What can Seahawks expect drafting at No. 32? Results have been mixed

Until 2001, having the 32nd overall pick in the NFL draft wasn't really a good thing.

It meant you'd probably had one of the worst records in the NFL the year before and were picking at or near the top of the second round (unless you'd gotten the pick via trade).

But starting in 2002, when the Houston Texans were added as the 32nd team in the NFL - the last time the league has expanded - holding the 32nd pick became a badge of honor, going to the team that had won the Super Bowl.

The Seahawks have held the 32nd pick once before - in 2014 following the Super Bowl win over Denver.

As the Seahawks have been known to do, they traded that pick on draft night (to Minnesota, which took quarterback Teddy Bridgewater) and didn't pick until No. 45, when they selected receiver Paul Richardson, adding a few picks along the way.

The Seahawks never have picked 32, the only spot in the 30s where they've never made a selection.

They'll have a chance to do so April 23 when the first round of the NFL draft is held. The second and third rounds will be held April 24 and the fourth through seventh rounds April 25.

As referenced above, there are probably better odds the Seahawks don't use the 32nd pick and instead use it to acquire more picks.

The Seahawks have just four selections in the draft and could be motivated to add more.

Whether that happens likely won't be known until just before the Seahawks go on the clock. Generally, their trades to move up or down in the draft happen on draft day.

General manager John Schneider said at the league meetings two weeks ago that trade talks don't really pick up until the day of the draft.

"Everything gets real on the day of, he said.

Until a deal happens, the Seahawks will prepare as if they are making a pick at 32.

And what might they get?

While "first-round pick" in front of a player's name tends to carry a lot of weight and is often viewed as a predictor of future success, the draft is inevitably a crap shoot and becomes more so with every player taken off the board.

While 46% of players who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame were taken in the first round, including 14 who were the top pick, only one player taken at 32 has made it to the HOF - quarterback Drew Brees, who was taken at that spot in 2001 by the Chargers when it was still the first pick of the second round.

Of the players taken at that spot since the common draft began in 1967, six have been named a first-team All-Pro, two who were drafted in the past 20 years - quarterback Lamar Jackson (Baltimore, 2018) and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (New Orleans, 2017).

But since the Ravens took Jackson in 2018 (trading up on draft day with the Eagles to get him), results at No. 32 have been mixed, at best.

Here are the last seven players taken with the 32nd pick:

2025 - Offensive tackle Josh Simmons, Kansas City: The Chiefs got this pick after swapping choices with the Eagles. Simmons, an Ohio State product, was generally solid during his rookie season, allowing two sacks in eight games playing on the left side but missed three games for personal reasons and suffered a season-ending wrist injury. The Chiefs still consider him their LT of the future.

2024 - Receiver Xavier Legette, Carolina: The Chiefs traded this pick to the Bills, who dealt it to the Panthers, who took Legette, a South Carolina standout. Legette has yet to play like a first-rounder, with 84 receptions for 860 yards and seven TDs in 31 games. The Panthers went back to the receiving well with their first-round pick in 2025 taking Tetairoa McMillan, who did play like a first-rounder.

2023 - Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., Pittsburgh: This was actually the first pick in the second round after Miami had to forfeit its first-round pick for tampering. Porter, from Penn State, has started 41 games. While he has just three interceptions, he has become a solid corner, with the 19th best coverage grade in 2025 from Pro Football Focus.

2022 - Safety Lewis Cine, Minnesota: Cine, a Georgia product, is one of the more recent cautionary tales for proving "you just never know." The Vikings' pick of Cine got A grades from NFL.com, The Athletic, USA Today and Yahoo Sports. He is not on an NFL roster - waived by the Vikings after making one tackle in 10 games over two seasons and later released by the Bills and Eagles - and was recently cut by the DC Defenders of the UFL.

2021 - Linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Tampa Bay: The former Husky standout and Hazen High grad was taken by the Bucs in the wake of their Tom Brady-led Super Bowl win. He showed some promising flashes early but earned the label "inconsistent," and the Bucs did not pick up his fifth-year option. He became a free agent, signing last year with the Browns, who traded him at midseason to the Bears, who let him walk in free agency. He agreed to a one-year deal with the Eagles for the 2026 season March 30.

2020 - Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City: Edwards-Helaire, an LSU product, might not be quite a first-round bust as he had two serviceable seasons with the Chiefs and helped them win a Super Bowl. But he lost his starting job after two seasons, has played in just four games the past two seasons, is unsigned and at age 27 has no clear football future. He's rushed for 1,904 yards in 52 career games.

2019 - Receiver N'Keal Harry, New England: If Edwards-Helaire isn't a first-round bust, Harry definitely is. The Arizona State standout seemed a perfect fit for what the Patriots needed in Brady's last year in New England in 2019. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said Harry "has the best hands in the draft and gave the Pats class an A-minus in part because of Harry appearing to fill a big need as a big receiver in the wake of the retirement of Rob Gronkowski. Harry made just 57 catches in three seasons with the Pats, was traded to the Bears where he made seven more in 2022 and hasn't made a catch since. He was last on an NFL roster with the Seahawks' practice squad late in the 2024 season as a tight end but never played in a game in Seattle and his career might be done at age 28.

That's seven players taken 32nd overall since 2018 who have combined for zero Pro Bowls or All-Pro picks, with only two entering the 2026 season seemingly assured starting roles.

The Seahawks might view it as a good time for those trends to turn.

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