The Seahawks came into the 2025 NFL Draft holding 10 picks, including two each in the second and third rounds. That kind of draft capital gave the Seahawks, as president of football operations and general manager John Schneider put it days before the draft, quoting one of his favorite movies, "So much room for activity."

That quote, one he'd repeat in the draft room to cut the tension with Seattle's first pick approaching, proved prescient for the Seahawks, who indeed found room for a lot of activity over the course of seven rounds. There was a big move up early in Round 2, following a trade that didn't happen late in Round 1, and there were a flurry of picks early in Day 3, with the Seahawks executing three separate trades, one of them involving a current player, in the span of 20 minutes. And most importantly, there were the 11 picks the Seahawks made that had everyone at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center excited about the future of the organization.

And once again this year, Seahawks.com was inside the Derrick Jensen Draft Room during each of Seattle's 11 picks to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Seahawks' 2025 draft.

Day 1

6:28 p.m.

It's calm and quiet in the draft room as the first half of the first round unfolds. The Cowboys select guard Tyler Booker at 12^th overall, making him the fourth offensive lineman taken already. But despite an early run on linemen, the Seahawks aren't panicking. For starters, they still have seven players left on their board with first-round grades, so unless they trade back, they're guaranteed to get one of those players. And just as importantly, the interior lineman they like best, North Dakota State's Grey Zabel, is still on their board.

In the front row, assistant general manager Nolan Teasley sits to Schneider's left, while Mike Macdonald is to the right of Schneider, with Seahawks Chair Jody Allen to Macdonald's right. A row behind them are director of college scouting Aaron Hineline, vice president of player personnel Trent Kirchner, vice president of player acquisition Matt Berry, director of pro personnel Willie Schneider, team president Chuck Arnold and vice chair Bert Kolde. Throughout the next three days, Schneider will move around the room consulting the aforementioned people, as well as other scouts, coaches and executives in the room. Schneider might be running the show, but by no means does he think he has all the answers; this is very much a collaborative process for Schneider. He isn't just paying lip service to his personnel staff when he opens most press conferences by rattling off names of people he wants to thank; he really operates by empowering and trusting those around him.

6:34 p.m.

After Miami takes defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, the Colts take tight end Tyler Warren, a player most figured would be the first tight end off the board, not Colston Loveland, who went four picks earlier to Chicago. With the Falcons now on the clock, three picks ahead of Seattle, the room remains calm save for some quiet conversation and music, curated by John Schneider's son, Jack, which at the moment is Jack Johnson's "Good People."

Despite the song asking, "Where'd all the good people go?" the Seahawks still have several good people, and in particular, first-round graded players, remaining on their board.

6:45 p.m.

The Falcons pick defensive end Jalon Walker, putting one of Seattle's NFC West rivals, Arizona, on the clock.

6:49 p.m.

With the Seahawks a couple of picks away, Schneider checks in with senior college scouting coordinator/area scout Kirk Parrish and player personnel manager/executive assistant to the GM Sarah Ruttkay to make sure everything is in place to make the phone call to the Seahawks' upcoming pick.

Minutes away from being on the clock, Schneider is relaxed enough to crack a few jokes with Allen, making her laugh.

6:50 p.m.

Arizona takes defensive tackle Walter Nolen, drawing a positive reaction in the room; the Seahawks have another target in mind.

6:52 p.m.

With the Bengals on the clock, one pick head of Seattle, Schneider is on the phone discussing a possible trade, but it's a short conversation. With four first-rounders left on the board, the Seahawks are going to get a player they really like if they pick, regardless of what the Bengals do ahead of them, but moving back would put them at risk of missing out on those players.

"We felt pretty good about, if we did trade back, that there was going to be a couple guys there that we'd be able to go to," Schneider said after the first round. "But (Zabel) was number one, so it was going to have to be a cool deal for us. Yeah, he ended up just being the guy."

6:55 p.m.

