TNT’s mock Seahawks draft: John Schneider trades down — shocker — turns three picks into six
You don’t really think John Schneider and the Seahawks are going to sit out the majority of this draft with just three picks, do you?
Neither do I.
Seattle currently holds the fewest number of choices in team history. It’s the fewest picks in an NFL draft in a dozen years, since the 2009 New York Jets had just three choices.
The start of the draft Thursday will be crickets for Seattle. The Seahawks ‘ first pick is in round two on Friday, at 56th overall.
They traded their first- and third-round choices for 2021 to the New York Jets last summer to add All-Pro safety Jamal Adams.
The Seahawks went from eight picks to three in the deal for Adams plus their trades for Gabe Jackson last month, Carlos Dunlap in October and Stephen Sullivan last draft.
But Schneider has made 81 trades involving draft picks in his 11 years as Seattle’s general manager.
Why he’s likely to trade yet again this week: the Seahawks have more needs than picks this year. Those needs are at cornerback, center, defensive tackle, third wide receiver, outside linebacker and more.
They seem likely to use one selection on a cornerback. Coach Pete Carroll has had far more success drafting corners than signing veteran ones from other systems. He’s successfully taught Richard Sherman, Tre Flowers and Shaquill Griffin his step-kick technique from scratch, from their first days in the NFL.
Here then is The News Tribune’s annual Seahawks mock draft, complete with what’s become the requisite trading:
Round 2, 56th overall: Projected trade, down.
Of course.
The Philadelphia Eagles get Seattle’s pick here.
Seahawks get selection 70th overall in round three, 123rd overall in round four, 150th overall in round five and 240th overall in round seven.
And — presto! — three picks become six.
The Eagles are a prime target for Schneider to deal with. They have the most picks in this draft, 11.
Round 3, 70th overall (from Eagles): Robert Rochell, cornerback, Central Arkansas
Rochell fits Carroll’s prototype at corner. He’s 6 feet tall with 32-inch arms. He has speed: third in the 100 meters at the Louisiana state track meet while in high school. He was one of the few top prospects from the lower Football Championship Subdivision who played his last college season in the fall, at Central Arkansas, instead of this spring.
Central Arkansas used Rochell plenty in press coverage, so Carroll and the Seahawks have seem him in a scheme similar to what they’d want him to play for them.
Not only is he long, he’s fast. Rochell reportedly has run 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He reportedly ran a 60-yard shuttle in 10.98 seconds. That would be approaching an NFL combine record if there had been a combine this year and he’d been in it.
Measurables don’t entirely make a player, of course. But at this position, with this coach, it often makes a cornerback a Seahawk.
Round 4, 123rd overall (from Eagles): Nico Collins, wide receiver, Michigan
Precedent says the Seahawks are going to draft a wide receiver. They have selected 53 in their 46 drafts in team history. Carroll and Schneider have drafted 14 wide receivers in 11 years.
Third receiver behind DK Metcalf and newly re-minted Tyler Lockett remains a need for this year and the next few. Carroll tried to get Josh Gordon as his big number three, but the NFL suspended him again late last season. He tried to keep David Moore at a team friendly price, but Seattle’s seventh-round pick and trusted target of Russell WIlson signed with Carolina last month as a free agent instead.
Collins is 6-foot-4, four inches taller than Moore, and 215 pounds, 15 pounds heavier. He averaged 20 yards per catch with seven touchdowns for Michigan. That size and production usually means he’d be drafted before this place in the fourth round.
But Collins hasn’t played in two seasons. He opted out of 2020 during the pandemic to prepare for the draft. That will raise questions for some teams but not for the Seahawks. They have been noticing Collins, and his size, for a while.
Round 4, 129th overall: Charles Snowden, outside linebacker, Virginia
Many scouts see Snowden as a 3-4 edge rusher, not the 4-3 strongside “Sam” linebacker the Seahawks need as part of the eventual K.J. Wright Succession Plan.
Carroll sees a 6-foot-6, 232-pound monster he can set on the edge to rush quarterbacks or, as he did in the Atlantic Coast Conference, drop into pass coverage as a true outside linebacker.
This is far from a prototype Seahawks outside linebacker. But with Bruce Irvin’s two, career-threatening knee surgeries, Wright still unsigned waiting on an offer and Cody Barton not seizing every-down roles entering his third NFL season, Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. get creative with an unique athlete and pass rusher here.
Round 5, 150th overall (from Eagles): Osa Odighizuwa, defensive tackle, UCLA
This is the Seahawks’ kind of defensive lineman: versatile, athletic, experienced playing defensive end, three-technique tackle, even some nose tackle inside to stop the run. The issue is he’s 6-foot-2 but “only” 280 pounds. That is likely to make him too light to withstand 330-pound interior offensive linemen blocking him as an NFL defensive tackle, and that’s what Seattle needs most immediately with the loss of Jarran Reed in a salary-cap move this offseason.
Odighizuwa (oh-DIGGY-zoo-wuh) becomes a candidate to be an inside pass rusher with ends Dunlap, Benson Mayowa and recently signed Kerry Hyder. Carroll can never have enough of those, either. And if he puts on weight, Poona Ford needs an every-down partner next to him at tackle.
Round 7, 240th overall (from Eagles): Trey Ragas, running back, Louisiana
Ragas doesn’t run at defenders. He rocks them. Leonard Fournette’s former backup in high school in New Orleans is 218 pounds of straight-line, get-in-my-way-at-your-own-risk running. Carroll will love his style out of the backfield, particularly in pass protection. That’s the quickest way to make Seattle’s roster as a running back: punishing, smart and alert pass blocking for Wilson.
Not a huge need pick. But a huge style one. Carroll and Schneider have never been slaves to need in drafts. They pick the best player on their board when their turn is called.
Round 7, 250th overall: Michael Strachan, wide receiver, Charleston
Another huge wide receiver with speed, the guys Carroll loves to stockpile. Strachan is 6-foot-5, 225 and runs a 4.5 40. He would likely be drafted in the first four rounds if he hadn’t played at Division-II Charleston in West Virginia and if he played last season instead of missing it because Charleston had its season canceled by the pandemic.
He was born in The Bahamas, which would add to the interesting backstories in Seattle’s locker room, too.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 6:56 AM with the headline "TNT’s mock Seahawks draft: John Schneider trades down — shocker — turns three picks into six."
