The Seattle Seahawks are locked in on Wednesday night’s Week 1 opener against the New England Patriots, but the draft talk never really stops this time of year. With the preseason wrapped up and the NFL calendar briefly giving way to college football, attention shifts to the next wave of talent and where it might fit in a few months down the road.
That’s where NFL Draft On SI’s Justin Melo comes in with his latest 2027 mock draft, and he has Seattle making a familiar kind of move: reinforcing the pass rush. Melo projects the Seahawks to pick 29th overall and land Oregon edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei.
It’s the kind of selection that fits what Seattle has built on defense. The front seven has become the engine of that unit, but there’s also a clear timeline starting to show.
DeMarcus Lawrence has already said 2026 will be his final season, and Dante Fowler Jr. may not be far behind. Melo’s thinking is simple: keep the cupboard stocked before the need gets urgent.
"Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider is another decision-maker who believes in keeping the pass-rushing cupboard well stocked. They have some aging players at the position in Dante Fowler Jr. and DeMarcus Lawrence. Matayo Uiagalelei has incredible size (6-5, 270), is relentless versus the run, and routinely wins as a pass rusher," Mayo wrote.
Uiagalelei has already put together a résumé that makes that projection easy to understand. He recorded 18.5 sacks in his first three seasons with the Ducks and was viewed as a possible late-first or early-second-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft before deciding to stay in school. He said he wanted to win a title and finish what he started.
Now Oregon enters the season ranked No. 2 in the country, with a real chance to do exactly that. Uiagalelei is expected to be a major piece of the Ducks’ defensive plan, and if he turns in another strong season, he should stay right in the Round 1 conversation for 2027.
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