The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off later this month in Green Bay, giving the Seahawks and 31 other NFL teams a chance to add talent to their roster. And with five picks in the first three rounds of this year's draft, the Seahawks find themselves in a particularly strong position to improve their roster.

"Every year is totally different," Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider said. "Having those five picks in the first 92, it allows you to maneuver a little bit depending on how other people see it. That's one of the things that I'm trying to do down here."

If the Seahawks use those five picks in the first three rounds—they have five more on Day 3 of the draft—they obviously hope to add five impact players, but another benefit of that kind of draft capital is it gives Schneider and company a lot of flexibility to make trades should the right opportunity arise.

"Initially, you're like, 'Yeah, we're going to take five really good players,'" Schneider said. "But then you get in a situation where it's like, 'All right, that guy's a starter, we should probably move to go get him,' if you can. It depends on how other people see these guys. But yeah, it allows us the ability to just be more free throughout our draft process."

So with the draft coming up soon, Seahawks.com is taking a position-by-position look at where things currently stand for the Seahawks, as well as draft analyst Rob Rang's top draft prospects at each position. We'll also look at Seattle's draft history at each position over the past 15 drafts under Schneider.

So far we've covered the offensive line, defensive line and outside linebacker, and tight end, and today we focus on linebacker. Check back tomorrow when we turn our attention to running back.

Seattle's 2025 Draft Picks: Round 1, No. 18 overall; Round 2, No. 50 overall; Round 2, No. 52 overall (from Pittsburgh); Round 3, No. 82 overall; Round 3, No. 92 overall (from Las Vegas); Round 4, No. 137 overall (compensatory pick); Round 5, No. 172 overall (compensatory pick); Round 5, No. 175 overall (compensatory pick); Round 7, No. 223 overall (from Pittsburgh); Round 7, No. 234 overall.

Linebacker draft history under John Schneider: K.J. Wright (No. 99 overall, 2011); Malcolm Smith (No. 243, 2011); Korey Toomer (No. 154, 2012); Ty Powell (No. 243, 2013); Kevin Pierre-Louis (No. 132, 2014); Shaquem Griffin (No. 141, 2018); Cody Barton (No. 88, 2019); Ben Burr-Kirven (No. 142, 2019); Jordyn Brooks (No. 27, 2020); Tyrice Knight (No. 118, 2024).

Where The Seahawks Stand

One of Seattle's biggest priorities was re-signing linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who helped jumpstart a defensive turnaround last season after being acquired in a midseason trade. The Seahawks got that done, signing Jones to a multi-year deal before the start of the new league year, meaning both of the linebackers who finished the year in starting roles, Jones and rookie Tyrice Knight, will be back in 2025.

So with Jones, a standout in his half season with the team, and Knight, a young player who showed improvement throughout his rookie season, both back, do the Seahawks really have much need to add at linebacker? On one hand, the Seahawks would be more than comfortable rolling into Week 1 with those two in the starting lineup, but as was evident last year when Mike Macdonald made changes at both starting linebacker spots, Seattle's head coach also isn't afraid to add competition to the mix and make bold moves, especially at a position that is so vital to his defense.

The Seahawks' have young depth behind Jones and Knight in Patrick O'Connell, Josh Ross, Drake Thomas and Michael Dowell, but those players are all relatively inexperienced, so there could certainly be opportunities for rookies to push for roster spots even if Jones and Knight are locked into the starting spots come September. Linebackers tend to make good special teams players as well, so that very well could be another avenue for a young linebacker to get Seattle's attention in the draft and eventually find a role on the team.

Rob Rang's Top 5 Off-Ball Linebackers

Overview: One of the most encouraging developments over the course of Mike Macdonald's first year as head coach for the Seahawks was the ascending play of inside linebackers Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight. The porous run defense that plagued Seattle the previous few seasons seemed like a distant memory with these two young linebackers patrolling the middle. While Patrick O'Connell and Drake Thomas have flashed when given opportunities, Seattle could see this year's draft class as a chance to improve depth at the position. It might seem like a luxury pick if the Seahawks were to snag Georgia's Jalon Walker at No. 18 overall, but he is a unique talent who could prove a true game-changer in Macdonald's scheme. The Seahawks hit big with Knight in the fourth round a year ago and another mid-round swing on Carson Bruener (Washington), Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma) or Smael Mondon, Jr. (Georgia) could yield similar results.

1. Jalon Walker, Georgia, 6-1, 243, First Round

The ultimate moveable chess piece of this year's draft class, Walker split duties between off-ball linebacker and edge rusher for Georgia, creating chaos wherever he lined up. Because he spent so much time in Athens rushing upfield, Walker will need some patience as he develops his instincts and technique in slipping blocks as a traditional inside linebacker, but he's surprisingly powerful and has excellent closing speed as a rusher, offering his future NFL team a bevy of blitz options and Pro Bowl upside.

2. Jihaad Campbell, Alabama, 6-3, 235, Second Round

Like with his SEC rival Walker listed above, the team that invests an early-round selection in Campbell is banking on his athletic upside. Campbell is a fluid athlete, as demonstrated by a 4.52 second 40-yard dash and 10-foot, 7-inch broad jump that rivals many of this year's top wide receivers. He is currently more of a run-around (rather than take-on) defender who needs work on technique, but his agility in coverage is rare.

3. Carson Schwesinger, UCLA, 6-3, 242, Second Round

It might annoy Lofa Tatupu to be mentioned in the same breath as a hated UCLA rival, but I see similar instincts with Schwesinger as the Seahawks (and USC) legendary inside linebacker. Schwesinger was one of this year's ultimate breakout players, having only recorded a total of 27 total tackles over his first three years at UCLA before leading the Big Ten with 136 total tackles and the entire nation in solo stops (90). Despite his relative inexperience, Schwesinger shows advanced instincts, attacking gaps and providing strong, secure stops at the line of scrimmage.

4. Demetrius Knight, Jr., South Carolina, 6-2, 235, Second-Third Round

The most well-traveled of this year's linebacker class, Knight began his college career at Georgia Tech and before emerging as a do-it-all difference-maker at Charlotte in 2023 and this past season at South Carolina. In a class loaded with elite athletes at linebacker, Knight's physicality and tenacity stand out. For a player who only started two seasons of college football, Knight shows impressive instincts and spatial awareness to slip blocks and makes plays at or near the line of scrimmage.

5. Barrett Carter, Clemson, 6-0, 231, Second-Third Round

It isn't often that the "safest" prospect in a positional group checks in fifth on my rankings but that is the case with Carter, who might lack elite size, speed or instincts but has been awfully productive over his four years of elite competition at Clemson. Carter signed with the Tigers as a five-star recruit and, after starting just one game as a true freshman, emerged as a three-time All-ACC selection with 33 of his 233 career tackles behind the line of scrimmage (including 12.5 sacks) and 21 passes broken up.