Seahawks open last day of NFL draft by picking Notre Dame DT Rylie Mills

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks kicked off the final day of the 2025 NFL draft Saturday by taking Notre Dame defensive end Rylie Mills at pick 142.

The pick was acquired moments earlier when they dealt QB Sam Howell to the Vikings, getting 142 in return and also dealing 172 to Minnesota.

Essentially, the Seahawks moved up 30 spots in exchange for Howell.

Mills, 23, is listed at 6-foot-5, 296 pounds by the Seahawks.

Mills confirmed in a conference call with Seattle media shortly after the pick was announced that he suffered a torn ACL in Notre Dame’s playoff win over Indiana.

But Mills said his rehab is going well and said he will be cleared to play “hopefully before training camp.”

Mills said the Seahawks’ doctors examined the knee when he was in town recently for a 30 visit. He also met with the Seahawks at the NFL scouting combine.

Mills said his rehab regiment of late has included walking six miles a day.

“My knee is really ahead of schedule,” he said. Mills was also dealing with a shoulder injury but said that is cleared up after he had a recent cleanup procedure.

Seahawks assistant general manager Nolan Teasley said shortly after the pick of Mills was announced that he wouldn’t speak in detail of Mills’ injuries. But he said “we’re obviously comfortable with where the medical is.”

Teasley said Mills likely would have gone higher in the draft had he not suffered the knee injury in the game against the Hoosiers on Dec. 20.

“I think it’s safe to say,” he said, calling Mills a “two-phase player. (It’s an) opportunity to add another high-level athlete. One of the metrics that we look at is his ability to get off at the snap, get off the ball, (it’s in the) 92nd percentile for us. So really high-level stuff there. Really talented player. In the way that we want to rush he fits right in.”

Asked to describe his style of play, Mills said he likes to “use my versatility. I’m a big defensive tackle, but I can play a little bit of end. Play all over.”

Here is the scouting report on Mills from Pro Football Focus: “At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds, Mills is lean but long. This makes him an easier projection to a 3-4 defensive end spot due to his versatility in his build (length to play more of a defensive end spot, weight to hold up well enough on the inside).

“He is a better pass rusher than he is a run defender. He has a quick first step and active, violent hands to stay clean when shooting gaps. He does struggle to get off blocks if he doesn’t win early. He can play with a high pad level, which limits his efficacy when anchoring against the run. His pass-rush win percentage will be one of the higher marks of the interior defensive line class thanks to a well-executed long arm, club-rip and bull rush (though his leg drive can die out quickly).

“He has long arms to bat down passes in throwing windows. He also has good lateral quickness for stunts as a crasher or looper. As a whole, he plays with a good motor for all four quarters.”

Seahawks add receiver Horton

The Seahawks added to their receiving corps with their second pick on the final day of the NFL draft , taking Tory Horton of Colorado State with pick No. 166.

Horton, listed at 6-2½, 196 pounds, missed the last seven games of last season with a knee injury. Horton told Seattle media that he suffered an LCL and hamstring injury and had surgery after suffering the injury in October.

He said he was able to run full speed two weeks before the combine and he then ran a 4.41 40-yard dash there as well as recording a 37.5-inch vertical leap that helped calm any worries about the Seahawks about his injury.

“Really confident,” he said of his health now. “Feel really good.”

Horton caught 26 passes for 353 yards with one TD before he was injured. He also had four punt returns for 105 yards with a touchdown and said the Seahawks told him he could get looks as both a punt and kickoff returner.

Seahawks add Alabama fullback

At pick 175, the Seahawks drafted Robbie Ouzts, who was listed as a tight end but was drafted as a fullback. He is listed at 6-3, 274 pounds.

Wrote NFL.com in its scouring report of Ouzts: “Ouzts is built like an ironworker who has a squat rack in the garage. He’s compact and muscular but surprisingly athletic in routes and on move blocks. He can align as a wing and fits up blocks with good technique and balance, but he gets discarded by longer opponents. As a lead blocker he sees the run lane like a running back and adjusts well to strike moving targets. He can run routes if needed and should play on kick return, punt cover and field goal teams. A move to fullback will give him a chance to compete for a roster spot.”

