The NFL Draft begins on April 29 with round one and goes throughout the season. It might be a bit of a yawn fest for Seattle Seahawks fans. With seven rounds in the draft and many teams choosing at least that often, that isn’t the case for the Seahawks.
Because of a few trades, most notably the one with the New York Jets for Jamaal Adams, the Seahawks are left with just three total picks throughout the three days of the NFL draft. This means the Hawks will have to head into this one with being okay that they will have three guys to add, or they’ll need to make a few trades and hope they can find a partner to bolster the middle round. In 11 drafts that this Seahawks front office has been through, they have never had less than eight picks. So this will be quite a different year.
The Hawks aren’t in a good spot because they have plenty of needs that they need to fill and don’t have the picks to back it up. It won’t get any easier in 2022 as they are also missing their first-round pick in that draft because of the Adams trade. So John Schneider and Pete Carroll have to get creative with this draft and create picks or hit home runs on the three that they have.
According to the NFL, the smallest draft class in team history is five players, which occurred in 1994 and 1997. Interestingly, the Seahawks landed a Hall of Fame offensive lineman in both drafts, Kevin Mawae in 1994 and Walter Jones in 1997.
The draft needs right now for the Hawks are interior offensive line, cornerback, wide receiver, and defensive line. As we know, Russell Wilson wants an upgraded offensive line, and while the Hawks did a nice job of that in free agency and with the Gabe Jackson trade, getting younger and having depth is crucial in this league. After that, he would, of course, like to add another weapon to go along with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, and a slot receiver in a late-round is a good place to start.
With that being said, the Seahawks still have to improve in the secondary despite having a very good second half of the season. The Hawks have a very average secondary, and bringing in fresh competition is not a bad idea. The same can be said with their front. The Hawks are missing a true rusher of the quarterback and felt that absence this season.
Right now, the Hawks have a pick in the second round (56th overall), fourth round (130), and seventh-round (252 overall). If we are realistic, that seventh-round pick has a very slim chance of even making the team, and the likelihood of hitting big in the fourth round is not very common. So there is even more emphasis on that second-round picking and hitting big on it.
Let’s first break this down as if the Hawks will only keep these three picks, which seems unlikely. After that, we can look at some different trade scenarios that will bolster a few more selections.
With their second-round pick, I like the Seahawks to take their biggest need: the offensive line and keeping Russ happy. One of the most interesting prospects on the board is Quinn Meinerz from Wisconsin-Whitewater. He can play interior offensive line, and even though he went to a tiny school, it isn’t unheard of a D3 lineman making massive contributions for an NFL team. Most recently, the Bucs have seen great success with Ali Marpet. Meinerz had an incredible senior bowl and looked like the best lineman there. He is incredibly versatile and can move to center and give the Hawks a future there, or he can sit behind a guy like Jackson and learn for half the season and fill in where needed.
With their fourth-round pick, I have them taking cornerback Rodarius Williams. Oddly enough, his little brother is Greedy Williams, who has been in the league already for two seasons. He has good size to him at right over 6 foot and is long. He was a staple in the secondary at Oklahoma State over the last three seasons, and quarterbacks looked to throw away from him quite often. What I really like about him is that he started 48 straight games at corner for the Cowboys, and so with late-round value, he could still come in and play in week one as a bit of a veteran.
And finally, in the seventh round, the Hawks have to take a stab at someone basically and hope he sticks. I like Tarron Jackson from Coastal Carolina. He is an EDGE rusher and was one reason they had such a good season in 2020. I am not sure that he will actually last this long in the draft, but if the Hawks can get him here, that would be a massive win. Over the last two seasons, he racked up 18 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss.
If the Hawks can come away with at least these three positions getting tapped, it should be a good draft despite having just three picks. But it will be hard to truly believe that the Seahawks had a successful draft with just three overall picks, and I don’t see them sitting back and letting that happen.
Here are a few draft-trade scenarios that would help them gain some picks. While it sounds crazy, they may need to trade back in the second round. While I know that sounds frustrating, they can still stay in the second round while maybe adding a third-round pick. Here is what I see them doing.
Trade – Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade picks 64, 95, and 137. Seahawks trade picks 56 and 129.
With this, the Hawks move back just a couple of spots in the second-round but add a handy third-round pick. To sweeten the pot and incentivize the Bucs, they also swap picks with them in the fourth round.
Trade – Atlanta Falcons trade picks 68, 108, and 183. Seahawks trade picks 56 and 252. With this trade, the Hawks actually move out of the second round, but they get a top pick in the third and fourth rounds. And get a pick towards the back of the fifth, which moves them all the way up from the seventh.
Overall, the Hawks could also look at moving a player and getting more creative to grab a pick. It isn’t an easy spot to be in for the Hawks, but this team will have to find a way to come out of the weekend successfully.
