Having three third-round picks increases Seahawks’ trade options

Mentioned in this story from last week on the Seahawks being awarded two third-round compensatory picks is how that will give them extra capital to trade on draft day. More specifically, to trade back. After all, general manager John Schneider has shown a proclivity for doing that, and it would make as much sense this year as any other.

Consider:

Seattle has seven picks in all. That’s the standard amount, but the Seahawks haven’t made made fewer than eight selections in any of their seven drafts under Schneider and have averaged almost 9.5 in that time. In other words, seven might not be enough in Seattle’s eyes.

And beginning this year, compensatory picks can be traded. Under the old rules, the Seahawks could have only traded their own third-round pick but not the two compensatories. The change would allow the Seahawks to, for instance, use any of their three third-rounders to trade back and acquire more selections, perhaps in the fourth and/or fifth round, where Seattle is currently without a pick.

But what about trading up?

Brock Huard talked about that possibility in Monday’s “Blue 42” segment, saying that the biggest benefit of the Seahawks’ compensatory haul is that it gives them more ammunition to move up a few spots in the first round if a player they’re especially high on is still sitting there.

Huard said that would have been helpful last year, when Seattle was picking 26th overall and Alabama center Ryan Kelly slid to No. 18, where he was chosen by Indianapolis. The Seahawks had two third-round picks at their disposal, but one was a compensatory that they couldn’t trade under the old rules.

The Seahawks again have the 26th overall pick this year. That pick, according to the draft value chart, is worth 700 points. Their first third-round pick, No. 90, is worth 140 (the values may change now that compensatory picks can be traded, but for now, we’ll stick with the standard values). The combined value of those picks, according to the chart, is 840 points, almost equal to that of the 20th pick (850).

That gives you a general idea of how many spots the Seahawks could conceivably move up in the first round by packaging the 26th overall pick with the first (and most valuable) of their three third-rounders. Moving up much further than that would mean giving up more picks, which may not be all that realistic since the Seahawks only have seven in all.

Again, their two third-round compensatories are also in play for trades, but they’ll be worth less than No. 90 overall and therefore wouldn’t net as much in return unless the Seahawks made up the difference by including a later pick in that package.

The Seahawks have traded back eight times under Schneider, counting only pick-for-pick deals. They’ve traded up four times, including three times over the last two years. So it’s not as uncommon for them as it once was.

A player who may be worth trading up for this year, in Huard’s view, is Wisconsin left tackle Ryan Ramczyk, a 6-foot-6, 314-pound junior whom ESPN’s Todd McShay ranks as the top tackle in the draft and the 17th best player overall. Ramczyk reportedly had hip surgery in January.

Said Huard: “I’m telling you right now if Ryan Ramczyk, the left tackle from Wisconsin, is sitting there like Steve Hutchinson sat there years ago and started to fall – and he was a guard and guards are more valued now than they were then – but he if he is sitting there at 18, 19, 20, and you get a guy that you think is your left tackle of the future for a compensatory third with your first, sign me up now.”