Seahawks Draft: Are rumors of trading up from No. 5 legitimate?

The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported recently that there’s buzz the Seahawks will try and trade up from No. 5 overall to No. 3 to get either Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson or Kentucky QB Will Levis.

Seahawks Draft: Huard makes sense of Anthony Richardson’s pro day

The Draft Network’s Tony Pauline reported something similar, saying that “speculation from league insiders” is Seattle wants to jump up to No. 3 overall to get Richardson.

Former NFL QB and current FOX college football analyst Brock Huard isn’t really buying those reports as something general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll would do, though.

“I have a hard time with that one,” Huard said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “I think it’s wonderful, I think it’s great that Pete and John and whoever is spreading that talk and putting out those little crumbs, it’s great. It’s what you’ve got to do in lying season, in leverage season and everything else that leads up to the NFL Draft.”

Huard thinks that the Seahawks would need to trade one of their two second-round picks to Arizona in order to move up to No. 3 overall, and that those picks are “very valuable.” Additionally, Arizona is a division rival, so Huard isn’t sure the two sides will want to trade with one another.

There are also three teams ahead of the Seahawks already in the draft order that are presumably drafting a quarterback.

“Indianapolis (at fourth overall) is not going to be jumped. They’re gonna want to get their guy (at quarterback). Houston’s gonna get their guy (at second overall), Carolina (at No. 1) is gonna get their guy,” Huard said. “I understand some of the reasoning, I don’t mind the talk and the chatter, and the best thing that you can do if you’re John Schneider is to create that kind of storm and create those kinds of rumors.”

While Huard still doesn’t see that trade happening, his co-host Mike Salk feels otherwise.

“I think it’s a very real possibility,” Salk said. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but you’re No. 5 in a draft where there are four standouts (at quarterback) … I’m not saying they’re gonna do it, and I don’t know that that Arizona will do it. But I think that you should be trying (to move up) if there’s a guy that you love.”

Huard agrees with that logic, but he’d rather the Seahawks trade up to get star Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. instead of Richardson.

“If it was Will Anderson, I’d be doing backflips if they gave up 37,” Huard said, adding that parting with Seattle’s first second-round pick is likely what it would take to move up. “If they gave up 37 to go up two spots and get Will Anderson, sign me up. If I’m in the war room, (I’m saying), ‘Go for it, John.’ Absolutely. I would applaud that. You go get that generational difference-making pass rusher.”

Replied Salk, “I just don’t believe they’re doing it for a pass rusher. I just think if they’re doing that, it’s for a quarterback.”

Listen to the full conversation in the podcast of the second hour of Friday’s show at this link or in the player below.

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