SEATTLE — The Seahawks traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns and used the deal to select Iowa guard Beau Stephens with the 148th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Seattle entered Day 3 with only a pair of sixth-round picks, then moved to secure a player it clearly valued enough to spend future capital on. Stephens, who started at right guard for Iowa in 2022 before taking over at left guard in 2024 and 2025, arrived with the kind of résumé teams usually notice early on the draft board.
In 2025, Stephens was a first-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and he was part of an Iowa offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award. Iowa has long been one of the best college programs in the country at producing offensive linemen, and Stephens fit the profile of a polished, experienced blocker who handled high-level competition for three straight seasons.
NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein said Stephens plays with a strong grasp for angles, tempo and timing for his block fits, and added that he has a chance to eventually become a starter if he finds the right team fit. That is the bet Seattle just made, trading from a limited Day 3 hand to bring in a lineman it believes can develop into more than a depth piece.
The move also shows how quickly draft plans can change once a team sees a target it does not want to lose. The Seahawks had little room to maneuver after reaching Day 3 with only those two sixth-round picks, so the choice to surrender a 2027 fourth-rounder for Stephens says as much about their view of him as it does about their need up front.
For Stephens, the path from Iowa to Seattle is built on repetition, versatility and production. For the Seahawks, the next step is simpler: see whether a guard who has already done the hard part in college can do enough in the NFL to justify the trade.