The Bengals take defensive end Shemar Stewart. The Seahawks are on the clock, and with no hesitation, they know exactly who they're taking.

"We're going to announce him as a guard," Schneider says to offensive line coach, confirming their plans for Zabel.

6:57 p.m.

Despite knowing who they're selecting, the Seahawks are taking their time to turn the pick in, just enjoying the moment.

Schneider, not quite sure what to do with himself, does what he often does to fill the silence—he quotes a classic comedy movie.

"There's so much room for activity," he says, quoting a famous line from "Step Brothers."

Schneider then turns to Allen, asking, "Jody, what movie?" which draws a laugh, but not an answer.

Schneider then asks chief communications officer Dave Pearson, "Will they talk about us on TV," a reference to the draft broadcast's uncanny ability over the years to cut to commercial just as the Seahawks are about to pick.

Schneider follows up asking if it's time to call in the pick, to which Pearson suggests, "I think we should milk it."

7:02 p.m.

After milking it, the Seahawks are ready to make the selection at No. 18 overall, and Parrish puts in the call to Zabel.

'Hey Grey, this is Kirk Parrish with the Seahawks," Parrish says. "… Hey, we've got some great news for you, we're going to take you with the 18^th pick in the draft."

"That's unbelievable," Zabel replies. "Let's get to work."

Next, Schneider takes the phone to welcome Zabel to the team and congratulate him, adding, "Nice job at the Senior Bowl, you had a great week, bud."

When the phone is handed to Macdonald, Zabel asks his new head coach, "You ready to get to work?"

"Hell yeah, man," Macdonald responds. "I'm glad you're asking me that."

7:05 p.m.

After the call ends, Benton, who knows he just added a hell of a player to his line, can't hide his excitement as he goes around the room giving out high fives and handshakes with a big smile on his face.

7:07 p.m.

The room briefly turns its attention to the TV broadcast and the sound is temporarily turned up on the TVs in the front of the room so they can see the Zabel pick and listen to the analysis, which both in the moment and the days that have followed has been overwhelmingly positive.

Seahawks Legend Steve Hutchinson, a Hall of Fame guard who now works for the player personnel department under the title of football consultant, tells Schneider, "The last time you picked a guard that high was me. And then you left." Indeed, Hutchinson, the 17^th overall pick in 2001, was the team's most recent top 20 pick on an interior lineman before Zabel. And Schneider, the Seahawks' director of player personnel at the time, left not long after that 2001 draft to become the vice president of player personnel for Washington.

"Exciting night," Schneider said later that night. "We were able to land our number one interior offensive lineman, Grey Zabel. I believe it's the highest interior player we picked, since Hutch, which was cool. I was able to be part of that with coach (Mike) Holmgren and Ted (Thompson), Scot McCloughan and that crew, so it's pretty fun. Hutch loves him. Everybody loves this guy. He's just buttoned up, tough, smart, reliable, our kind of guy. Really our first exposure was at the Senior Bowl when he had a great week down there. We felt like 18, where we were, it was like a sweet spot for the interior offensive line. (Tyler) Booker went 12. But yeah, really excited."

8:25 p.m.

With the first round winding down, there's action in the draft room once again. Schneider works the phones hoping, as he would reveal a day later, to move back into the end of the first round in order to pick South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, who at this point is sticking out atop their draft board with a first-round grade.

Ultimately, the Seahawks aren't able to make a deal happen, so they head into Day 2 excited about the player they acquired, but also looking to make a move early Friday to land Emmanwori.

A bit later during his press conference, Schneider has to catch himself when talking about Day 2 of the draft: "It's exciting. There's still guys… I had to stop myself there. There's still some damn good players up there."

8:38 p.m.

Kansas City picks offensive lineman Josh Simmons with the final pick of the first round, and with the first day of the draft now in the books, Schneider huddles up at the front of the room with Berry, Teasley and Kirchner to discuss what they know is about to be an important Day 2 of the draft. At the moment, the Seahawks hold a pair of picks in both the second and third rounds, which, given the number of players on the board with second and third-round grades, are picks the Seahawks can use to land some really good players. Those four picks also give the Seahawks flexibility to possibly move up, however, with that one first-round talent still on their board.

