Last night, Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori became the third member of the 2025 draft class taken in the second round to secure a fully guaranteed rookie contract. Fellow Round 2 selection Elijah Arroyo has not managed to do the same, but he has signed with Seattle. 
Arroyo signed his four-year, $8.81MM contract on Friday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes the pact contains $6.87MM in guarantees, meaning 78% of the deal is locked in. In the past two years, the No. 50 slot (where Arroyo was selected) has seen guarantees of 61.6% and 68.3%, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap.
This is, to no surprise, therefore a step in the direction of players taken in the middle of the second round receiving full guarantees down the road. That trend has emerged in recent days with much of the logjam created by 30 unsigned second-rounders being cleared in time (more or less) for training camp. Both Emmanwori and Arroyo will be in the fold by the time Seattle’s first camp practice takes place.
The 2025 draft class had a pair of tight ends seen as locks to be selected on Day 1; that wound up holding true in the case of Colston Loveland (Bears) and Tyler Warren (Colts). The next tier of prospects at the position included Arroyo, though, so it was no surprise when he came off the board with Seattle’s second pick of the round. The Miami product made only 11 catches across his first three years in college, but 2024 saw a major uptick in production. Arroyo posted a 35-590-7 statline during his one and only campaign playing with No. 1 pick Cam Ward.
The Seahawks will be banking on that performance translating to the NFL. Seattle still has Noah Fant in place for 2025, but the coming season is the final one of his contract. Arroyo could carve out a part-time role during his rookie campaign before stepping into a starting spot in the event Fant were to depart in free agency next spring. In any case, it will be interesting to see how that tandem fares this year.
Here is a final look at Seattle’s draft class with each member now on the books:
- Round 1, No. 18: Grey Zabel (OL, North Dakota State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 35 (from Titans): Nick Emmanwori (S, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 50: Elijah Arroyo (TE, Miami) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 92 (from Lions through Jets and Raiders): Jalen Milroe (QB, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 142 (from Jaguars through Texans and Vikings): Rylie Mills (DT, Notre Dame) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 166 (from Bills through Texans): Tory Horton (WR, Colorado State) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 175*: Robbie Ouzts (TE, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 192 (from Dolphins through Bears): Bryce Cabeldue (G, Kansas) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 223 (from Saints through Eagles and Steelers): Damien Martinez (RB, Miami) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 234: Mason Richman (T, Iowa) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 238 (from Chargers through Patriots)*: Ricky White (WR, UNLV) (signed)
I hated this pick. Hope it works out! Go Hawks!