Seahawks are drafting confident replacements for departed players

RENTON - Through the first two days of the NFL draft it looks as if the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks had a list of the players they lost in free agency beside them and set out to replace them one by one.

A running back to take over for Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, now with the Kansas City Chiefs? Check that off with the selection of running back Jadarian Price of Notre Dame in the first round Thursday night.

And a safety and a corner to replace the departed Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen, who signed with the Bears and Eagles, respectively?

Check and check with the picks Friday of safety Bud Clark of TCU with pick 64 to end the second round and cornerback Julian Neal Arkansas at 99 at the end of the third with a choice acquired in a trade down with the Steelers (with the Seahawks acquiring pick 216 at the end of the sixth round in the process).

While teams often talk of not drafting for need, Seahawks general manager John Schneider didn't deny that replacing the players who departed was on their minds.

Matt Berry (the team's vice president of player acquisition) sent me a text on [Thursday] morning with these three guys' names," Schneider said. "It's like, ‘OK.' And we did kind of like scrimmage this out a lot, through, like, ‘OK, is it a runner or a corner? A corner or runner?' You know what I mean, all the way through it like that. We're really excited. Just to be able (to see) that balance of best player/team need really held true. So that was exciting."

The focus Friday was specifically on Clark and Neal, who each come to Seattle with reputations as playmakers and big hitters with a dash of bravado.

Maybe, possibly, a bit too much in the case of Neal, who during his conference call with Seattle reporters shortly after he was drafted included a prediction while recounting a meeting he had with the team at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis earlier this year that he said convinced him the Seahawks were going to take him.

"It wasn't a surprise at all after that meeting at the combine," said Neal, who is listed at 6-foot-2, 203 pounds with a wingspan of 79-1/4, all reminiscent of some of the great Seahawks corners of the past.

"Assistant head coach (Leslie Frazier) told me, ‘You're most likely going to be picked by the Seahawks, Julian Neal.' He told me that to my face and I believe in 'em and they believed in me. They believed in me. We going back-to-back, c'mon."

Told of that statement, also reminiscent of some of the great Seahawks corners of the past, coach Mike Macdonald said with a smile, "We'll talk to him about messaging."

Added Schneider: "He's a confident sucker."

They liked better his proclamation, said while almost shouting into the speaker, the excitement of having just been selected still evident in his voice, that, "I'm the most physical corner in this draft class. I use my arms to my advantage. I use my length. I use my availability, never gotten hurt. I never missed a game in college from getting hurt. I come down, I hit some, I'm going to go up and get the ball, getting interceptions. I'm pressing dudes at the line. I'm locking dudes up at the line."

Said Schneider of Neal's claim about his physicality: "That's cool that he said that. That's actually the number one thing that stood out to me … he brings it. It's important to him. He wants to be physical."

Neal, a San Francisco native, began his career at Fresno State, then after what he termed a breakout 2024 season after having switched from safety the previous season, he entered the portal. He initially signed with Stanford, but opted out after a coaching change with the Cardinal and deciding he wanted to play in the SEC. Schneider said he was impressed Neal wanted to take on that challenge. He started all 12 games for Arkansas with 55 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions and 10 passes defensed.

Macdonald said of Neal: We see him playing corner," and noted that he's played there only two seasons after beginning his career at safety and playing receiver and defensive end at Mission High in San Francisco (he was offered a scholarship as a receiver by Eastern Washington out of high school). That relative inexperience at corner, Macdonald said, means "there's much room for growth."

Neal appears set to compete with holdover Nehemiah Pritchett and free agent signee Noah Igbinoghene for the third corner spot vacated by Woolen behind Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe.

The pick of Neal came after the Seahawks moved down three spots from 96 to 99 in a trade with the Steelers, getting pick 216 in the process.

That gives the Seahawks two picks remaining in the draft Saturday, both in the sixth round (they also hold No. 188) and five for the draft.

Schneider called adding another pick "very" important and said they had a chance at an earlier trade to add some draft choices but said "we decided to stay in and pick." He declined to elaborate on what they turned down.

That pick was apparently to make sure to get Clark at 64.

Clark spent six seasons at TCU where he played regularly at deep safety, in the slot and in the box as well as a little bit of outside cornerback.

But he said he most prefers to mix it up in the middle of the field and said one of the players he has modeled his game after is former Seahawk Kam Chancellor.

"He always brought the pop and I feel like he was the hammer, not the nail," Clark said. "That's what I try to do all the time I play."

Clark turns 24 on May 3 and battled a few injury issues during his time at TCU, missing at least one game in four of the past five years.

Clark was a three-time team captain at TCU and a vocal leader in the locker room and on the field, traits the Seahawks like.

"He's a really confident athlete," Schneider said.

He also had a knack for big plays at TCU with 15 interceptions in his career - fourth most in school history.

Clark was also regarded as one of the better performers at the Senior Bowl in January, specifically during the midweek practices.

"I thought the coolest part about the Senior Bowl was like he just took a ton of one-on-one reps," Macdonald said. "I don't know how they do it, but it seemed like he was a guy in every other rep and he was covering people. So for me that was really cool."

Clark's trip to Seattle for an official 30 visit helped seal their interest.

Macdonald said the Seahawks will figure out how to best use Clark as the offseason program and training camp progress. He could project as having a similar type hybrid role as Nick Emmanwori, as player in the box who can also cover one-on-one.

But to start out, he'll join the rest of the safeties who will be vying to take over Bryant's spot as the starter alongside Julian Love, a group that includes Ty Okada - who started 11 games last year because of injuries to Love and Bryant - as well as recent free agent signee Rodney Thomas II.

"A lot of great competition at safety, Macdonald said.

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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 11:43 PM.