Day 2

4:08 p.m.

Cleveland opens the second round by selecting linebacker Carson Schwesinger. At the same time, Schneider is talking over trade scenarios while staring at the board on one wall that features every team's picks.

4:10 p.m.

Receiver Jayden Higgins goes to Houston with the 34^th overall pick, putting Tennessee on the clock. Schneider, on the phone, continues to talk over trade options. He then calls out the potential trade, Tennessee's pick at 35 for one of Seattle's two upcoming second-rounders, No. 52 overall, and a third-rounder, No. 82 overall.

4:12 p.m.

"This is fun," Schneider says with a grin after the trade is agreed upon.

Macdonald and Schneider smoothly execute a five-turned-handshake-into-bro-hug celebration before Schneider calls out for someone to go get the defensive coaching staff in the room.

4:14 p.m.

Area scout Todd Brunner makes the call to Emmanwori, asking him, "When you came up here on your visit, did you enjoy your visit up here?"

"Yeah, it was a good visit," Emmanwori says.

"Well, you're about to be a permanent resident, my man. We're drafting you right here," Brunner says. "We just made a trade up. You're going to be a Seattle Seahawk."

4:17 p.m.

After Emmanwori talks with Schneider, Macdonald, defensive coordinator Aden Durde and safeties coach Jeff Howard, there's something of a collective sigh of relief followed by celebration that the Seahawks were able to get the deal done to go get Emmanwori.

"Woo, let's go AD!" Schneider yells to Durde. "Let's (expletive) go!"

4:21 p.m.

As Seahawks Legend Richard Sherman announces the Emmanwori pick on TV, the celebration continues in the room, with defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Karl Scott, Howard and defensive assistant Neiko Thorpe leading the way.

5:07 p.m.

With the next Seahawks pick approaching at No. 50, one of the top players left on Seattle's board is a tight end. But when the Rams, picking at No. 46, take tight end Terrance Ferguson, that move is welcomed by the Seahawks draft room, who have a different tight end as their top target.

5:12 p.m.

As the Cardinals pick at 47, taking cornerback Will Johnson, Schneider is on the phone with a team interested in Seattle's pick at No. 50. Schneider asks vice president of football administration Joey Laine to confirm the picks that two different potential trade partners have left.

5:16 p.m.

Parrish announces that Houston is on the clock at No. 48 after acquiring the pick in a trade with Las Vegas. Heads instinctively turn to the wall that shows both the picks made by each team, as well as that team's remaining needs. Could the Texans be after Seattle's tight end target?

5:17 p.m.

There's relief in the room when the Texans take offensive lineman Aireontae Ersery.

5:20 p.m.

The potential trade Schneider had been discussing is off unless the Seahawks lose their target on the upcoming pick. Schneider cuts the tension by sarcastically complaining, "I haven't traded since the last one this afternoon."

5:22 p.m.

The Bengals pick linebacker Demetrius Knight, leading to applause and some hooting and hollering in the room.

Schneider calls out over the noise, "Call (team redacted) and let them know we're picking."

The trade is off, the Seahawks want to make a pick.

5:24 p.m.

Hineline makes the call to University of Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo.

"We're about to select you right here with our next pick," Hineline says.

"Sounds good, yes sir," Arroyo says. "Let's do it, let's go get a ring… Let's do it, let's go get some wins. Y'all are going to get everything out of me, 110 percent every day, I promise."

Arroyo then talks to Macdonald, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and tight ends coach Mack Brown, with Arroyo telling Brown, "Send me the playbook right now."

5:26 p.m.

After the call, passing game coordinator Jake Peetz says to Brown, "Good thing you wore the dress shirt today."

Brown responds with a grin, "I manifested it."

Just before the Seahawks' pick is due to be announced on TV, the NFL Network goes to commercial, which doesn't go unnoticed.

