JAKE AND STACY

Bumpus: Why Seahawks’ first draft pick should be used on a wide receiver

Apr 9, 2021, 1:29 PM | Updated: 1:33 pm

Seahawks WRs...

The Seahawks have a top WR duo, but no clear No. 3 option. (Getty)

(Getty)

We’re just a few weeks away from the NFL Draft and the Seahawks find themselves in a tricky situation as things currently stand.

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Due to trades for safety Jamal Adams and guard Gabe Jackson, the Seahawks are set to enter the 2021 draft with only three draft picks, including none in the first or third rounds. Their first pick comes late in the second round at 56th overall. So what will Seattle do with its first selection?

Will the Seahawks target a cornerback to compete with Akhello Witherspoon for the right to be a starter come Week 1? What about an offensive tackle to succeed either left tackle Duane Brown or right tackle Brandon Shell? Will Seattle draft a center to compete with Ethan Pocic for the starting job? Or another linebacker in case K.J. Wright doesn’t return?

According to former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus, the answer should be “none of the above.” He shared what he thinks the Seahawks should do on Friday’s edition of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake and Stacy.

“Got to go get a receiver,” he said. “You drafted (sixth rounder) Freddie Swain last year … you’ve got (2019 seventh-round pick John Ursua) who’s still there, but there’s no clear-cur No. 3 (receiver on the roster). If they don’t (sign or trade for one) I think they’ve got to go receiver.”

The Seahawks boast one of the top wide receiver duos in the NFL with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Both had over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, but behind them on the depth chart, there’s not a lot of options or experience.

Swain had 13 catches for 159 yards and two scores in his rookie season last year and Ursua has just one career catch, which came in Week 17 of 2019. Ursua spent all of 2020 on Seattle’s practice squad.

Additionally, Seattle lost David Moore, who was the Seahawks’ No. 3 receiver the last three seasons, in free agency to the Carolina Panthers.

Like last year’s draft, the 2021 NFL Draft boasts plenty of firepower at receiver, Bumpus said.

“There are about 25 receivers in this draft right now who can ball,” he said. “Last year in the first two rounds, 13 receivers were picked, so you know they’re going to go quickly. I think they’ve got to go after that receiver spot.”

While the Seahawks do have other positions of need entering the draft, Bumpus think Seattle’s focus with its first pick should be wide receiver unless the team is able to add more picks between now and the draft.

“Unless they change what they’re doing, unless (general manager John Schneider) pulls a rabbit out of his hat and gets a bunch of picks and one is earlier (than the 56th overall pick), I think you have to go with a receiver,” he said. “Bring him in and have him compete with Freddie Swain and see what happens.”

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Bumpus: Why Seahawks’ first draft pick should be used on a wide receiver