No urgency, just bulk: Seahawks trade twice, out of 1st round, gain 3 picks; 1st choice, 34th overall Friday
RENTON The Seahawks don’t have the same urgency that you do.
The Seahawks don’t have the same urgency that you do.
True to their pattern of the previous five years, Seattle general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll traded down twice in Thursday’s first round of the 82nd NFL draft. The first was five spots from 26, to 31. Then, the Seahawks traded down from 31—completely out of round one for the fourth time in five drafts.
Seattle gained three picks in those two deals, with Atlanta and San Francisco. The Seahawks went from seven picks – the fewest of the John Schneider/Pete Carroll regime that began here in 2010 – to 10. They have six picks on Friday: two in the second round and four in the third round.
The players Schneider and Carroll have drafted in rounds two and three since taking over the franchise in 2010 include: Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, Tyler Lockett, Golden Tate, Paul Richardson, Justin Britt and Frank Clark.
“It worked out just like we hoped,” Carroll said.
Of course he did. But Seattle also gained a fourth-round pick for Saturday it didn’t previously have, from the 49ers. The Seahawks still have one sixth-round choice and now two in Saturday’s seventh and final round.
“It’s going to be a fun weekend,” Schneider said.
Seattle’s first pick of this draft is now scheduled to be 34th overall on Friday, the second pick of round two, courtesy of San Francisco.
“That’s what was great (about trading out of the first round): We didn’t feel like we had to do that. We didn’t feel like we lost a player to make the moves,” Carroll said.
Schneider confirmed there are players remaining on the draft board after one round for whom Seattle has first-round grades.
Carroll called that an "exquisite example" of value.
That’s why the infuriated you Thursday night. They say they have the opportunity to get the same guy at 34 they could have, would have at 26.
What they don’t have are a top college offensive tackle such as Outland Trophy winner Cam Robinson of Alabama or Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk, coveted cornerback Kevin King from Washington, freakishly athletic safety Obi Melifonwu from Connecticut – or anyone else fans and draft experts wanted and predicted.
Not yet, anyway.
This is the sixth consecutive season Schneider made a trade affecting round one in the draft.
Schneider would not comment if the Seahawks fielded any more calls before the draft or Thursday asking about the trade ability of cornerback Richard Sherman.
The Seahawks’ initial move was trading with former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, now Atlanta’s head coach, to move from 26th overall down to 31st in Thursday’s first round. Seattle also got the Falcons’ third-round pick, at 95th overall, on Friday and a seventh-round pick, the 249th overall, on Saturday.
That increased Seattle’s total number of picks from seven entering this draft to nine. Seven had been the fewest
The draft fell down to the Seahawks even more nicely than they could have hoped. Hence, the trades.
Right away, there was what they needed: an early run on quarterbacks. Chicago swapped one spot with San Francisco to take inexperienced North Carolina passer Mitch Trubisky second overall, the most surprising move. Three QBs were selected over the 12 picks, in a year with a weak quarterback class. Kansas City traded three picks to Buffalo to move up 17 picks to move up to 10th and draft Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“That rocked it pretty good,” Schneider said.
“We thought there were going to be a number of quarterbacks down in the bottom (of round one).”
Three wide receivers went in the first nine picks, including Washington’s supersonic John Ross to Cincinnati ninth overall.
Two of the first eight picks were running backs, a supposedly devalued position in the league: Leonard Fournette to Jacksonville at number four and Stanford’s dynamic Christian McCaffrey to Carolina at eight.
Only six of the first 14 picks were on defense, in a draft loaded with top defensive talent.
All that pushed the top defensive players, plus all three of the draft’s best offensive tackles, down toward Seattle at 26. Talent was on its way to need.
But then Ohio State’s Malik Hooker, considered the second-best safety in the draft, went to Indianapolis at 15. Alabama prime cover cornerback Marlon Humphrey went 16th to Baltimore.
Then the blocker-needy Denver Broncos drafted Utah offensive tackle Garett Bolles at 20th overall. Seahawks line coach Tom Cable was reportedly in Salt Lake City last weekend to work out Bolles, and I wrote this week why he would have fit for Seattle -- and not just for football reasons.
Any thought the Seahawks had to move up seven spots ahead of Denver to draft Bolles died quickly because Seattle didn’t have the capital to make such a move. Its seven picks entering Thursday were its fewest in the John Schneider/Pete Carroll regime.
So the Seahawks waited.
And traded.
The deal with the 49ers was moving from 31st overall to 34th, and gaining San Francisco’s pick at the top of round four, 111th overall.
Now, after a night that on the surface looked like nothing, Seattle has something with which to pick in bulk.
And to barter more, into the weekend.
“We have some freedoms here that could come to us; we’re in a great spot in a couple of these rounds right now,” Carroll said.
“I imagine we’re not going to turn down phone calls.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 8:53 PM with the headline "No urgency, just bulk: Seahawks trade twice, out of 1st round, gain 3 picks; 1st choice, 34th overall Friday."