The Seattle Seahawks need to conjure up a little draft magic this week.
This year’s NFL’s draft takes place Thursday through Saturday in Arlington, Texas, with the first round on Thursday night, rounds two and three on Friday night, and rounds three through seven on Saturday. Perhaps like never before in the John Schneider/Pete Carroll era, the Seahawks need to get things right in the draft.
Schneider and Carroll arrived as Seattle’s general manager and head coach, respectively, in 2010, and their first three drafts were a gold mine. Eight players selected in those three drafts have gone on to play in the Pro Bowl. They found a franchise quarterback in the third round (Russell Wilson in 2012), landed all three core members of the Legion of Boom secondary (Earl Thomas, first round 2010; Kam Chancellor, fifth round 2010; Richard Sherman, fifth round 2011), and acquired perhaps the best linebacking duo in the league (K.J. Wright, fourth round 2011; Bobby Wagner, second round 2012). Schneider and Carroll earned deserving reputations as draft savants.
But since 2012 the magic wand has stopped emitting lightning and started fizzing sparks. In the past five drafts the Seahawks have unearthed just one Pro Bowler, that being receiver Tyler Lockett (third round 2015) who made it as a returner. The only players who remain on the team from the 2013-15 drafts are Lockett, center Justin Britt (second round 2014) and defensive end Frank Clark (second round 2015). The past two drafts are too recent to evaluate, but so far have produced just three players (tackle Germain Ifedi, first round 2016; defensive tackle Jarran Reed, second round 2016; cornerback Shaquill Griffin, third round 2017) who have been regular starters, while 2017 top pick Malik McDowell is reportedly on the verge of being released after never playing a down for the Seahawks because of his ATV accident.
Seattle missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011 last season. The Seahawks saw a mass exodus of high-profile players during the offseason through trade (defensive end Michael Bennett), free agency (tight end Jimmy Graham) and release (cornerback Richard Sherman), while there remain rumors of a possible trade of others (Thomas) and questions about whether still others will be able to come back from serious injuries (Chancellor, defensive end Cliff Avril).
If ever the Seahawks needed to hit a home run in the draft, now is the time.
The Seahawks aren’t positioned particularly well to create the draft magic. Seattle has eight picks in the seven rounds, but they’re clustered toward the end of the draft. The Seahawks have their first rounder (18th overall), but don’t have another selection until the fourth round (120). Seattle has four picks in the fifth round (141, 146, 156, 168) and two more in the seventh (226, 248). And, of course, there’s the high probability of Schneider trading down in the first round or out of the first round completely to acquire more picks, as he seems to do every year.
Seattle has a lot of areas that could use shoring up via the draft. The pass rush needs to be revamped with Bennett gone and Avril possibly joining him. With Sherman gone, Chancellor maybe not back and Thomas perhaps on his way out, there could be a serious need in the secondary. And as always there’s a lot of consternation about the offensive line. Then there’s running back, tight end, back-up quarterback … it’s a long list.
So which position do you think the Seahawks need to prioritize in this year’s draft? Vote here:
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