Getty The Seahawks could select University of Houston QB Clayton Tune in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Seattle Seahawks could be the ideal landing spot for a “gunslinger” quarterback.
As predicted by ESPN’s Matt Miller and Jordan Reid in their all-quarterback mock draft, the Seahawks are expected to land University of Houston quarterback Clayton Tune with the 154th overall pick in the fifth round. The 24-year-old is coming off of a 40-touchdown campaign with the Cougars along with over 4,000 passing yards.
Miller argues that while the Seahawks already have two established quarterbacks on their roster — Geno Smith is the starter and Drew Lock is the backup — they could be looking for a “developmental” option in Tune.
Clayton Tune Could Serve as Seahawks’ Developmental QB
“The Seahawks recently re-signed Geno Smith to a three-year deal and brought back Drew Lock as the No. 2, but there still could be interest in finding a developmental option,” writes Miller. “I’ve heard mixed opinions about who the next best passer is after the first five QBs, but Tune’s name comes up a lot after his breakout 2022 season. He is a polished passer who can attack all levels of the field, though scouts want to see better ball placement.”
Based upon their mock draft, the Seahawks will pass on selecting a quarterback with their two first-round draft picks. The top four quarterbacks — all of whom are expected to be selected in the first round — are Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson. Seattle has been linked to all four quarterbacks during the pre-draft process.
In ESPN’s mock draft of quarterbacks, Tune would be the 10th quarterback selected.
As Reid notes in his argument for why Seattle drafting Tune makes sense, he cites the San Francisco 49ers’ injuries at the quarterback position as a reason for why you can’t have enough quarterbacks.
San Francisco advanced to the NFC Championship Game despite injuries to starters Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo during the regular season. It forced the 49ers to rely on the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock Purdy, to start during the team’s postseason run. However, he also suffered an injury during the NFC Championship Game, leaving San Francisco to rely on Josh Johnson to finish out the game.
“Teams learned a lesson from the 49ers’ run to the NFC Championship Game this past January: You can never have too many QBs,” writes Reid. “Adding additional passers later in the draft is a strategy that we’ll likely see more teams follow, and having a developmental option like Tune helps plan for the future.”
Clayton Tune is a ‘Certified Gunslinger,’ Says Analyst
Tune is not only a proven passing quarterback, he has loads of experience. He started all four years during his tenure at Houston and is a “certified gunslinger,” as Cliff Jackson of SB Nation’s Turf Show Times writes.
“Tune, who was a four-year starter at the University of Houston, is a certified gunslinger, as he logged a whopping 916 pass attempts over the past two seasons in college,” writes Jackson. “With those 916 attempts in his junior and senior seasons combined, Tune completed 67.8% of his passes for 7,618 yards, 70 TDs and just 20 INTs. In his final season at Houston, he also led the team in rushing with 544 yards on the ground with five rushing touchdowns.”
As noted by William Moy of Pro Football Focus, Tune ranked second among all quarterback prospects — behind only Young — under pressure and his 6.7% big-time throw rate led the top 10 signal-callers in the 2023 NFL Draft class.
“The Houston quarterback recorded a 6.7% big-time throw rate on pressured dropbacks in 2022, the best rate among the top 10 signal-callers in the 2023 NFL Draft class,” writes Moy. “He threw just 21.9% of his passes under pressure short of the sticks, the lowest rate among the 34 draft-eligible FBS quarterbacks who faced pressure on at least 50 dropbacks last season.”
With the Seahawks looking for a third quarterback, Tune is probably their best possible pick if they’re going for a developmental option.