"They're going to commercial," Schneider says, sarcastically glaring at Pearson as if he is controlling the broadcast.

5:32 p.m.

Repeated calls of "Hi, Jack!" ring out in the room as a shot inside the draft room comes up on the NFL Network, with Jack Schneider, John's son, front and center in the shot.

7:27 p.m.

Despite trading one third-rounder to move up for Emmanwori, the Seahawks still have a pick remaining on Day 2 thanks to the trade that sent Geno Smith to Las Vegas. Five picks before Seattle's next selection, Green Bay takes receiver Savion Williams at No. 87 overall.

7:31 p.m.

The Jaguars, following a trade, have back-to-back picks, which they use to select safety Caleb Ransaw and offensive lineman Wyatt Milum at No. 88 and 89.

7:32 p.m.

As those two picks happen, leaving the Seahawks two more picks until they are on the clock, Schneider walks back in the room and has a quiet conversation with Laine and Pearson. That Schneider is bringing the team's chief communications officer into a pre-pick discussion indicates that whatever the Seahawks do next might be an attention-grabbing move, one way or another. Schneider knows who he wants, and right now he's also planning on how he'll message following the pick.

7:40 p.m.

After the Rams take defensive end Josaiah Stewart at No. 90, Macdonald walks out of the room to make a phone call. With the Seahawks targeting Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Macdonald wants to let Sam Darnold hear it from his head coach that the Seahawks are adding a quarterback before he could see it on TV.

"When it became clear that we're going to pick Jalen, gave him a call," Macdonald said the following day. "(Darnold) was awesome."

7:41 p.m.

The Ravens pick offensive lineman Emery Jones, the Seahawks are on the clock.

7:43 p.m.

With so much going on in the room, no one calls out that the Seahawks, who have been anxiously waiting out these final picks, are in fact on the clock.

"Somebody could have said we're on the clock. That'd be great." Schneider says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

7:44 p.m.

The Seahawks call Jalen Milroe to make him just the third quarterback selected by Seattle in 16 drafts overseen by Schneider.

The first attempts to call Milroe go straight to voicemail, leading to a little bit of nervous laughter and bringing to mind last year’s call to Tyrice Knight. Eventually Milroe is reached, but not on the phone that the Seahawks have set up to record (hence, no draft call video, sorry), and area scout Ryan Florence gets to deliver the good news.

"You doing all right? I know you're happy, man," Florence says. "We're going to turn the card in, you're going to be pick No. 92 for us. You're a Seattle Seahawk, congrats, man."

Schneider then welcomes Milroe to the team, saying, "Jalen, great visit, man. Congratulations, bud. We can't wait to get you up here."

After Macdonald congratulates Milroe, saying, "It's going to be worth the wait," he passes the phone off to Kubiak, who tells his newest quarterback, "We're really looking forward to getting to work, we're really excited about you. You have a great team up here to go to battle with. We're going to push you, all right, man?"

The phone then goes to quarterback coach Andrew Janocko, who tells Milroe, "We can't wait to get you here and get to work. It's going to be awesome. I'm excited, we're excited, we hope you're excited, hope your family's fired up. We just can't wait to get you out here and get to work."

With that, the call ends and the room erupts in more celebration. Through two days and three rounds of the draft, the Seahawks have added four players, two of whom, Zabel and Emmanwori, they had graded as first-round picks, a tight end in Arroyo who, as Schneider described it, may have been a top-15 caliber player if not for his injury history, and a quarterback in Milroe who possesses rare traits that had some projecting him as a first-round pick as well.

It's been a very exciting two days for the Seahawks, but they also know there's a lot of work left to do in Rounds 4-7.

Day 3

With their first pick of the day scheduled to come at the end of Round 4, a compensatory pick, there isn't much action in the draft room to start Saturday morning. One important thing taking place early, however, is Kirchner handing out coral pink colored shirts to everyone in the room. The shirts, which read "Your light lives on in all of us. C.C.T." are to honor the late wife of Colts director of college scouting Matt Terpening, Coral Terpening, who died on April 12. The Seahawks, and many other teams around the league, wore the shirts during the fifth round of the draft.

