Chris Bell at 94, leaving the Seahawks one pick from being back on the clock, but as that pick is announced, Schneider, Berry, Kirchner and Teasley are all huddled up to talk about a possible trade back from No. 96.

7:49 p.m.

After New England picks tight end Eli Raridon, the Seahawks are on the clock, but not for long. They've finally found a trade they like, sending No. 96 to the Steelers in exchange for No. 99 and a sixth-round pick, No. 216 overall.

"Hey!" Schneider said, thrilled to finally find a trade partner to add a pick. "Good times. Holy shit!"

7:53 p.m.

Riding high of his first trade of the draft, Schneider is on the phone discussing yet another trade back, but the team looking to move up from early in the fourth round calls off the deal when Pittsburgh takes offensive lineman Gennings Dunker at No. 96, because Dunker was that team's target for the trade.

7:55 p.m.

Even after the trade, the Seahawks are still without a pick in the first two rounds of Day 3, having send fourth and fifth-round picks to New Orleans for receiver/return specialist Rashid Shaheed.

"What time are we coming in tomorrow?" Schneider quips. "Should we jus t put on Rashid Shaheed highlights for an hour when we get in?"

8 p.m.

Ryan Florence, Seattle's southwest area scout, makes the call to Arkansas cornerback Julian Neal.

"You ready to be a Seahawk, man?" Florence says.

"Yes sir, let's go," Neal replies.

"We're going to select you here at Pick 99, all right?" Florence says.

"Awesome, thank you!" Neal says amidst some significant background noise from the draft party at his home in San Francisco.

When Macdonald picks up the phone, he is greeted by the sounds of a big celebration, "You there, brother? Still alive? You there Julian?""

"I'm here, I'm here coach," Neal said.

Macdonald adds, "Now you can tell Nick Perry to shut up because now you're a Seahawk," reference to the former Seahawks assistant who worked under Macdonald in 2024 before coaching defensive backs, including Neal, at Arkansas in 2025.

At the back of the room, assistant head coach Leslie Frazier gives a hug to director of college scouting Aaron Hineline, saying, "That's a big get. That's a big get."

Not long after, Neal would reveal in a conference call with reporters that it was his scouting combine meeting with the Seahawks, and a brief conversation with Frazier in particular, that convinced him he was headed to Seattle.

"It wasn't a surprise at all," Neal said. "After that meeting at the combine, Les, the assistant head coach told me, 'You're most likely going to get picked by the Seahawks, Julian Neal.' He told me that to my face. I believed him, and they believed in me."

Day 3

Early in the fourth round, Schneider, apparently not too tied up with those aforementioned Rashid Shaheed highlights, passed through the media work room, which is set up in what is usually the team's defensive meeting room right next to the cafeteria. After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with the few media members who bothered to show up this early, coffee in hand, Schneider was off to the draft room, the implication at the time seeming to be that the Seahawks weren't going to be busy for quite a while.

Things changed, however, as the fourth round continued, and the Seahawks had one player sticking out on their draft board well above every other remaining player.

10:55 a.m.

With pick No. 139, the 49ers pick Ephesian Prysock, a cornerback out of the University of Washington, and with the fourth round winding down, the Seahawks have one player, Iowa guard Beau Stephens, well above the rest of the field on their draft board.

As a result, Schneider is on the phone, figuring out how the Seahawks can acquire a pick to grab Stephens, who surely won't be around when Seattle's current next pick, No. 188 in the sixth round, rolls around. The Seahawks don't have a lot in the way of 2026 picks to offer up in a trade, holding just a pair of sixth-rounders, but what they do have is a lot of draft capital in next year's draft thanks to the compensatory picks they're expected to receive after losing Boye Mafe, Kenneth Walker III, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen in free agency.

11:03 a.m.

As Schneider continues to talk trade options and Teasley takes another call, Berry sarcastically informs the room that the Seahawks are "just 45 more picks away" from their next selection.

11:06 a.m.

Carolina selects center Sam Hecht with pick No. 144, and after Schneider takes another call, he plays off of Berry's joke, saying, "Only 43 more picks!"

"That's right around the corner," pro scout Azzaam Kapadia says without missing a beat.

11:10 a.m.

