Saturday began with a flurry of trades for the Seahawks, it included a surprise guest in the draft room to call one of Seattle's picks, and it ended with the Seahawks selecting their 11^th player of the weekend, followed by the usual undrafted free agent frenzy that takes place when the draft ends.

And amidst all of that action, the Seahawks were able to put together a class that had everyone in the Derrick Jensen Draft Room buzzing with excitement.

From Thursday night's selection of guard Grey Zabel with the 18^th overall pick to Saturday afternoon's pick of receiver Ricky White III with their 11^th and final pick, the Seahawks assembled a class full of players who bring both the physical traits and mentality that they are looking for as they build a roster.

"We're very excited about what we've added to this team, the depth and the toughness, the competitors, the reliability. Excited for this growth-minded staff to get their hands on these guys and get ripping," general manager and president of football operations John Schneider said, later adding that this class was, "smart, tough, reliable, swaggy, athletic, speed."

For Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, who just finished up his second draft in that job, this draft is just part of why he is so excited about what's going on this time of year. Players arrived earlier in the week for the first phase of the voluntary workout program, allowing the team to begin the early stages of preparing for the 2025 season, and then the past three days allowed Seattle to add an infusion of talent to the roster.

"This is us getting together, carving this thing out one move at the same time, one decision at a time, one practice at a time," Macdonald said. "It's just how we want to become. We're on our way. We're growing. It's our job to expedite that process. We're competing for championships this year. That's what we want to do. I'm really confident that we're going to have that opportunity. That's the expectation for us. The last week of the guys being in the building, the spirit, the conversations we're having, it's so much fun to come to work every day. I can't wait to come back and get back to the second week of Phase One (OTAs). That's the way it should be. That's the environment we're trying to create, these guys are excited to come to work every day, keep connecting, getting tougher. Wring out every day, let the results speak for themselves."

While the Seahawks knew they had a lot of work to get done on Day 3 of the draft, they also arrived at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center feeling really good about the players they added in the first three rounds, picking up Zabel, their top-rated interior lineman in Round 1, then moving up early in Round 2 to get South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori, a player talented enough for the Seahawks to have tried to move up into the end of Round 1 to acquire on Thursday. Friday continued with the Seahawks picking Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo later in the second round, a player Schneider noted could have been a top-15 caliber pick had he not battled injuries for multiple seasons in college. Then in the third round the Seahawks made a big splash, drafting Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, a player who combines a rare combination of athleticism, arm strength and intelligence at the game's most important position.

After getting all of that done, the Seahawk came into Day 3 of the draft schedule to pick late in the fourth round, but rather than make that pick a flurry of trades began with the Seahawks moving back from No. 137 to No. 144 early in the fifth round. But before the Seahawks could pick at 144, they instead finalized a trade to send quarterback Sam Howell to Minnesota, then used that pick on Notre Dame defensive end Rylie Mills.

Almost immediately after picking Mills, the Seahawks were wheeling and dealing again, sending No. 144 to Cleveland to pick up multiple picks later in the draft.

"I just think our guys did a great job," Schneider said of the multiple trades happening so close together. "Nolan (Teasley), Trent (Kirchner), Matt (Berry), Willie (Schneider), Aaron (Hineline), those guys are on the phone. They're communicating… That did move pretty quick, though. Nolan had stuff going on with other teams, too. It got a little funky there for a minute, but it was great, very smooth. Nobody panicked. Everybody kept it all together.

Macdonald, after watching those trades all unfold, said, "It's impressive, like the alignment of what we're trying to achieve. Someone that doesn't really know what's going on, you can be confused from some organized chaos. It's just succinct, bing, bang, boom. We know what we're trying to do. As offers came in, we definitely achieved the spirit of what we were trying to get, it felt like. That's what gets you excited."

When it came to the decision to trade Howell, last year's backup quarterback, the conversations began in March at the NFL Annual Meeting, Schneider said. By that point the Seahawks were already working towards signing Drew Lock, and they also knew there was a chance they'd draft a quarterback, so an eventual trade, if everything fell into place, made sense both for Seattle and for Howell.

"It started at the owners meeting, talking with Rob Brzezinski and Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah), just about the situation, what it looked like," Schneider said. "We had met with Drew (Lock) down there. There was a possibility to sign Drew back. We like the quarterbacks in the draft, and we thought there was a chance that might happen. There were several teams that were interested. Minnesota was a team that ended up pulling the trigger."

Mills, the player the Seahawks selected with the pick they got back from Minnesota for Howell, Seattle got a versatile lineman that, as Macdonald noted, defensive coordinator Aden Durde really wanted.

"He's a really good player," Macdonald said, "If we wouldn't have drafted him, I'm not sure if A.D. would have showed up for work on Monday… He's got position flexibility for us, (in) base. He can play at least two spots. Then run four-down, our sub stuff. Playing inside. We'll see how he plays the big ends, like a six-technique. The multiple gap things on early downs. Going through him and meeting him and talking football with him, seeing how he approaches the game, his approach with the rush, how they orchestrate their pass-rush games, it's really impressive. Sounds like a five-, six-year vet. Compete for pass-rush snaps too."

After taking Mills, the Seahawks continued an unplanned theme of the draft, bolstering their offense. Picking a pair of receivers (Tory Horton and Ricky White III), two offensive lineman (Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman), a fullback (Robbie Ouzts) and a running back (Damien Martinez).

The Seahawks added three offensive linemen for the second straight draft, backing up something Schneider has said frequently throughout the draft process, which is that offensive line is always a need for just about every team. The Seahawks added a little fun to the Richman pick by having Grey Zabel, who was visiting the facility with his parents after flying in that day, to make the call to his new teammate and fellow lineman, letting him know he was the Seahawks' next pick.

By adding a fullback in Ouzts and a physical running back in Martinez, the Seahawks added pieces who can help them build the type of physical, balanced offense they're looking to have under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

"I'm really excited to see them out there doing their thing," Macdonald said of the two backs. "I'm really excited to see our run game come to life. These guys fit what we're trying to do, how we want to do it. You have to move people. Got to get downhill and play north and south. That's what they're going to help us do. I don't know. I can't wait for them to get here and teach them all the stuff, let's get rocking and rolling. They're going to be a big part of what we're doing, competing with the rest of the guys we've got on our roster right now that we're really excited about. It's going to be an awesome competition."

And in the two receivers they added, the Seahawks got a pair of highly-productive players who also have the ability to make an impact on special teams.

"Tory is an underrated guy, in our opinion," Schneider said. "I mean, he can return punts, the catch radius, he's this long competitive, very fast receiver. Ricky, the special teams part, Jay (Harbaugh) and Fitz (Devin Fitzsimmons) are really excited about him. Josh (Bynes), all those guys. He's blocked four punts. Personally he kind of reminded me of Donald Driver, (Green Bay) drafted him in the sixth round. He was one of the better special teams players in the league before he completely established himself as our number one receiver. That's kind of who he reminded me of. He's tough. He's kind of got that gangly feel to him, too. We call Horton T-bone, if you are interviewing him. Excited about both those guys, adding to the group."