The Seahawks recently moved tight end Brady Russell to fullback as new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has said the position will be a key in his scheme. They had no listed fullback on the roster last season.

Ouzts said he had an inkling the Seahawks were interested in him as he had a few conversations leading up to the draft with running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu.

“Yeah, he was excited because they are making this transition to more of a physical football team that is going to run the ball and he thinks my identity as a player correlates perfectly with how they want to be as an offense this next year,” he said.

Ouzts said he played quite a bit in an H-back type role during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Alabama but played primarily a traditional tight end role the past two seasons.

But he said he thinks the transition from tight end should be a smooth one.

“Would like to think I’m more than natural at it,” he said.

He also had 537 career special teams snaps at Alabama, according to Pro Football Focus, and he would likely be asked to be a core special teams player with the Seahawks.

Seahawks add Kansas guard Cabeldue

At pick 192, the Seahawks drafted guard Bryce Cabeldue of Kansas, listed at 6-4, 308 pounds.

Cabeldue played right and left tackle last season for the Jayhawks. But the Seahawks are listing him as a guard, adding to the depth at that spot. He didn’t attend the combine but took an official 30 visit to the Seahawks’ facility before the draft which came after he caught the eye of scouts with how he played at the East-West Shrine Bowl all-star game.

He played just five snaps of guard in college but said he has practiced only guard this offseason and that “I’m pretty comfortable playing guard now.”

Cabeldue has been characterized as one of the more athletic offensive linemen available in the draft, highlighted by a 4.95-second 40-yard dash.

He joins first-round pick Grey Zabel as additions to the guard spot, a position where Seattle had both depth needs and a desire for upgrades.

Seahawks take Miami running back

With their first of three picks in the seventh round , the Seahawks drafted running back Damien Martinez of Miami. Martinez played the 2022-23 seasons at Oregon State before transferring to Miami.

At Oregon State he rushed for 107 yards against UW in 2022 and 123 and two touchdowns in 2023.

He is the first running back taken by Seattle in the draft and becomes the fifth on the roster behind Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh and George Holani.

The Seahawks listed Martinez at 5-11, 217 pounds.

Wrote Pro Football Focus in its scouting report: “Cabeldue is capable of overwhelming defenders in the run game with his size, but his poor lower-body agility makes him a liability in pass protection. His 65.0 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets indicates he may need to slide inside to guard if he is to carve out a spot on an NFL roster.”

Seahawks end draft with guard, receiver

The Seahawks made their final selections in the 2025 draft in quick order, taking guard Mason Richman of Iowa with pick 234 and receiver Ricky White III of UNLV at 238.

Richman started 52 games at left tackle at Iowa, but the Seahawks listed him at guard with the intent of starting him there.

That makes him the third guard Seattle has taken in the third, all of whom played primarily tackle in college.

The others are first-round pick Zabel of North Dakota State and Cabeldue of Kansas, taken earlier in the sixth round.

Seattle listed Richman at 6-5, 307 pounds.

Richman revealed during a conference call with Seattle media that the call telling him he was being drafted by the Seahawks came from Zabel, who flew into town Saturday.

By that point, Richman said he was happy to get any kind of call at all.

“Not gonna lie,” he said. “It was getting down to the last pick there. Just had to actually believe that it was true.”

White is listed at 6-1, 181 pounds began his career at Michigan State before transferring to UNLV in 2022. He caught 218 passes for 3,143 yards, third most in school history, including 75 for 1,020 and 11 touchdowns in 2024.

He played primarily in the slot at UNLV and was also a special teams standout. He blocked four punts in 2024, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and was named as the conference’s special teams player of the year.

White ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the combine, which resulted in some question about his draft stock. He quieted much of that when he ran a 4.44 two weeks later at UNLV’s pro day.

White credited working with a speed coach and better technique and detail for the improvement.