NFL draft Round 1: Seahawks trade down, land OL Ifedi

The Seahawks have once again traded down in the first round of the NFL draft. But at least for now they’ll still pick in the first round.

Seattle traded the 26th-overall selection to the Denver Broncos during Thursday’s first round, in exchange for the 31st-overall pick and a third rounder (94th overall). Not a bad return for moving down five spots in the first round. The Seahawks now own three third rounders and five picks in the top 100.

The trade makes it it’s five straight years Seattle has traded away its first-round pick. But if the Seahawks keep No. 31 they’ll pick in the first round for the first time since 2012.

The Broncos selected Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch at No. 26.

More to come …

—- UPDATE, 8:45 p.m.

The Seahawks have actually selected in the first round of the NFL draft for the first time since 2012!

Seattle selected Texas A&M offensive lineman Germain Ifedi with the 31st-and-final selection in the first round of the NFL draft. The pick was acquired from Denver when the Seahawks traded down from No. 26.

Ifedi, who measures in at 6-foot-6 and 324 pounds, played guard early in his collegiate before switching to right tackle for his final two seasons. However, there’s questions about whether he’ll stick as a tackle in the NFL or is better suited to returning to guard.

So the selection addresses Seattle’s biggest need on the offensive line, but maybe doesn’t help out at left tackle to protect quarterback Russell Wilson’s blind side.

More to come …

—- UPDATE, 10:50 p.m.

I think Germain Ifedi was kind of excited to get picked by the #Seahawks:

YESSIR! https://t.co/uk5xTWwpo3

— Nick Patterson (@NickHPatterson) April 29, 2016

First, how precious is Ifedi’s above reaction to getting the call from the Seahawks?

Ifedi, Seahawks general manager John Schneider, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable all talked to the media following Ifedi’s selection. Here’s a summary of what they all had to say:

– Ifedi seemed genuinely excited about being drafted by the Seahawks. He did not come to Seattle for an individual workout prior to the draft, but he had an inkling Seattle might be interested.

– One of Ifedi’s mentors is current Seahawks center Patrick Lewis, who was a senior at Texas A&M when Ifedi was reshirting as a freshman.

– Ifedi also said he had good interactions with Cable during his pro day and that Cable was completely honest with him, saying Cable told him he needed to make sure he didn’t get lazy with his technique.

– Ifedi said the Seahawks hadn’t talked with him about whether he’d play tackle or guard, but that he was willing to play wherever Seattle wanted him.

– Schneider and Carroll emphasized Ifedi’s size — particularly his 7-foot wingspan — his competitiveness and his physicality. They said the plan is to start Ifedi off at right tackle.

– Schneider and Carroll wouldn’t answer the question of whether they would had picked Idefi at 26 had they kept the pick. However, Schneider did say the target was either offensive or defensive line in the first round.

– Schneider said it was close that the Seahawks traded down again, and he also said there were four or five teams inquiring about the pick at 26.

– Schneider is, of course, thrilled at the prospect of having four picks Friday between the second (56th overall) and third rounds (90, 94, 97). Carroll called the third round, where the Seahawks now have three selections in a span of seven picks, as the meat of the draft. The Day 2 action gets started at 4 p.m.