Seattle Seahawks 2022 NFL Draft: 5 First Round Targets With No. 9 Pick
By Kyle Edmond
![Seattle Seahawks 2022 NFL Draft target Charles Cross #OL06 of Mississippi State (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) Seattle Seahawks 2022 NFL Draft target Charles Cross #OL06 of Mississippi State (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/0d10816c71f3c33f62e461044181570c5f4eb04cce0a857f2c855d1f2b054fb5.jpg)
Seattle Seahawks First Round Target #5: Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
If the Seahawks go anywhere other than the trenches there’s only a few players who would be worth the pick. Forcing a quarterback shouldn’t be the plan at this point for Seattle and they are set at wide receiver, at least for now and in terms of first round talent. That really just leaves the defensive side of the ball and the list of players worth a top 10 pick that aren’t on the defensive line is slim. However, at the top of that list is Ahmad Gardner.
Gardner has taken over the recognition of being the top corner in this 2022 NFL Draft and is now working his way up the draft boards. Some have him as high as fourth and I even mentioned him as someone the Lions could consider with the second pick. If he falls down to ninth there at least has to be consideration from Seattle.
Gardner received the sixth-highest score at the NFL Combine and was fifth on the Next Gen Stats list, while also being the top defensive back. At 6-foot-3, Gardner checks off size and his 4.41 40-yard dash shows promising speed. Those two attributes have brought along comparisons to Richard Sherman.
If Gardner truly is on the Richard Sherman level, he could be a great get for Seattle to move along this defense and potentially begin the formation of a new Legion of Boom.