Seahawks 2026 draft class predictions: Why Deven Eastern faces tough path to active roster

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 17: Dylan Raiola #15 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers is sacked by Deven Eastern #91 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks stockpiled late-round picks on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft, including No. 242 from the New York Jets along with No. 199 (Emmanuel Henderson Jr) for No. 188. With that pick at No. 242, the Seattle Seahawks selected defensive lineman Deven Eastern from Minnesota. Eastern comes with excellent size and length, but will have plenty of competition in an ocean-deep DL room to make the active roster.

Athletic Profile/CompsRelative Athletic Score (RAS)Mockdraftable

Eastern's athletic profile is the definition of a mixed bag. He brings Elite" size and an 86th percentile broad jump, but that's offset by a 25th percentile vertical and Poor" agility times. As a player expected to clog up the middle of the line, that size and length will be of the utmost importance.

Of the RAS and Mockdraftable comps listed, I chose to highlight three of them. All of them are close in terms of overall RAS, yet are good comps for different reasons.

Tomlinson and Eastern have similar weight, vertical and broad jump. Derrick Brown is heavier and has the strength advantage with even more length than Eastern. Raekwon Davis is the closest across the board. All three were drafted in the first two rounds, unlike Eastern. Davis was out of the NFL after five seasons, while Brown and Tomlinson are still mixing it up in the trenches.

I had a lot of fun thinking of the next two comps, and I hope those of you who have been NFL fans for the last few decades will enjoy this. Way back in the early to mid 2000s, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a hell of a DT duo in John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. Turns out that Deven Eastern has some similar traits with both of them!

Could you imagine having both of those monsters in the middle of the line next to each other like the Jaguars did? Henderson's bench, vertical, and broad are near Eastern's while Stroud and Eastern are close in the broad and shuttle. Eastern is smack dab in the middle in terms of weight while being shorter than both Henderson and Stroud, who were both first round picks in back-to-back seasons. They were a very, very fun duo.

You are exactly right I meant to say John Henderson and Marcus Stroud used to kick everybody's ass

- Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) March 12, 2025

Big John was a beast pic.twitter.com/cONbCArUpJ

- Blu Caller (@Blu_Caller) March 12, 2025

The next comp was another pull from way back in my brain that I just had to put in here for fun.

Does anyone besides me remember Igor Olshansky? He had one of the best names ever and is clearly a better athlete than Eastern. However, they are the exact same height and weight with very close broad jumps. That must count for something!

Alright, now we can move on to the Seahawks Legends comps.

Red Bryant, arguably the heartbeat of the first Seahawks Super Bowl championship team, has a similar weight, vertical, and broad jump. Alan Branch is good for vertical and shuttle. Rubin was identical in terms of weight with a similar vertical and three-cone. So, why do I have Naz Jones in there? Height and length. Most of these guys were solid for at least a few seasons, which you should honestly sign up for in a heartbeat with Eastern being a seventh-rounder.

Gut reaction to the pick

Even though Seattle has great depth at DL, you can always use more horses in the stable. With that much depth, would the Seahawks have been able to lure Eastern out West(ern) as an undrafted free agent? Maybe not. Instead, they used a seventh-round pick to make the choice for him. I'm fine with that.

Rookie season prediction

This is a tough one for me to project. Most late round draft choices have low odds of making the active roster, and that point is only exacerbated by depth at their position. Seattle's DL is full of stars and a few unheralded names that coaches believe in. Eastern's size allows him to play a few different interior DL positions, but the team clearly sees a spot for him at nose tackle.

All of this here makes sense for Eastern as a depth piece, with the notable addition of Hinds' quip at the end specifically mentioning him at nose. pic.twitter.com/8FwXvmPxu7

- Weapon Next/Logan Lynch/Ted Zahn (@WeaponNext) May 6, 2026

The Seahawks don't have a clear NT on the roster. Byron Murphy can play there, but he's such a beast at 3T. Brandon Pili has taken snaps there, and there's Bubba Thomas, J.R. Singleton, and UDFA Uso Seumalo as competition. The Seahawks didn't keep a true NT on the initial roster last season and went with just four interior DL: Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy, and Mike Morris. Rylie Mills will make the roster this season while those four from last year are all returning. I just don't see a spot for Eastern on the final roster - at least initially. Using that draft pick on him and coaching him up all spring/summer will lead to a practice squad spot with a few call-ups for select games in 2026.