The Seattle Seahawks are being projected to make another big investment at wide receiver, this time in the 2026 NFL Draft. In his first 2026 mock, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has Seattle selecting Louisville wideout Chris Bell with the No. 28 overall pick, adding a 6-foot-2, 225-pound weapon with 4.4 speed to an already intriguing offense.
Brugler notes that Jaxon Smith-Njigba has emerged as one of the NFL’s top playmakers, but flags the long-term health of the Seahawks’ wide receiver depth chart as “very unsettled.” In his view, Bell’s size, speed and run-after-catch ability make him a natural fit for general manager John Schneider as Seattle looks ahead to the next phase of its offensive build.
Dane Brugler Slots Louisville WR Chris Bell to Seahawks at No. 28
Brugler’s mock has plenty of movement near the top of the board, but the Seahawks stand pat in the back end of Round 1 and focus on a premium position. At No. 28 overall, he has Seattle turning in the card for Bell, a physical outside receiver who has been a focal point of Louisville’s passing game.
The explanation behind the pick is straightforward: Seattle appears to have found a star in Smith-Njigba, but there are looming questions around how the rest of the wide receiver room will look by the time the 2026 draft rolls around. Age, contracts and injuries all factor into the equation, and Brugler clearly sees a future void that needs to be addressed with high-end talent.
By projecting the Seahawks to take a wideout in the first round, Brugler is effectively hinting at two things: Seattle’s roster is strong enough elsewhere to avoid a desperation pick at another spot, and the front office isn’t finished adding weapons around its young offensive core.
What Chris Bell Would Bring to the Seahawks Offense
Bell profiles as the type of receiver Seattle has often gravitated toward under Schneider: big, explosive and tough after the catch. At roughly 6-2 and 225 pounds with reported 4.4 speed, he combines a running back-style frame with legitimate ability to win downfield. As of publication time, Bell has 72 receptions for 917 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games played this season. For his career, so far, Bell has 151 catches for 2,166 yards (14.3 pards per reception) and 12 touchdowns in four seasons at Louisville.
At Louisville, Bell has shown he can line up on the outside, use his body to shield defenders and finish through contact. He’s comfortable working the boundary on back-shoulder throws, but he also flashes on in-breakers, slants and crossers where he can turn short catches into chunk gains.
In the red zone, Bell’s frame and catch radius could offer an immediate boost. He projects as the type of target who can box out smaller corners and give his quarterback a margin for error on back-shoulders and fades, something that becomes even more valuable late in the season when windows tighten.
Kupp & Shaheed Deals Show Why a Cheap 1st-Round WR Still Makes Sense
On paper, using a first-round pick on a receiver might look like overkill for a team that already features Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed and Smith-Njigba. But the contracts tell a different story.
Kupp signed a three-year, $45 million deal with Seattle in March, returning to his home state on a contract that pays him mid–WR1 money into his mid-30s. The structure gives the Seahawks a proven veteran and Super Bowl MVP in the slot, but it also locks in real cap commitments at a position where age and recent injuries have already been a storyline.
Shaheed, acquired in a midseason trade from the New Orleans Saints, is on a much shorter timeline. He’s playing on a one-year, $5.2 million extension that runs through this season, and he’s set to hit unrestricted free agency in March 2026 if Seattle doesn’t re-up him before then.
A first-round pick like Bell would give Seattle cost-controlled upside at a premium position just as decisions on Kupp and Shaheed get tricky. If either veteran slows down, gets hurt again or simply prices himself out of town, Bell becomes the built-in succession plan rather than a panic move.
Younger Seahawks WRs Still More Flashes Than Proven Production
The rest of the receiver room explains the urgency, too. Behind JSN, Kupp and Shaheed, Seattle is leaning on younger options like Tory Horton, Jake Bobo, Cody White and Dareke Young. Depth charts and injury reports tell the story: Horton has flashed on offense and special teams but is currently on injured reserve; Bobo and Young have mostly been depth pieces and special-teamers; White has yet to carve out a consistent offensive role.
That’s the context Brugler is playing off. Bell wouldn’t just be another body in a crowded room; he’d be the high-ceiling, four-year answer that bridges the gap between the current veteran-heavy build and whatever the next version of this offense looks like.
And for fans, Brugler’s early mock is at least a window into how the national draft conversation sees Seattle’s roster heading into the next cycle: competitive enough to be picking in the late 20s, but still aggressive about adding a big-bodied weapon on the perimeter before the current wideout core turns over.
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