10:28 a.m.

The Jets take safety Malachi Moore with the 130^th pick, and a couple minutes later the Saints pick cornerback Quincy Riley, leaving the Seahawks five picks until they're on the clock at No. 137.

10:42 a.m.

With Denver on the clock at 134, the Seahawks are three picks away and phone activity is picking up. There some interest in Seattle's pick, and the way their board is set up, the Seahawks are comfortable that they can make a small move back and still get a player they really like.

Berry gets off a call and tells Schneider, "They're out" regarding one possible trade partner.

10:44 a.m.

After the Broncos take linebacker Quandarrius Robinson at 134, Schneider takes a phone call, while at the same time the Raiders pick arguably the coolest name in the draft, defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway.

10:48 a.m.

Baltimore trades pick 136 to Tennessee, while at the same time Teasley and Schneider are both on the phone talking trades.

Tennessee takes receiver Elic Ayomanor while Teasley and Schneider continue to negotiate.

10:51 a.m.

Having finalized a trade, meaning they're no longer on the clock, Schneider calls out, "Turn the music back on, it's crickets in here."

The Seahawks have moved back, but not far, sending pick 137 to New England for picks 144 and 238.

10:59 a.m.

With their Coral Terpening shirts now on and the fifth round underway, the Seahawks are talking trades once again. This time, it isn't just a pick swap taking place, Schneider is finalizing a deal that will send quarterback Sam Howell to Minnesota for the upcoming 142^nd pick, with the Vikings also getting 172 from Seattle in return. Schneider also goes over with the Vikings any contingency plans, involving 2026 picks, should Howell for some reason fail a physical, negating the trade after the Seahawks had already used that pick. It turned out to be a moot point, with the Vikings announcing Monday that the trade became official with Howell passing his physical.

11:03 a.m.

Macdonald leaves the draft room to call Howell and inform him of the trade.

11:05 a.m.

Assistant director of college scouting Jason Barnes calls Notre Dame defensive end Rylie Mills to tell him the Seahawks are picking him at No. 142.

"How you doing big dog? Ready to get it popping, man, you ready?"

"Hell yeah," Mills replies.

Schneider and Macdonald then take their turns talking to Mills, with Macdonald noting, before passing the phone off to Durde, "He's probably the most excited guy in the building right now. He's staring me down over here, so I'll give him the phone."

"I told you come get me," Mills tells Durde. "Hell yeah."

"You spoke it into existence," Durde responds.

Mills continues his enthusiasm talking to defensive line coach Justin Hinds, working in a few f-bombs for good measure.

When the call ends, there isn't much time to celebrate, because the Seahawks are scheduled to pick again at No. 144, the pick they got after moving back from the end of Round 4.

11:08 a.m.

Having just landed Mills, the Seahawks decide to make another trade, their third in less than 20 minutes, sending pick No. 144 to the Cleveland Browns, who use it to select quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of the most talked about players in the draft. For moving back, the Seahawks receive picks 166 and 192.

Throughout the past 20 minutes, there was tons of activity in the draft room and nearly non-stop phone conversations, with more than one call frequently taking place at once. Yet never did all of that activity feel panicked. Never did anyone look or sound flustered as picks were swapped with multiple teams, along with a trade involving another player. And that's because the man at the center of all that action, Schneider, knows how to set the right tone for his draft room.

"When we talk about maintaining our culture here, I think what people don't realize is what a big impact he had on our culture from the beginning until now and continues to do so," Teasley said of Schneider. "That's just one instance of what he's able to do on draft day. The way that he controls the room and the way that he empowers everybody. His leadership, it brings calm."

11:15 a.m.

