Will Seahawks trade back in NFL Draft – and should they?

The Seattle Seahawks are on the clock with the last pick of the first round of the NFL Draft in less than a week, but fans and analysts alike are probably wondering whether they’ll make a pick at all on night one.

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Seattle remains a favorite to trade out of the first round, but what’s general manager John Schneider’s history say about whether he’ll stay put? And, more importantly, should he?

Will the Seahawks trade back?

If you had to bet, you’re saying yes, right? I am.

John Schneider’s front office has used Seattle’s first-round pick in each of the last four years, including two in 2023. Schneider traded back the last time he had pick No. 32 overall, moving back a second time before making the first selection at No. 45. But it’s not just that history. It’s that Seattle’s four picks in 2026 makes for a very small draft class, and that has to make Schneider uncomfortable.

For the record, he has stuck with a small class before and has made a pick as late as 31. But the Seahawks’ 2021 class with just three players was a COVID- and Jamal Adams-influenced anomaly; no other class in the Schneider era has had less than eight rookies. And while the Seahawks did select Germain Ifedi at 31 in 2016 — the latest Schneider has made a selection in the first round — it was only after… trading back (that time from No. 26).

Should they trade back?

These are two different questions here. I’m assuming they do move back, and you probably are, too. But should they?

It would be a much spicier take to bang the drum for standing pat — to encourage Seattle to take its single-highest rated player rather than let him slip away for more bites at the apple. Finding a diamond in the rough is certainly a reality, one Seattle’s encountered several times over, but the truth is teams are likelier to hit on players drafted earlier rather than later.

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Barring a blue-chip player tumbling to the bottom of the first, though, trading back is the right move. Part of that is informed by the many draft analysts we’ve had on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, from whom the consensus is that edge and interior offensive line talent (both useful targets for Seattle) can still be found late. I’m not advocating for a massive fall here, but there are intriguing prospects (Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price and San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson, the latter a favorite of my co-host Michael Bumpus) that could still be available in the very early second round.

The Athletic NFL Draft insider Dane Brugler’s latest mock draft has Price to the Texans at 59 and predicts Johnson will be off the board at No. 30, though ESPN‘s Mel Kiper Jr. is mocking Johnson to Miami at No. 43 and Price at No. 37. There’s a world where Seattle gets a little more of depth at quiet areas of need while also getting a great fit in the second by trading back.

Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft coverage

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• Daniel Jeremiah: Why draft is set up for Seahawks to take RB Price
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