THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seahawks addressed many needs in draft — except that one

So, what do we think of the Seahawks draft?

Hmmm.

How much will it matter in the 2024 season?

Hmmm.

Would Seattle’s eight selections, spread like puzzle pieces over six rounds (the draft itself had seven rounds), be attracting more of our attention if the Hawks had picked a quarterback?

Yes, of course.

It wouldn’t necessarily have made the team better in the long run, but choosing a QB is the kind of thing that pushes the news up in flashing lights.

For the record, Seahawks GM John Schneider and new coach Mike Macdonald apparently inquired about trading up — supposedly for the option of selecting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who was swept off the board by the Falcons at No. 8.

The Hawks decision-makers, who wound up taking Texas defense tackle Byron Murphy II with the 16th pick in the first round, would neither confirm nor deny that they had expressed any interest in Penix.

Or any other quarterback.

Most national reporters gave Seattle decent “grades” for their entire draft class, which was very much aimed at filling needs.

Specifically, the Hawks wanted some bruisers around for work in the trenches.

A DECENT plan, don’t you think?

Teams have been running the ball with impunity against the Hawks for several years now, and there’s no way that Macdonald — a defensive guru plucked from the Ravens — was going to be fine with that. 

Seattle grabbed Murphy, considered the top defensive player on the board, with their first pick, and the choice was almost unanimously praised.

More of a surprise, however, was the applause for their next choice, guard/tackle Christian Haynes of Connecticut.

Haynes was expected to be chosen in the late first or second rounds, so the Seahawks wound up getting “need picks” with their first two choices when Haynes was still available in the third round.

Going with solid, plug-and-play athletes on both sides of the line, and getting them in what were clearly value spots, was Macdonald’s idea of a great start to his first draft in Seattle.

“We want to be physical, we want to be imposing, we want to create new lines of scrimmage,’’ Macdonald said.

“And I think you’re seeing the investment in that, and we are going to have awesome competition on both lines of scrimmage. 

“It will be fun.’’

The theme of shoring up the defense, especially against the rushing game, continued with the Hawks’ third pick (fourth round, No. 121 overall), UTEP linebacker Tyrice Knight.

The personnel director of an AFC team offered a pretty blunt assessment of Knight: “He needs work in (pass) coverage, but he gets after the run like a rabid dog.”

OK, then.

Make sure Knight has rabies shots, and turn him loose.

Schneider, in particular, loves selections in the lower rounds, where teams are hunting for unpolished diamonds that can be coached to the level of solid NFL players.

Among that group this year, Seattle wound up selecting both Auburn cornerbacks — Nehemiah Pritchett in the fifth round and DJ James just one round later.

A SCOUT from outside the division described Seattle’s full draft this way: “It was unsexy, but really solid for their situation.”

Another evaluator, however, asked the question that has occurred to plenty of Seahawks fans.

“What’s their plan for the future at quarterback? Geno (Smith) is decent, but he’s about 75 years old, and it’s hard — really hard — to find an elite quarterback somewhere.”

As Schneider himself once said: “They don’t grow on trees.”

The QB puzzle probably got all that chatter going about a trade up in this draft.

But no joy.

“There wasn’t a fit with a quarterback anywhere,” Schneider said.

“That’s why we feel so good about having Sam here. He’s got two more years on his first contract, he’s still only 23 and we think he’s really talented.”

Schneider is talking about Sam Howell, whom the Hawks acquired via trade with the Commanders.

Howell is a gifted athlete who can make plays “off schedule,” to use a football cliché.

He’s considered something of a gunslinger type, and threw 21 interceptions (along with 21 TDs) for a terrible four-win Washington team.

“Sam is a huge part of our long-term plans,” Schneider said.

“We think he’s really special.”

If Schneider’s right — and his record scouting quarterbacks is excellent — then the Seahawks are in great shape.

Consider a full look at the Hawks’ 2024 draft: They traded third- and fifth- picks to Washington for Howell, along with selections in the fourth and sixth rounds.

They had earlier sent a second-rounder to the Giants for Leonard Williams, an All-Pro defensive lineman – and then signed him to a multi-year deal.

Bottom line: The Seahawks can feel good about this draft.

Just swell, in fact.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through

Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”