With a bit of a breather after all of the trade action, Schneider, Teasley, Macdonald, Hineline, Kirchner, Berry and a few coaches stand at the front of the room studying the board. In particular, they're interested in getting special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh's thoughts on how players might fit in that phase of the game.

Noon

As Schneider often points out, Day 3 is when players come flying off the board, which can be tough for scouts to see after they've put so much work into evaluating so many players who won't end up on their team. One such player goes to the Jets at No. 162, with Florence noting that linebacker Francisco Mauigoa is a darn good player. That's not to say he would have been the Seahawks' next pick, but it's an example of a scout having to watch a player he likes go to another team.

12:07 p.m.

The Seahawks are back on the clock at No. 166. Before the Seahawks make the call to Colorado State receiver Tory Horton, Schneider asks for a reminder of Horton's nickname, T-Bone.

Area scout Josh Graff then calls Horton to ask, "are you ready to come back up to Seattle," a reference to Horton's 30 visit to Seattle.

"We're going to pick you right here at 166," Graff continues.

Schneider then takes the phone offer an enthusiastic, "What up T-Bone? Welcome back."

"I'm ready, I'm happy you guys got me," Horton responds.

12:32 p.m.

After the Cardinals take cornerback Denzel Burke at 174, the Seahawks are back on the clock near the end of the fifth round. In the room, several scouts and coaches tell Kubiak that he's about to get his fullback.

And right on cue, running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu comes into the room moments before the Seahawks take Robbie Ouzts, a tight end turned fullback out of Alabama.

12:38 p.m.

Hineline puts in the call to Ouzts and tells him, "Get excited because we're about to select you right here. I'm telling you to get excited."

That's met with a "No way!" from Ouzts, followed by Hineline telling him, "I told you what we thought about you from the jump. Come in here and compete for the job to be our starting fullback. Don't shave the mustache. That has to stay. That's part of the contract."

Macdonald ends his call with Ouzts giving him some very sound fullback advice, saying, "We're really excited. Come in and smash guys, all right." Then as the call wraps up, with brief chats with Schneider, Kubiak and Polamalu, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" is cued up in the draft room.

If you haven't noticed by now, a regular occurrence for the Seahawks in this year's draft, as well as last year's, was to let area scouts make the initial call to a draft pick rather than it coming from Schneider or Macdonald. The idea behind that is to give a reward to and shine a little spotlight on the hard-working scouts who do so much vital work in preparation for the draft, usually with little to no fanfare.

"They're such an important part of the process because they're behind the scenes working," Teasley said. "I mean, they're going to get started a month from now. And then they're going to be on the road, they're going to be away from their families, the work that they put in, the time that they put in, and the relationships that they build with those players. They deserve that moment, they deserve that opportunity."

1:20 p.m.

After the Colts make consecutive picks, the Eagles take offensive lineman Myles Hinton at 192, putting the Seahawks back on the clock with one of the picks they got in their trade earlier in the day with Cleveland.

1:22 p.m.

Parrish calls Kansas guard Bryce Cabeldue, the second of three offensive lineman the Seahawks will come away with in the draft.

After Parrish welcomes Cabeldue to the team, he hands the phone off to Schneider, who tells his newest lineman, "This time you've got to have a beer with me, all right? Congrats, man, come up here and get ready to kick some ass."

2:40 p.m.

The Raiders take linebacker Cody Lindenberg early in the seventh round, and after a long wait, the Seahawks are back on the clock at No. 223, getting ready to make their first of three seventh-round picks.

Keeping with the theme of the draft, offensive coaches return to the room to get ready for another player to be picked on that side of the ball.

Hineline calls University of Miami running back Damien Martinez, who before joining the Hurricanes was a Pac-12 standout at Oregon State.

"You want to come back up to the Pacific Northwest or what? We're going to select you right here at 223," Hineline says.

After Schneider offers his congrats, Martinez says, "Pacific Northwest, run that wide zone, baby."

Macdonald takes the phone, adding, "We love your game, man. Just come be you. Be tough, run the heck out of that rock, and go smash people on special teams. How's that sound?"

