One of the biggest questions surrounding the Seattle Seahawks draft entering the weekend was whether the team would add an EDGE defender — or at least when they would finally address the position. Seattle brought several edge rushers in for top-30 visits, but even after turning four picks into eight through trade-downs, Seattle never selected one during the draft itself, ultimately waiting until the UDFA market to attack the position (before finalizing a deal with Dante Fowler Jr. shortly after the draft).
One of those undrafted bets was Aidan Hubbard: a disciplined, technically advanced defender against the run who already shows a fairly mature understanding of leverage and positioning for someone without overwhelming physical tools. There’s a functional maturity to his game. Hubbard understands how to survive inside the rep even when he doesn’t win immediately. You see it in the way he seals the edge, keeps his eyes active in the backfield, and especially in how rarely he abandons a play before the whistle.
In a league where teams are constantly searching for reliable rotational pass-rush depth — particularly in hybrid fronts and odd-man structures — Hubbard fits the profile of the kind of prospect who may never become the headline player of a defensive unit, but could still end up playing meaningful snaps because coaches trust what he delivers down after down.
Who is Aidan Hubbard?
Hubbard’s path was never built around early dominance or national stardom. A native of the Cleveland area, he grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, playing multiple sports — including basketball and baseball — before football clearly became the priority. That multi-sport background subtly shows up on tape, especially in his body coordination and short-area lateral movement.
As a three-star recruit in the 2021 class, he arrived at Northwestern Wildcats football without the same level of hype attached to many top national prospects. His development happened gradually. A redshirt season in 2021, rotational usage in 2022, and then a steady climb inside the Wildcats defense until eventually becoming the team’s leading sack producer for three consecutive seasons.
He also had an excellent week at the East-West Shrine Bowl, where he was one of the more consistent standouts throughout the event.
Breaking down the Aidan Hubbard signing
If guaranteed money tells you anything in the UDFA market, it’s usually which players the organization truly prioritized. Hubbard received the largest guarantee in Seattle’s undrafted class by a significant margin. He carried a legitimate draftable grade in league circles, so from Seattle’s perspective, this was strong value after the draft ended.
- DE Aidan Hubbard: $267,500
- WR Michael Briscoe: $125K
- DE Marvin Jones Jr.: $65K
- DT Uso Seumalo: $40K
- TE Lance Mason: $20K
- LB Devean Deal: $15K
- WR Levi Wentz: $10K
The EDGE room also leaves space for competition. It would not be surprising if Seattle eventually explores a trade addition at the position. Derick Hall is entering a contract year. DeMarcus Lawrence dealt with retirement speculation earlier in the offseason. Uchenna Nwosu is coming off his healthiest stretch in quite some time while still carrying a major cap number. The addition of Fowler gives Seattle a credible EDGE4 option, but it doesn’t permanently solve the depth chart. Behind that group, players like Jared Ivey and Connor O’Toole are fighting for roster spots as well. Even though both barely played last season, Seattle chose to protect them instead of risking losing them elsewhere — which says something about how the organization views its developmental depth.
Tape strengths
The first thing that stands out on Hubbard’s tape is how well he understands leverage against the run.
Even without particularly long arms for the position, Hubbard frequently stabilizes reps through consistent knee bend and intelligent body positioning. There are several snaps where offensive tackles try to widen him on the perimeter and simply fail to move his center of gravity cleanly. Hubbard plays with a relatively firm base, low hips, and strong initial contact absorption.
Instead of immediately flying downhill into blocks and losing control of his gap, Hubbard usually plays with visual patience. He diagnoses the play while maintaining partial extension through contact. Even when he isn’t physically overwhelming the tackle, he still manages to “close the door” on outside runs by shrinking the available lane for the running back.
That translates extremely well to the NFL.
A lot of productive college edge defenders collapse against the run because they play too vertically and aggressively. Hubbard does the opposite. The tape shows a defender fully aware of the importance of maintaining contain before chasing splash plays.
He doesn’t possess elite burst, but his first-step quickness is better than it initially appears. Hubbard frequently steals half a step immediately after the snap because of his timing and the way he reduces his surface area during his first few strides. He works well in tight spaces. That initial acceleration allows him to threaten the tackle’s outside shoulder before the blocker can fully establish his set point. Once Hubbard gets into a half-man relationship early in the rep, his rush becomes significantly more effective.
One of the more noticeable traits in Hubbard’s game is that he keeps the rep alive.
He maintains active feet throughout the rush, continues working his hands even after losing initial contact, and frequently creates secondary pressure because he refuses to quit once the quarterback climbs the pocket. That shows up especially on longer third downs. In multiple reps, the first move doesn’t create a clean win, but Hubbard manages to adjust his angle and continue pursuing until he forces the quarterback off schedule.
He processes screens quickly, keeps relatively clean vision into the backfield, and generally reacts well against misdirection. That doesn’t mean he’s an elite lateral pursuit athlete — because he isn’t — but he consistently reduces defensive busts and maintains tactical discipline throughout games.
His first step is genuinely impressive in short areas, especially when combined with his ability to recognize fake handoffs and zone-read concepts quickly.
There’s one particular snap that almost summarizes Hubbard’s entire profile. The offensive tackle prepares to defend the outside rush because of Hubbard’s head fake, but on the very first step Hubbard becomes nearly unreachable as he slants inside. He keeps fighting through contact and eventually finishes the sack despite getting injured during the play itself.
He’s also a solid athlete in open space. Hubbard never gives up on plays while pursuing either the quarterback or the running back, even when the action develops far away from him.
He executed slants and stunts extremely well at Northwestern, which should translate nicely into Seattle’s defensive structure. Good first-step timing, convincing movement manipulation, and enough explosiveness to attack a second gap during stunt concepts and finish plays in the backfield.
Problems and limitations
At the NFL level, edge rushers often need to win even after the initial plan fails.
That’s where Hubbard currently struggles.
When offensive tackles absorb his first step and neutralize his speed-to-power conversion, many reps simply stall out in the middle of the rush.
His rush package still freezes too often once the first move gets stopped.
There isn’t a naturally developed counter move when the bull rush gets absorbed or when tackles maintain proper depth in their set points. On multiple snaps, Hubbard gets directly into the blocker’s chest, fails to generate enough displacement, and ends up attached to the rep without being able to reset his hands or redirect the attack.
The lack of length also consistently appears against stronger tackles. Without long arms to maintain clean separation, Hubbard sometimes loses his chest plate too early in the rep. Once that happens, recovering leverage becomes difficult and he frequently gets controlled at the point of attack.
The tackling can also fluctuate more than it should. He arrives correctly on many plays, but the consistency of his footwork and balance through contact leads to avoidable misses. At times Hubbard tackles too high or loses body control trying to finish laterally in space.
Final verdict
Hubbard probably won’t become the type of player who transforms an NFL defense by himself.
But the tape strongly suggests someone capable of surviving technically, competing physically, and maintaining structural functionality within a rotation.
His most realistic projection is probably as a solid rotational defender. Hubbard looks like the kind of player who could initially enter the league as an EDGE4 or EDGE5, contribute on special teams, and gradually earn more early-down snaps because of his reliability against the run. On obvious passing downs, his long-term ceiling will depend heavily on how much his pass-rush arsenal develops.
Before any of that happens, though, he’ll need to beat out a crowded group of competitors just to earn the roster spot first.
