A player Seahawks could trade for another draft pick

It’s been widely assumed, but Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider stated it plainly.

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With just four picks heading into this week’s NFL Draft, the reigning Super Bowl champions are hoping to trade out of the first round to increase their pick total.

“It’s no secret with us,” Schneider said during his pre-draft press conference on Monday. “We have four picks, so we’ll be looking to move back.”

But trading one of their four picks – which includes the No. 32 overall selection – may not be the Seahawks’ only path to getting more bites at the apple.

During an appearance last week on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson mentioned the idea of dealing backup center Olu Oluwatimi for a late-round pick.

“It would not shock me if there is a trade maybe even before the draft, maybe during the draft,” Henderson said. “Olu Oluwatimi is a guy that I kind of wonder about his long-term future in Seattle, and maybe you flip him for a Day 3 pick. … That would be one guy to keep an eye on as maybe a way for them to add to their pick total beyond just trading the picks themselves.”

Oluwatimi, a 2023 fifth-round draft pick who’s entering the final year of his rookie contract, was in a two-man battle with Jalen Sundell for the starting center job in training camp last summer. Sundell ultimately won the competition after Oluwatimi dealt with a back injury that sidelined him for the preseason.

Sundell went on to start 13 regular-season games and all three postseason games during Seattle’s run to the Lombardi Trophy, with the only exceptions coming during a four-game stint on injured reserve. Oluwatimi filled in to make those four starts.

Oluwatimi makes sense as a trade candidate for several reasons.

For one, Sundell appears entrenched as the starting center in Seattle. He’s likely a better fit for the Seahawks’ wide-zone blocking scheme, given that he’s a more agile mover than Oluwatimi.

Secondly, Oluwatimi has probably shown enough during his time in Seattle to draw trade interest from a team in need of a starting center. Oluwatimi has 13 career starts over three NFL seasons, including eight in 2024 after Connor Williams’ surprising midseason retirement. Oluwatimi ranked 19th out of 40 centers in Pro Football Focus grading that season.

Furthermore, if Sundell gets hurt, the Seahawks have some other potential backup center options. Federico Maranges, a 2025 undrafted center out of Florida Atlantic, spent last season on the practice squad. And tackle/guard Mason Richman, a 2025 seventh-round pick out of Iowa, played 27 snaps at center last preseason.

Henderson added that if the Seahawks are interested in dealing Oluwatimi, the Minnesota Vikings could be a potential trade partner. The Vikings are looking for a center to replace four-time Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly, who retired last month.

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