GM details how Seahawks regained their drafting touch
General manager John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks made a key adjustment that helped them embark on another incredible run of draft picks in recent years.
Watch: John Schneider on His Evolution As a GM & Building A Championship-Caliber Roster | 20 mins
In the early 2010s, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider built the franchise’s Legion of Boom-era Super Bowl teams through a legendary run of draft picks that included Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and more.
When GM Schneider felt Super Bowl-bound Seahawks were ‘ahead of schedule’
But after that initial barrage of home-run picks, the well dried up as the Seahawks went through a series of underwhelming draft classes.
In 2022, the tide shifted back in a major way.
Taking full advantage of the draft pick bounty they netted from the Denver Broncos in the 2022 Wilson trade, Schneider & Co. have gone on another big-time heater, compiling an extraordinary amount of young talent over the past four drafts.
Since 2022, the Seahawks have drafted NFL receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba, three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon, left tackle Charles Cross, right tackle Abraham Lucas, left guard Grey Zabel, safety Nick Emmanwori, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, tight end AJ Barner, running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, safety Coby Bryant, cornerback Riq Woolen and edge rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall.
In all, that’s 14 quality starting-caliber players – seven of whom received at least one All-Pro vote this season.
That collection of young talent is a major reason why the Seahawks are headed to the Super Bowl. And it’s a massive reason why Schneider was recently named the NFL’s Executive of the Year by the Professional Football Writers of America, marking the first time he’s received the top honor in his profession since he came to Seattle in 2010.
So, how were Schneider & Co. able to recapture their drafting touch?
During a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Thursday, Schneider credited Seahawks vice president of player personnel Trent Kirchner and vice president of player acquisition Matt Berry for helping him narrow the scope during the draft process.
“I will say from a draft standpoint, and this is primarily my fault, there was a period in there where we had too many players on our board, because personally I was concerned about where the (salary) cap casualty guys were gonna be and how we were gonna replace those guys – instead of saying, no, who are the real Seahawks?” Schneider said.
“And so, quite honestly, Matt Berry and Trent (Kirchner) did a really good job of saying, hey man, you’ve got way too many people on the board. Like, we need to cut back and really zero in on what a Seahawks is – tough, smart, reliable, our type of culture, person and player, our grit scale, our competitor scale, all that stuff.”
Schneider said it was a great example of the Seahawks’ front office doing some self-scouting and figuring out how best to improve.
“We’ve really done a nice job with that – challenging each other to look in the mirror and look at our blemishes and see how we can improve, whether it’s process or just decision-making, and what’s worked and what hasn’t worked especially well,” Schneider said. “And so it just feels like it’s been a little bit more clear the last several years.”
Listen to the full conversation with Seahawks general manager John Schneider at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune into Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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Comments
1 Comments
No matter what happens in LX, the Seahawks organization as a whole deserve so much credit for making the tough decisions and smart choices. Sometimes the fan base was irate, sometimes we were jumping with joy. But the Hawks chose their game plan and stayed true to the course. Well done👏👏👏👏!!!!