Bumpus: To Seahawks, No. 16 pick is ‘really like a top-10 pick’

Apr 9, 2024, 3:06 PM

The Seattle Seahawks logo during the 2018 NFL Draft. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks will have to wait a little bit before they get on the clock for the first time in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Huard’s Seattle Seahawks Draft Profile: DT with pedigree

Unlike the last two drafts when Seattle held top-10 picks courtesy of the Denver Broncos from the Russell Wilson trade, the Seahawks’ first pick is No. 16 overall.

While the Seahawks may not have a top-10 selection this year, that first pick could feel like one, according to former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus.

“I haven’t heard anybody really talk about this, man. So when I was driving down the 405 … and I started thinking, yeah, they have the No. 16 pick, but according to what they need, they have a higher pick, and that is really like a top-10 pick for them,” he said.

A big part of that is because quarterbacks are expected to be taken with the first three picks of this year’s draft, and likely four of the first four to six selections. Seattle could take a quarterback with that No. 16 pick, but it appears more likely the Seahawks will address another need in the first round, especially as quarterbacks going early would mean other top players get pushed down in the draft.

“You know at least four quarterbacks are going to be gone by the time it gets to them. It might even be five quarterbacks,” Bumpus said. “So I’m looking at this and I go, alright, maybe call it the No. 10 pick, maybe the No. 11 pick. It holds a bit more value to them.”

The Seahawks are known for trading down in the first round under general manager John Schneider, and that could very well be the case this year since Seattle doesn’t own a second-round pick. That could ultimately mean the Seahawks keep that pick because the value is better for them to make a selection than to trade down.

“I think when it comes to negotiating with other teams if they want that No. 16 pick, (the Seahawks) gotta be like, ‘Look, we don’t need a quarterback in this situation,'” Bumpus said. “‘ … Look, this No. 16 pick means more to us than it does you because we have a chance to essentially have another top-10 pick.’ That’s the way I’m looking at this.”

“That No. 16 is worth more than just No. 16 to the Seahawks,” Bumpus later said. “I’m gonna say it’s around (picks) nine to 11 to them because of the quarterbacks that are going to go. They’re not looking for a quarterback. If they do, they’re gonna get them late in the draft, and I doubt they’re even gonna do that. So because everyone else is quarterback-needy and hungry and the Hawks are not, 16 is really like the 10th pick.”

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