Everyone knows John Schneider tried to trade down from pick 32 in the draft and ended up stuck because five of the six picks in front of the Seahawks changed hands in a flurry of deals.

The Seahawks picked Jadarian Price because he was “standing alone” on their board – Chris Johnson had been their other top target, but Miami moved up to take him 27^th.

Some more insider nuggets about the Seahawks’ draft have emerged, based on reports from Brady Henderson (via both his story and his podcast chat with Rob Staton) and John Boyle (embedded Seahawks.com reporter).

Trader John

Schneider tried to make trades all the way through but often found teams did not want to pay enough to move up. He would say, “We’re getting our ass kicked,” and decline the deals.

He got really excited when he finally found a trade he could make, moving down from 96 to 99 for a sixth-rounder from Pittsburgh. The GM said, “Good times. Holy shit!”

Seattle drafted cornerback Julian Neal with that 99th pick.

In the end, Schneider made four trades and doubled his pick allotment from the original four. The biggest one was giving up a 2027 fourth-round pick to Cleveland to get into the fifth round and select guard Beau Stephens, who is expected to compete for the right guard spot against incumbent Anthony Bradford.

Henderson on Stephens: “My best guess is that they open it up for a competition. … I still think Bradford probably would emerge from that. If Beau Stephens ends up in a starting role, my guess is it’s gonna be 2027 and not 2026. … He’s definitely going to come in and push Bradford. I think you needed somebody to at least push Bradford … to keep him on his toes. Maybe in 2027 when Bradford’s rookie contract is up, maybe that is when (Stephens becomes the starter).”

A rough idea of Seattle’s board

The Hawks had 15 guys rated first-round picks.

With 10 picks left in the first round, the Seahawks had only a couple of players with first-round grades.

Johnson was the other top target of the Seahawks, Henderson reported. That surely is who Boyle was talking about when he wrote this: “At least one defensive player the Seahawks liked went off the board late in Round 1, drawing a reaction from the room.”

There was a three-round difference between Price and the next running back on their board. So, as Henderson said, the team’s hand was forced a bit.

If they had not gotten Price, their fallbacks were CB Colton Hood and edge rusher R Mason Thomas. Hood went 37^th to the Giants and Thomas 40^th to the Chiefs. Other edge rushers Seattle liked were the Michigan pair of Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham.

After the Patriots moved up to take pass rusher Gabe Jacas 55th, the Seahawks had just a couple of players left with second-round grades. One was Bud Clark – their eventual pick. The other was a pass rusher, probably Keyron Crawford (the guy we thought they might take).

Seattle had a fifth-round grade on CB Andre Fuller, whom they picked in the seventh.

Macdonald admires
Giants’ pass-rush riches

This was an interesting note from Boyle, considering the Seahawks are in need of pass rushers (even after the addition of Dante Fowler Jr.).

“Macdonald pauses at the New York Giants roster and looks at the group of edge defenders, which includes last year’s first-round pick Abdul Carter, three-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns and 2022 first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. A couple hours earlier, the Giants added Arvell Reese, who figures to factor in as an off-ball linebacker and edge rusher, with the fifth overall pick. Looking at that collection of talent, Macdonald shakes his head and says, ‘That’s just stupid,’ in a very complimentary way.”

Kind of makes you wonder whether the Hawks might try to add Thibodeaux – a move we shot down due to the Giants’ asking price (at least a 3) and his $14.75 million salary. If the pick cost comes down to like a fifth-rounder next year, Schneider might consider it.