RENTON, Wash. – Okay, Seahawks fans, start practicing your harmonized howl.
“Oooooooots, oooooooots.”
Newcomers to Lumen Field next fall will ask: Are they booing?
No, you rube, they’re cheering for Robbie Ouzts. He just steamrolled another helpless defender to lead to a big gain.
We will look back at the 2025 draft as a major success, one that helped push the Seahawks further along the path toward legitimate NFC contention.
Their four picks on the first two days of the draft brought to Seattle players with such ridiculous athleticism that the Hawks brass considered them all first-round talents – and all addressed specific needs or added intriguing versatility.
But on the third day, Saturday, nothing more clearly identified the direction and intent of the Seahawks on the field than the fifth-round drafting of Alabama fullback Robbie Ouzts.
He’s listed at 6-3, 274 pounds. As a fullback. That’s heftier than anybody in the Seahawks’ initial starting offensive line in 1976.
Check out his publicity shot: A mesomorph Ned Flanders, right? Except even his mustache has muscles.
Anybody remember the old Bears’ fullback Matt Suhey? Add 60 or 70 pounds and that’s Ouzts.
In his phone interview with Seattle media on Saturday, he clarified the pronunciation of his name. “Ooots,” he said. Like boots without the “b.”
Knowing that his job in Seattle will be to deliver a painful erasure to defending opponents obstructing the line of scrimmage, I was hoping that his name would sound like “Ouch.”
As a tight end, he caught three touchdowns in the past two seasons for the Crimson Tide. So, he can be useful for the occasional unexpected rush or pass reception. He actually scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass in a bowl loss to Michigan.
But, for the most part, he’s going to be a Mack Strong for the second quarter of the 21st century, and mostly will be in seek-and-destroy mode.
Entering his second season leading the Seahawks, coach Mike Macdonald had promised they would become more physical on offense, where they had finished 28th in the league in rushing, at fewer than 100 yards per game.
They did not have a fullback on the roster. This year, they’ve already shifted backup tight end Brady Russell to fullback.
It’s not surprising Macdonald would make this strategic change of direction.
The best rushing team in the league, the Baltimore Ravens, have recently benefited from the blocking of fullback Patrick Ricard, a 300-pound battering ram with whom Macdonald was quite familiar during his time on the Ravens’ staff.
“I’d say, physical and selfless,” Ouzts said when asked to describe his playing style.
When visiting with Hawks running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu, Ouzts was assured he would see plenty of action this season.
“He was excited because they’re making this transition to more of a physical football team and running the ball,” Ouzts said. “He thinks my idea of a player correlates perfectly with how they want to be as an offense next year. So, he thinks the transition (from tight end) will be great for me.”
Fullback has been a forgotten, nearly obsolete position in the NFL. Sad, in Seattle, where the likes of John L. Williams, Strong and Mike Robinson provided so much running room for the likes of Curt Warner, Shaun Alexander and Marshawn Lynch.
Ouzts’ road-clearing on rushes should significantly enhance the effectiveness of backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, as well as pass protection skills will bring a degree of safety to quarterback Sam Darnold.
Fans probably could tell you the exact number of fourth-and-1s rush failures the Seahawks subjected everyone to last season, but Ouzts should help make those things far easier to convert.
Specifically, a fourth-and-1 failure in overtime last November led to a loss to the Rams. Convert that behind a powerful lead blocker and the Seahawks get another win and make the playoffs with a division title.
“I’m really excited to see our run game come to life,” Macdonald said in the draft wrapup. “These guys fit what we’re trying to do and how we want to do it. You’ve got to move people, man.”
Thursday’s first-round pick was a bullseye, guard Grey Zabel from North Dakota State.
Friday’s athletic gems included safety Nick Emmanwori (so athletic he’s been likened to Hawk legend Kam Chancellor and Ravens’ stud Kyle Hamilton), tight end Elijah Arroyo (who has wide-receiver speed and skills), and quarterback Jalen Milroe, who was likely the most threatening dual-threat prospect in the draft.
The athleticism continued through the late rounds. And when counting up the influence of this draft, we shouldn’t forget that a 2025 fourth-round pick was used to get linebacker Ernest Jones IV from the Titans last season, as well as a fifth-rounder was part of the package that got defensive tackle Pro Bowler from the Jets.
It adds up to one of the better drafts in recent seasons. Not only are these extremely physical athletes but also such purposeful additions.
It should lead to an increase in things to cheer about this fall.
Occasionally, though, it might sound like boos.