With the Seattle Seahawks in their 2025 offseason, it is officially draft season! The Seahawks currently have six draft picks, including the 18th overall draft pick. However, due to the NFL Compensatory Draft formula, the Seahawks are projected to get three more draft picks to give them a grand total of nine picks for the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
The Compensatory Draft formula rewards NFL Teams who lost more unrestricted free agents then they gained in the prior offseason. It is important to note that street free agents (those whose contracts did not expire but are rather cut from an NFL Team) do not count in this formula. The draft picks awarded in this formula are spread between the 3rd and 7th rounds, with the higher rounds being awarded to teams who lost an unrestricted free agent of higher value (those signing for larger free agent deals). For example, last offseason, of the unrestricted free agents eligible in this formula, Kirk Cousins signed the largest deal with the Atlanta Falcons. So, the Minnesota Vikings (Cousins’ former team) will receive the highest compensatory pick in the 3rd round. The 31 next highest contracts signed will then be spread out between the rest of the 3rd and 7th rounds.
In addition to this free agent formula, the NFL will also award two third-round compensatory draft picks (one in consecutive years) to a team who had a minority coach or executive hired as a head coach or general manager for another NFL team, which is what the Detroit Lions will have after the New York Jets hired defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. This piece is something to keep in mind for the 2026 NFL Draft, in case Lezlie Frazier ends up getting the Dallas Cowboys head coaching job.
With all of this, which rounds are the Seahawks new draft picks projected to be in? According to Over the Cap, the Seahawks are projected to earn an additional 4th round pick (for Damien Lewis signing with the Carolina Panthers), an additional 5th round pick (for Jordyn Brooks signing with the Miami Dolphins), and an additional 6th round pick (for Bobby Wagner signing with the Washington Commanders.)
Based on these projections, only the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys got more compensatory draft picks than Seattle, both maxing out on four selections total (the NFL does not award more than four compensatory picks to a team per year). The Seahawks, as well as the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Cleveland Browns all received three extra selections.
Potentially getting three extra draft picks is huge for Seattle, as they have not been able to take advantage of this compensatory draft pick game in recent years. Since 2018, the Seahawks have only received three total compensatory picks, all of which came in the 2020 NFL Draft. Perhaps this extra draft capital will allow John Schneider to move up and down the board or add some reinforcements to the offensive line. Time will tell.