"That sounds awesome," Martinez responds. "Let's do it."

After Schneider and Macdonald welcome Martinez to the team, Kubiak opens his turn with Martinez by asking, "Hey, you still remember how to run under center, right? From your Oregon State days?"

"It wasn't too long ago," he says. "I'm ready."

In the back of the room, Janocko quips, "Nice introduction" with a laugh hearing Kubiak's "run under center" line.

3:04 p.m.

First-round pick Grey Zabel, who arrived at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center a couple of hours earlier, is in the draft room with his parents, Mark and Tanna, meeting coaches, scouts and executives as the seventh round continues to unfold.

The Packers take Micah Robinson, putting the Seahawks on the clock once again, at which point the Zabel family figures it's a good time to step out of the room.

3:06 p.m.

Just after Zabel and his folks leave the room, Kirchner calls out, asking where they went. They're quickly caught nearby in a hallway and brought back into the draft room. Since he's here, the Seahawks are going to let Zabel make the call to fellow offensive lineman and Midwesterner, Iowa tackle/guard Mason Richman.

"I'm just standing here in the room, and I'm supposed to ask you if you're ready to be a Seahawk," Zabel says.

After Zabel repeats himself to Richman, who isn't quite sure what's going on, Richman says, "Oh yeah, how's that?"

As Macdonald, Kubiak and Benton all welcome Richman to the team, Zabel notes in the back of the room that he was, "nervous as hell" making the call.

Not long after, Richman would explain his somewhat uncertain reaction to the call while speaking with reporters, "Somebody gets on the phone, and I'm worried about a prank call, I know guys get prank calls nowadays, it was Grey Zabel, which I think was hilarious. I've been telling people, I've trained with Grey's teammate, and a few of them up there in Minneapolis, and he's been a great player. My dream was always to play for NDSU, but anyways, hearing that I'm going to be a Seahawk, and then I heard everyone cheer in the background, and then I knew it was real. That was the biggest thing.

"It's like this deep voice, I can't even do it. I would butcher it. 'This is Grey Zabel, I'm excited for you to be a Seahawk.' And I said, 'Well, how is that going to go?' I didn't know if they were signing me or something. He's like 'We're going to pick you 234' and I said, 'All right, I'll watch for it.' As I'm on the phone, it's slowly becoming more and more real and just so awesome… That wasn't what I expected. I thought I would hear from my agent or someone else, but the first person I heard from was Grey Zabel, which is so funny. We've been so connected over this whole process in my mind for some reason."

3:15 p.m.

"We're one away guys," Berry tells the room. Moments later, after the Packers select cornerback Micah Robinson at No. 237, Parrish announces, "The pick is in, we're on the clock" for the final time in the 2025 NFL Draft.

3:18 p.m.

Graff makes the call to UNLV receiver Ricky White III, asking him, "You tired of waiting?"

An emotional White says, "I appreciate you" as the phone is handed off to Schneider.

"It's been too long," White tells Schneider, his voice cracking.

After Macdonald, Kubiak and receivers coach Frisman Jackson talk with White, the room turns its attention to the TV for the final time to see the pick announced. Their draft is now over, with a total of 11 selections, including seven on Day 3, but the work is far from complete. As the seventh round winds down, the draft board is taken down and reconfigured to become a free agency board as the Seahawks plan their strategy to land as many top undrafted free agents as possible in the rapid-fire signing process that takes place after the draft.

A day after Schneider called Day 2 of the draft, “a cool day in Seahawks history,” he backpedaled a bit from putting historic expectations on players who have never stepped on an NFL field. But in those moments leading up to and after making each pick, the excitement about this group of players was obvious.

"We're very excited about what we've added to this team, the depth and the toughness, the competitors, the reliability. Excited for this growth-minded staff to get their hands on these guys and get ripping," Schneider said following the final round, later adding that this class was, "smart, tough, reliable, swaggy, athletic, speed."