With the 16th pick in the Pod Community Mock, the Seahawks select...

Last year, the Seattle Seahawks were the initial villains of the 2023 NFL Draft, ripping Devon Witherspoon from the Detroit Lions a pick prior. This year, the Seahawks are picking 16th—a good 13 picks before the Lions are on the clock. Unless there are some trade shenanigans, the Seahawks can’t hurt Detroit this year.

We’ve reached the Seahawks’ pick in our 2024 Community Mock Draft and the acting general manager is commenter jerrydlux.

You can catch up on the first 15 picks with our Community Mock Draft tracker.

But now, let’s get into the Seahawks’ pick.

Here’s jerrydlux:

“With the 16th pick in the NFL draft, the Seattle Seahawks select, Troy Fautanu - G, Washington.

“It’s not a flashy pick, and it won’t get the oohs and ahhs of others, but it secures a day one starter and one of the top linemen in the draft. Fautanu played tackle at Washington but is projected to move to guard in the pros. Adding him should give a boost to their run game. Despite averaging 4.1 YPC, the Seahawks only ran the ball 382 times (second fewest in NFL). Having a healthy duo of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet and a bolstered OL could increase that.

“The Seahawks do not currently own a second-round pick and have other needs to address. There is currently not a left guard listed on the roster, so the lone first round pick was committed there. A trade back would be ideal as there are players such as Jackson Powers-Johnson or Graham Barton available which would give a boost to the OL while adding more picks to work with later.

Another major area of need for the Seahawks is linebacker. Having signed a few in free agency, the Seahawks will give them a chance to compete in new HC Mike Macdonald’s system. Multiple mock drafts show the Seahawks addressing linebacker with their third round pick and then selecting more defensive help at the safety and EDGE positions in later rounds.

Fautanu, being reunited with college OC Ryan Grubb, brings a physicality to the run game the Seahawks need to recapture, and I imagine Coach Macdonald desires after his time with both the Ravens and Wolverines.