After hanging up from a call, Schneider tells the room that the Seahawks are going to acquire pick No. 148, sending a 2027 fourth-round pick to Cleveland as compensation.

"It was too big of a gap and too much talent there," Schneider said after the draft. "Beau came on a 30 visit. Really cool. Just the process of (him) coming in… We were pretty surprised (Stephens was still available). But when the guy lasts that long, you're like, 'OK, how do we figure this out?' We did have a plan to play the compensatory game, if you will. We were, like, 'We have the 12 picks next year. What does it look like?' The coaches, we got a lot of buy-in from the coaches. They're really excited about it."

11:16 a.m.

Kirk Parrish, an area scout and the team's senior college scouting coordinator, makes the call to Beau Stephens.

"Hey man, we've got some good news for you," Parrish tells Stephenson. "We're going to select you right now with this pick."

Stephens, at this point unaware Seattle had made a trade, sounds genuinely surprised, saying, "Oh snap. Let's freaking go."

"We just traded up to get you, man," Parrish says.

"Oh, that's sick," Stephens says. "Thank you, I appreciate it."

Macdonald, after taking the phone from Parrish, says, "We came out of nowhere, you were just staring at us, we had to go get you… We'll get you here as soon as possible to get rolling. But you've got a great opportunity, and we love you. You're a Seahawk, man, congrats.

Next up is Fleury, who tells Stephens, "I'm fired up to get you up here. We love the way you play, your style is going to fit in great up here. It's going to be Go Hawks for a while longer.

When offensive line coach John Benton takes the phone, asking, "How are you doing?" Stephens replies, "I'm doing freaking fantastic right now."

"I couldn't be more excited," Benton says. "You did a hell of a job on your visit here, sold us all, man. Get ready to go to work."

After adding Stephens, the Seahawks have already selected four players, matching the total they held coming into the draft, but they're not done, having dipped into 2027 to add Stephens, and having added the extra sixth in their trade back in Round 3.

12:42 p.m.

With the Seahawks 11 picks away from the first of their two sixth-round selections, No. 188 overall, there isn't much action in the draft room. At the moment, a laptop between Macdonald and Schneider's monitors is playing clips from the 90s comedy hit, "Dumb and Dumber," a favorite of both the head coach at GM. Just on the other side of that laptop sits the Lombardi Trophy, which has very conspicuously sat in the front of the draft room all day since being brought to the room that morning so the entire personnel department, which isn't often in the same place together, could get a group photo.

While random, it's hard to imagine a scene that better captures Schneider's essence than a draft room featuring one computer with his draft work on it, another showing clips from a silly movie, all framed nicely by the Lombardi Trophy earned last season by the team he built. One might say the scene, a mix of goofy and extreme success, was Schneider in a nutshell, but knowing Schneider, he or Macdonald, a huge 90s comedy fan, would probably reply to that by quoting Austin Powers: "No, this is me in a nutshell. Help, I'm in a nutshell! How did I get into this nutshell? Look at the size of this bloody great big nutshell! What sort of shell has a nut like this?"

1:05 p.m.

Schneider informs the room that the Seahawks are moving back, sending No. 188 to the Jets for No. 199 and 242.

1:18 p.m.

It's late enough in the draft that scouts and coaches in the back of the room start discussing options for undrafted free agents. Who might the Seahawks be able to sign, and what positions are they looking to fill? The calls to UDFAs can't start yet, but the planning already has.

1:34 p.m.

The Rams acquire No. 197 via a trade with the Eagles, getting an "Oh shit" from somebody in the room who is concerned the Rams could be going after the same player as Seattle.

1:35 p.m.

The Rams use that pick on receiver CJ Daniels, which is met with relief. It's the position the Seahawks were worried about, but not the player.

1:40 p.m.

Parrish picks up the phone to make the call to Emmanuel Henderson Jr., a receiver out of Kansas, but there's no answer. Another couple of attempts don't get an answer, and suddenly there's only 2:15 left on the clock for Seattle to submit its pick. Just as it's starting to get a little tense in the room, Parrish gets ahold of Henderson.

"Glad we got through, we got the voicemail a couple of times," Parrish says.

"Yes sir, my bad," Henderson says.

