Do Seahawks have enough draft picks for every need?
Apr 24, 2024, 12:31 AM | Updated: 10:16 am
The Seattle Seahawks' logo is seen on a video board during the 2018 NFL Draft. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
(Tim Warner/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks currently hold the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
If history is any indication, there’s certainly a chance Seattle might end up trading that pick to acquire more draft capital.
What’s happened when Seahawks trade back in first round of draft
Under general manager John Schneider, the Seahawks have traded back from their first-round pick in six of the past 14 drafts. Adding picks could be especially appealing to them this year, given that they dealt their second-round pick to the New York Giants last October as part of the trade for defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
In all, Seattle currently has seven picks: a first-rounder (No. 16), a third-rounder (No. 81), two fourth-rounders (No. 102 and No. 118), two sixth-rounders (No. 179 and No. 192) and a seventh-rounder (No. 235).
Do the Seahawks currently have enough draft capital to fill all the holes on their roster? Bob Stelton posed that question to former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman on Tuesday during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.
“Yes, I think they do, if you’re drafting for position,” Wyman said. “But they’re not going to draft by position. They’re going to draft like, ‘Where is the best (player)? We can create competition.’ That’s what (former coach Pete Carroll) used to talk about all the time – that these guys are gonna come in and they’re gonna compete. And that’s what you want. You want it to be a difficult decision (for playing time).”
Impact players or place-holders?
When evaluating Seattle’s areas of need right now, the complicating factor is that there are so many new and unproven players.
Under new coach Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks have undergone a significant roster overhaul this offseason. The team has parted ways with veteran players and replaced them with a slew of new faces with varying degrees of experience – most of whom are on one-year or short-term deals.
“There are names there, but are they good?” Stelton said. “Are they guys that you look at and say they are gonna make this a better team, or are they just occupying a spot right now? … The names are there, but whether they’re gonna be anybody that has any impact or will even make this team is a completely different conversation.”
Wyman pointed to safety as an example of the uncertainty on Seattle’s current roster. Julian Love, a Pro Bowler with the Seahawks last year, is a proven talent. Rayshawn Jenkins, a free-agent signing from Jacksonville, has 80 career starts. But the other five safeties on Seattle’s roster right now have combined for just 27 starts.
“There’s always gonna be some question marks (on a roster),” Wyman said. “But they do have the bodies. They’ve gone and gotten them in free agency. … You’d like to count on those guys, but you still don’t know, because they haven’t played here yet.”
Listen to the full conversation from Tuesday’s Wyman and Bob in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.
More on Seattle Seahawks and NFL Draft
• Brock’s Hawks Draft Profile: Trade-back target on the edge
• Kimes: How offense-heavy draft could benefit Hawks’ defense
• Former NFL GM: Hawks are ‘sleepers’ to draft QB
• Is Hawks’ Schneider or Macdonald under more pressure in 2024?
• Klatt: Why Seattle Seahawks should draft Michael Penix Jr. at No. 16
