Seahawks 2025 draft film review: Rylie Mills will bolster the Seahawks’ defensive line

When Mills recovers from his injury, he should be a great addition to Seattle’s defensive trenches.

The Seattle Seahawks had just one pick at the end of the fourth round to start Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Seattle decided to trade down and then moved up about 30 picks with the trade of Sam Howell to the Vikings. The team moved up from 172nd to 142nd to draft Notre Dame DL Rylie Mills.

Will he be able to play as a rookie? Where does he fit on the defensive line? Let’s look at the film!

Who is Rylie Mills?

Mills is a native of suburban Chicago. In high school, he played tight end and defensive line. He also competed in the shot put and discus after making the track and field team. Rylie was a four-star recruit who drew a lot of attention and received offers. Minnesota, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, LSU, Michigan, Northwestern, Oklahoma and Penn State were some of the teams that made offers for him. His final choice came down to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin, and he ultimately committed to the Fighting Irish.

The DL was a two-time member of Bruce Feldman’s Athletic Freaks list. He spent five years at Notre Dame, with an additional year due to COVID. He was a team captain in 2024, starting 13 games, recording 37 total tackles (19 solo), nine tackles for loss and a team-leading 7.5 sacks. That performance earned him Second Team All-American honors.

Injury concerns

When I’m evaluating a prospect, I think about the following points regarding injuries (since I don’t have the information that teams have, nor do I know of a doctor to evaluate them):

• The player has a chronic problem, i.e., the same injury keeps recurring;
• The player has a long history of injuries, such as Tyler Shough had;
• The player has a “recent” injury;

Mills fits the last bullet point, which I think is the least problematic. He suffered a knee injury in the first round of the CFB playoffs last year against Indiana. After the pick, with the release of the video of the call, it was possible to learn that the team had brought him in for a visit. That would give us a good insight into Mills’ issue.

Here’s what we learned about the injury after the pick:

Nolan Teasley said they are obviously comfortable with Rylie Mills’ knee situation, but declined to comment on a recovery timetable. He added that Rylie fits the team’s pass-rush style perfectly and has the flexibility to play anywhere on the defensive line.

According to Mills himself, he is “ahead” in his recovery from his ACL tear. He expects to be back on the field before training camp. He also underwent what he described as clean-up surgery on his shoulder.

“If we hadn’t drafted him, I’m not sure AD (Aden Durde, defensive coordinator) would have shown up for work on Monday,” GM John Schneider said. Schneider adds Mills is doing “really well” rehabbing from a torn ACL in December, but it appears he won’t be ready until midseason. “We’re hoping that by midseason or late season, he’ll be a viable fit for our group. He’s a really good player.”

Forgive me if I sound a little cranky or pessimistic, but I rarely trust Seattle’s timelines when it comes to injury. We’ve had conflicting reports about Abe Lucas’ knee injury and status, and Chris Carson’s many injuries. But the one that concerns me the most is another.

In 2020, the Seahawks brought in Darrell Taylor, who had suffered a serious injury and would need surgery to insert a titanium rod into his leg. Several teams cut him from the board because of this, but Seattle didn’t. The team went further, moving up in the draft to get him. According to the team, he would be ready for the season, but Taylor only came to play in his second year.

If John Schneider’s prediction is that he will return in the middle to end of the season, my understanding is that Mills will inevitably spend the entire year on the PUP List.

Importance in the scheme

Mills has a profile that the Seahawks have been looking for for a while. In 2023, the Seahawks selected Mike Morris also in the fifth round, a heavier DE, closer to the traditional 3-4 defensive end. Morris did well in the preseason, but was injured in the first game against the Rams in the regular season, missing the rest of the year. Last year, Morris again stood out in the preseason, but didn’t have many chances during the regular season. In fact, the team traded for Roy Robertson-Harris, a great move by John Schneider.

RRH also played the big-end role, being able to line up at different positions on the defensive line. He had a fighting mentality on every snap and his attitude helped his teammates. Seattle cut RRH in the offseason due to cap issues, but I think the team had interest in bringing him back. The Giants were quicker and signed the DL after his cut.

Mills would be a replacement for the departed RRH. Similar mentality and will bring versatility in lineups. I believe Robertson-Harris was a better player against the run, as Mills is a better pass rusher.

Impact as a Pass Rusher

His 88.4 pass rush grade since 2023 ranks him 3rd among DTs.

In addition, his 14.3% pass rush win rate last year ranks him 4th among all iDLs in the 2025 NFL Draft.

This is almost one of his signature moves. He has great timing to use this armover and then uses a bull rush to collapse the pocket after requiring two OL players to block him.

According to Nolan Teasley, Mill achieved a 92% percentile get-off the snap. I didn’t notice all that speed coming off the snap. However, his lateral mobility is incredible. He threatens the Guard’s inside gap, and almost in the same step he is switching from gap A to gap B. The OL is left without reaction and the pressure forces the QB to make a bad pass.

His bad pad level allows the OL to recover and win the snap. It is easy to notice when he is tired on the field, precisely because he starts to play more and more vertically.

Mills is extremely versatile and has lined up in different spots on the DL. This makes it very easy to be used in stunts, in addition to having a powerful bull rush and lateral mobility to function as a looper or crasher.

Works as a Run Defender

Many teams used the double-team to neutralize Mills. Since he has leverage/pad level issues, he is easily moved from place to place.

If Mills has trouble against double-teams, he is very dominant in 1-on-1 situations. Here he has almost a perfect snap. Leverage and control of the OL to defend two gaps and make the tackle.

Very strong and smart. He basically throws the LT on top of the RB to make a tackle in a short yardage situation.

Plays with a high pad level, but his effort to fight until the end of the snap is rewarded. He gets moved, but is able to recover and use the OL to help stop the RB and make the tackle.

Final Thoughts

One of the issues with Mills would be his age; however, I don’t see that as the biggest problem. The big issue for older players is that their ceiling is limited. That’s not something that worries me about Mills. I really think his ceiling is not very high, but he is a high floor player, extremely versatile, with a good fit in Mike Macdonald’s scheme and several off-field qualities.

Mills wasn’t a high pick and wasn’t picked with any hope of what he could do in the future. The impact he’ll have at 24 should be the same at 25. What we have to think about is whether or not he’ll be ready this year for roster-building purposes.

It’s worth remembering that if it weren’t for the injury, Mills would most likely have been picked sometime in the third round. So the Seahawks got a good value and “gambled” on the tests they did during his 30 visit.