Macdonald, taking the phone from Parrish, says, "Hey, congrats, Emmanuel. We were worried there for a second. Did you have it on do not disturb or something?"

Macdonald adds, "There's nobody more excited than our special teams coach, Jay Harbaugh. I'm going to pass it off to him."

Harbaugh says to Henderson, "What's up, man. You got any speed left for us," which is met with, "Oh yeah, most definitely."

Harbaugh then says, "We love the way you play the game, man. Can't wait for the role you're going to play for us. You're going to light up Lumen Field."

1:44 p.m.

After the call with Henderson ends, Schneider gets the room's attention for a moment to recognize Seahawks Vice Chair Bert Kolde, who, with the Estate of Paul G Allen announcing earlier this year that it was beginning the process of selling the team, was taking part in his final draft with the team. Schneider presented Kolde with a helmet signed by the personnel staff and coaching staff and thanked him for all that he and the Allen family have done for the team, then told him, "Whoever our last pick is, you're calling the (expletive) guy."

2:22 p.m.

The Seahawks are back on the clock with pick No. 216, but Schneider, who for two days had a hard time finding trading partners, can't stop making moves in the later rounds. This time he has a deal lined up with the Packers, which will send 216 to Green Bay in exchange for a pair of seventh-round picks, No. 236 and 255. The Seahawks, who came into the draft with only four picks, have now made five selections with three picks still to go.

3:01 p.m.

With the Seahawks' next pick approaching, Schneider tells area scout Jack Green that he will be calling Toledo cornerback Andre Fuller with the good news, presuming Fuller is still available in two picks. Green, the son of well-respected longtime NFL scout Dom Green, is in his third year as a Seahawks scout after getting his start as an intern in the personnel department, and this will be his first time calling to tell a player he was being selected.

3:05 p.m.

The Vikings select center Gavin Gerhardt at No. 235 putting the Seahawks back on the clock, ready to select Fuller. Green can't get through to fuller on his first couple of attempts, then, finally, with less than two minutes on the clock, Fuller picks up.

"We're about to take you right here at pick 236, that sound good?" Green asks.

"Yes sir," Fuller says, his voice cracking.

"Can't wait to get you up here, congratulations," Green says. "Enjoy this day with your family."

As Green hands the phone off to Macdonald, Fuller can be heard telling the friends and family gathered with him, "I'm going to get drafted right now."

"Hey Andre, congrats bud," Macdonald says, adding, "Andre, you there."

Fuller, the emotion really overtaking him, says, "Thank you coach, yes sir."

"You all right?" Macdonald asks.

"Yes sir," Fuller says.

"You've got a home now, buddy, we'll see you soon," Macdonald says, with Fuller, still crying, saying, "Thank you coach."

After Karl Scott welcomes Fuller to the team, he hands the phone to defensive assistant/defensive backs coach Neiko Thorpe, a former Seahawks player who is also something of an unofficial hype man on the coaching staff.

"Congrats, bro," Thorpe says. "Can't wait to get you up here and get to work. Just what we need, a big, physical guy who can run. I can't wait to work with you. Enjoy this time with your family, and welcome to the dark side, my boy."

3:15 p.m.

With another pick coming up soon at 242, the Seahawks have to turn their attention to another pick not long after they get off the phone with Fuller.

Defensive line coach Justin Hinds, who is in the back of the room—most coaches, other than Macdonald, come and go from the room throughout the draft—sees that one of the top players left on the board is Minnesota nose tackle Deven Eastern. Eastern isn't just one of the best players available, he also fits a need for the Seahawks, who have plenty of front-line talent on their interior line, but who want to stockpile depth behind standouts like Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II and Jarran Reed. Not only do the Seahawks want to keep adding quality players up front, they also want depth so veterans like Reed and Williams can have their practice workloads managed throughout the year. Eastern is one of Seattle's top options here, but there's some discussion in the room about the pick, because there is also a cornerback the Seahawks like (spoiler alert: they'll get him too).

Hinds, wanting to drive the point home about D-line depth point, tells Leslie Frazier, "If we don't draft Eastern, I'm playing nose."

3:21 p.m.

