John Schneider used to make a habit of trading down (or out) of the first round, doing so in eight straight drafts at one point (2012-19). He made veteran trades involving first-round picks in the 2021-23 drafts, but he has not moved down since 2019. Might he try to do it again this week?

In his pre-draft presser, he said he told an inquiring team that he is willing to consider moving down from 18. No real surprise. He is always open to it.  

He told reporters, “We want to be able to maneuver” and having four Day 2 picks “provides us with more opportunities to stay and pick good players or maneuver around.”

Schneider last tried to move down in 2020, when Green Bay backed out of a trade and Schneider had to stick and pick Jordyn Brooks. The GM also has declined to move off his higher picks in recent drafts despite getting fair offers.

In 2022, the Seahawks reportedly were close to a deal to trade down from No. 9, but they decided to take Charles Cross. In 2023, Schneider said they had offers to move off 5, but they really wanted Devon Witherspoon. In 2024, Schneider resisted the urge again – he said he had four good offers to move off 16 – and stuck and took Byron Murphy II.

Staying put last year for Murphy meant having to wait until the third round to draft a guard. Schneider tried desperately to get into the second round to do that but could not – and thus settled for Christian Haynes in the third.

Now here we are again, with guard the team’s greatest need. Only this time Schneider has a lot of Day 2 draft capital. So even if he passes on a guard in the first round, he can move to get one in the second round.

It is possible he stays at 18 and takes Grey Zabel, the versatile North Dakota State lineman almost everyone has going to Seattle at this point. But this definitely seems like a draft where Schneider might like to move down and add another Round 3-4 pick.

It all depends, of course, on whether any team wants to move up for a particular player.

“I feel like there’s a lot of people trying to (trade back),” 49ers GM John Lynch said. “Generally, each time everyone is trying to do the same thing, there isn’t a lot of opportunity.”

But that is just the first round. The rest of the draft promises to be full of action.

Chicago general manager Ryan Poles said he thinks “this one is gonna be a little wild.” 

Brock Huard thinks the Hawks are “gonna be moving up and down that board, as I think a lot of other teams are in a meat-and-potatoes draft, to make sure each team addresses the kind of meat and potatoes they need for their entree.”

Whether Schneider stays at 18 or not, drafts a guard first or not, we think he is going to look to move up from 50 – knowing he has an extra third to deal. He has talked about the shelves at various points in drafts, and the big shelf in this one seems to be around Pick 40, where the borderline first-rounders (TE Mason Taylor, OG Donovan Jackson, CB Maxwell Hairston, et al.) all figure to be gone.

‘Hard’ to draft a QB

It is hard to imagine why a number of people seem to think the Hawks will draft a QB in such a weak year for them. They put their money on Sam Darnold for at least the next two years, just added Drew Lock for two years and are shopping Sam Howell.

Schneider also has been talking about how tricky it is to draft a QB without overpaying: “It’s hard to maneuver around … where you feel like you’re in an ideal world of acquiring quarterbacks. … You’ve gotta be careful how far you push those guys.”

He also said QBs and offensive linemen are the two positions that always get bumped higher than their grades indicate they should go. Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough both visited VMAC, but they could end up being picked much higher than where the Hawks have them slotted.

One offensive coordinator told The Athletic, “This is such a bad quarterback class. I think they’re all developmental guys.”

As for Howell, a deal will get done, likely for a Day 3 pick swap or a conditional pick. Schneider obviously thinks so, saying Monday, “We’re not there yet.”