The Seahawks have continued to address their secondary in the NFL Draft.
The Seattle Seahawks have continued to add to Mike Macdonald's defense in the NFL Draft, and with the No. 99 pick, the franchise selected Arkansas corner Julian Neal.
Given the losses the Seahawks had during free agency, with Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen, the NFC West champs knew that with only four selections, they had to hit on all of them.
With Neal coming to the Seahawks off the back of a season that saw him post two interceptions, he now gets the chance to learn under Macdonald and be a cog in the defensive machine.
We know that teams often view third-round picks as potential starters/rotational players, so Neal will have to prove himself over the duration of the offseason to show he deserves to see meaningful snaps.
A physical corner (because of course, right?), scouts view Neal as having elite arm length and love being a disruptor in the secondary.
Possessing the strength to knock receivers off their routes, Neal makes his presence known with a toughness that Macdonald is going to love. He isn't just good in coverage, as several scouts love his physicality in the run game as well.
So, there are plenty of strings to Neal's bow, and I'd imagine Macdonald and Co. can't wait to get him into the building so he can get used to the scheme and life as an NFL pro.
Once he gets his feet underneath him, I get the sense that Seattle might have quite a player on its hands if he develops in the way many think.
You could make the case that he's going to an ideal spot to begin his NFL career.
Coming to a Seahawks team coached by one of the best defensive minds in football, Neal will likely be seen, at least early on, as a rotational player. So he can work on his game in the background and work his way up to getting meaningful snaps.
Behind Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe, Neal has the ideal pros ahead of him to teach him the ropes, and don't bet against the rookie seeing the field at some point in 2026.