Sarah Ruttkay, Seattle's player personnel manager and executive assistant to the GM, calls Bert Kolde over to the phone that will be used to call Eastern. It isn't Seattle's final pick, but Schneider is making good on his promise from earlier in the day to let Kolde call a pick.

3:22 p.m.

The Seahawks are on the clock after Buffalo selects guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams, and Kolde takes the ringing phone from Ruttkay to welcome Eastern to the team with Seattle's penultimate pick of the 2026 draft.

"It's Bert Kolde calling from the Seahawks, how you doing?" he says. "Are you ready to be a Seahawk? Congratulations, we're going to take you here at 242."

"Let's go, I'm ready to work," Eastern replies. "I'm ready to get out there."

After Macdonald welcomes Eastern to the team, Hinds gets on the phone, telling Eastern, "It worked out the way it's supposed to."

3:51 p.m.

Even at the end of round seven, NFL teams can still get at least a little upset when a team in front of them takes a player they like, and that happens at pick No. 253 when the Ravens select guard Evan Beernsten, though it seemed the Seahawks were more hoping to sign Beernsten after the draft, not select him at No. 255.

"Son of a gun, oh shit" Schneider says, though somewhat playfully.

3:53 p.m.

With Seattle's final pick coming up, Schneider informs Becca Erenbaum, the team's senior football research analyst, that she is making the call, much to her surprise. Erenbaum, director of research and analytics Patrick Ward and the rest of the research and analytics department, play a significant role in Seattle's draft process, though we can't really go into detail on what they do, both because Schneider and company don't want to give too much away about their process, and because, let's face it, most of us mere mortals aren't smart enough to comprehend what those brilliant folks do anyway.

3:55 p.m.

Erenbaum puts in the call to Arizona cornerback Michael Dansby, who at No. 255 will be Seattle's eighth and final selection in the 2026 draft.

"We're about to take you with Pick 255, congratulations," Erenbaum says. "Here's our head coach Mike Macdonald."

The room applauds both the pick and Erenbaum getting to make the call, though the draft room being the draft room, she does catch a few playful barbs for sounding like she rehearsed that line.

"Congratulations," Macdonald says to Dansby after talking the phone. "I know it was a long wait, but it'll be worth it, I promise."

"I'll make it worth it, for sure," Dansby says.

Earlier in his tenure, Schneider, like a lot of GMs would make most of the calls to picks, but more recently, he has spread that job around. Having scouts, then Kolde and Erenbaum, make those calls is, as Schneider sees it, a nice reward for all the people who put in the work throughout the year to get ready for a draft.

"The scouts, they're away from their families so much," Schneider said. "Like Ryan's (Florence) got two beautiful little kids. He's gone all the time. They put in so much time. It's just a cool thing. They build these relationships with these guys. It's just great for them to be able to finally say, 'Hey, man, we're going to select you,' then hand the phone to the head coach. I feel very grateful that I've been able to do this for a number of years. I hope others in our room will be able to do the same thing, be decision makers. It's just fun to let them do that. Obviously, the team is going to be sold, so it's Bert's last draft with us. Becca, this girl works her tail off, it's fun for her. We were joking, she was a little AI-ish. It was fun for her to be able to do that, too.

It's all these people in the background. Again, you guys are interviewing the players, the coaches, everybody throughout the year, but there's a lot that goes into this behind closed doors."

Schneider and company were able to turn four picks into eight over the course of seven rounds, adding tough, competitive players who they hope will help the team win games for years to come, much as recent classes have made big contributions to the team's success. After all, 11 of the 22 starters in February's Super Bowl LX victory were players selected by Seattle between 2022 and 2025, not to mention a 12th starter, center Jalen Sundell, who signed as an undrafted rookie free agent, and three other players on defense who, while not starters, played at least a third of the teams defensive snaps.

Schneider loves what the team accomplished in the 2026 draft, but much like his head coach who preached process over results, Schneider is even more proud of the work it took to get the Seahawks ready for this year's draft.

"I love our team, I love our people," he said. "Everybody that works on this every year, we're so blessed to be able to do this. I can't tell you about the coaches, the scouts, medical, everything that goes into this. All of our guys working the phones today, rookie free agency, the whole process. We have great people. I'm very personally grateful and want to say thank you to everybody through the process."