Seahawks Mock Draft: What if top RB D’Andre Swift is still available at 27?

Apr 20, 2020, 1:53 AM | Updated: 1:53 am

Seattle Sports

In our first 710 ESPN Seattle mock draft, Jake Heaps took on the role of Seahawks general manager while Paul Gallant led the proceedings. In Take 2, we reversed the roles.

Watch: Jake Heaps plays Seahawks GM in 2020 mock draft

With Gallant making the picks, Heaps wanted to know where Gallant’s head was going into Seattle’s scheduled No. 27 pick in the first round, which will arrive on Thursday night when the three-day NFL Draft begins.

“Right now the Seahawks have yet to address the pass-rushing situation. I would like to bring in somebody who could do that,” Gallant said, just before throwing a curveball into the mix. “And there’s also something I’ve been thinking about. I like the contract that (Carolina’s) Christian McCaffrey got. I think that the guy’s a unicorn at running back. I think he’s one of a very few running backs you can look at and say he’s actually worth that kind of money. … So I feel like running back is something at the very least I’m thinking about, though I know that would make a lot of people unhappy if the Seahawks were to draft a running back in the first round two years after drafting a running back in the first round with Rashaad Penny.”

Here’s where things get interesting.

As Heaps and Gallant looked at their options at No. 27 on The Draft Network, Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, the top running back in this year’s class and ESPN’s No. 17 best available player, was still on the board.

That got wheels turning in Heaps’ head.

“I would normally not want to take a running back in the first round,” he said. “(But) D’Andre Swift is the No. 1 running back in this draft by far. … If D’Andre Swift was available at this point for the Seahawks, he’s a guy that I would really, really be interested in knowing that some of those (defensive linemen) might be there available in the second round.”

It’s an interesting thought. The Seahawks’ are scheduled to pick in Friday’s second round at both No. 59 and No. 63, and on ESPN’s list of best available, the top 63 players include 13 who play either defensive end or defensive tackle. And of course there’s always the possibility that Seattle could trade up to grab one of those players that could help out its pass rush earlier in the second round.

There’s something else to consider, however. If Swift is still out there when No. 27 comes up, maybe this is where Seahawks GM John Schneider finds a great position to trade back, letting another team with its eyes on Swift provide Seattle with some extra draft capital in exchange for the opportunity to take him.

So which direction did Gallant go? Without the option of trading back in the mock draft and the need for help on the interior of the D-line the most pressing issue in his mind, he went for Texas A&M DT Justin Madubuike, which he acknowledged is a bit of a reach (Madubuike is ESPN’s 36th best player in the draft).

Then again, that just might be what Seattle does. After all, longtime ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had the Seahawks taking Madubuike in his first mock draft of the offseason.

For more on Madubuike, check out former Seahawks linebacker and current Seahawks radio color commentator Dave Wyman’s breakdown of him here.

Gallant and Heaps go through all seven scheduled Seahawks picks in the mock draft, the video of which you can watch in full at the top of this post. Here’s what Seattle’s draft looks like going into Thursday.

• Round 1: No. 27
• Round 2: 59
• Round 2: 64
• Round 3: 100
• Round 4: 130
• Round 4: 143
• Round 6: 213

Make sure to catch special Seahawks-focused coverage of the draft live on 710 ESPN Seattle and streaming on 710Sports.com during the draft itself Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake Heaps and Paul Gallant on Twitter.