Seahawks rookie Julian Neal on his viral NFL draft moment: ‘That's old news'

RENTON - A week after going viral for his story of how he ended up having a Seahawks hat to wear on draft night, Julian Neal finally got to put on a Seahawks helmet and jersey as well.

"I mean, it was a dream come true, said Neal, a cornerback Seattle drafted 99th overall in the third round, of taking the field Friday for the first day of the team's two-day minicamp at the VMAC.

"I was super nervous coming out and once I got out there, I realized like ‘I play football. I do this every day. It's my life.'"

Neal is among eight draft choices taking part in the camp along with seven signed undrafted free agents, nine second-year players who have eligibility to take part, and 44 tryout players.

Aside from first-round pick running back Jadarian Price, none might have the spotlight on them as much as Neal.

That's due not only to the intrigue of seeing if he is truly ready to step into the shoes of the departed Riq Woolen, but also to what was his enthusiastic reaction to being drafted by Seattle - punctuated by the story he told via social media of how a Seahawks hat was the only one he had on hand.

In a 22-second clip he posted after the draft, Neal revealed that plans for him to have a hat from all 32 teams available for him to wear once he got drafted went awry. Instead of personally buying all 32 hats, he said he sent his aunt out to a store to buy a hat from the one team he felt was most likely to take him - the Seahawks.

Friday, when he met media members following practice, he told the story in a little more detail.

"There was a certain company, they were supposed to send me all 32 and like two days before draft day my assistant texted me and said that it won't be there by the weekend," he said. "So I was just like ‘What am I going to do?' So the second day of the draft I was like ‘All right, I've got options - I can either get a couple or just get one. So I was just thinking about all my interviews and everything that I've been through and plus my auntie, 12 years (she's been) a 12s fan. So I was like ‘Just go get me a Seahawks hat, auntie.' Just to get me a Seahawks one. That's all I need."

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Neal, who grew up in San Francisco, said he doesn't know why his aunt became a Seahawks fan.

"She's just a Seahawks fan," he said. "Just what it is."

Neal said it was the hat, his aunt's love of the Seahawks and that he'd had a good meeting with the team at the NFL combine that combined to leave him anticipating at pick 99 that the team would draft him.

A clip of the moment he got the call shows that it set off a raucous celebration among Neal and his family.

"People don't realize that's why I was so juiced in my video," he said. "I was so juiced because I literally was like anticipating (being picked by Seattle), like it really came true. That was a pure reaction."

Neal was still in pure excitement mode when he held a conference call with media members a few minutes after his selection and said in one answer that "We're going back-to-back this year" and in another that "I'm the most physical corner in this draft class."

That led coach Mike Macdonald to say with a smile that "We'll talk to him about messaging" and general manager John Schneider to quickly add, "He's a confident sucker."

Asked about the exuberance he displayed on draft night, Neal said, "That's the real Julian Neal. I told you, that's a pure reaction."

But he also said it's now time to show what he can do instead of talking about it.

"That's old news," he said of draft night. "I'm ready to give the fans something new to look forward to. I really want to bring it for the fans and for this organization and bring another Super Bowl."

Neal could play a big role in Seattle's efforts to repeat.

At 6 feet 2, 203 pounds, Neal looks the part of not only Woolen - who was 6-4 - but also many of the team's cornerbacks of the Legion of Boom era.

The Seahawks have Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe returning as their starting cornerbacks.

But with Woolen gone, the spot for a third cornerback is wide open among Neal, returner Nehemiah Pritchett and free agent signee Noah Igbinoghene.

He also might have a head start in picking up Seattle's defense due to the one year he spent at Arkansas in 2025 after playing previously at Fresno State. His secondary coach at Arkansas last year was Nick Perry, who spent the 2024 season with the Seahawks as a defensive assistant, working primarily with the secondary in what was Macdonald's first season as head coach.

Neal said that was another reason he was excited to come to Seattle.

"I flourished under my coach's coaching (at Arkansas), so I already know once I get here it's probably going to go to a next level," said Neal, who appeared to mostly line up on the left side Friday during team drills. "… I knew this was going to be the perfect place for me to just showcase my talent."

If it works out as hoped, then Neal will soon be known for a lot more than just his enthusiastic draft night reaction.

Neal said he actually isn't sure where his aunt went to get the hat but said with a smile that "Wherever she got it from, that hat was all bent and stuff."

Bent or not, the hat will always hold a special place in not only Neal's memory but also possibly in his house.

"That hat's going in the safe," he said when asked what he's doing with it now, before continuing with at least a little bit of tongue apparently in cheek. "That hat's going in the glass safe. It's gonna go right in the middle of my house. And the glass safe is gonna have lasers around it.

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