A few days ago, John Schneider was being pilloried by many for a bad offseason/letting Ken Walker go.

Then, in a span of two days, the Seahawks dominated Walker and the erstwhile undefeated Chiefs and followed that up by adding All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson.

Just like that, Schneider’s a hero again.

To get Nelson, the Hawks sent the Colts a third-rounder in 2027 and a fifth in 2028. It is the fourth straight year that Schneider has made a major in-season trade. He acquired Leonard Williams in 2023, Ernest Jones IV (and Roy Robertson-Harris) in 2024, Rashid Shaheed in 2025, and now Nelson in 2026.

Because the Seahawks were projected to receive 11 draft picks in 2027 and an extra third in 2028, this deal was a no-brainer for Schneider – who reportedly jumped ahead of the Packers, Bears and Eagles for Nelson. It surely helped that Ed Dodds, now in charge of the Colts after Chris Ballard was fired, worked for Schneider in Seattle until 2017. Connections make the world go round.

The six-time All-Pro Nelson (who also has made the Pro Bowl in all eight seasons) figures to supplant Grey Zabel at left guard.

Mike Macdonald will be asked about the line’s configuration Wednesday, but Zabel seems likely to move to right guard. Anthony Bradford, who just returned from injury and helped bolster the line against the Chiefs on Sunday night, either will back up Zabel or perhaps be traded.

Christian Haynes, who started several games while Bradford was out, was waived. If he clears waivers, he could end up on the practice squad.

It also is possible that Zabel will slide out to left tackle while Charles Cross is out with a high ankle sprain suffered vs. the Chiefs. It depends whether line coach John Benton thinks the Hawks are better with Zabel/Bradford or Josh Jones/Zabel.

If it goes as expected, the Hawks will be making three changes ahead of their Monday night game against Chicago: Jones for Cross, Nelson for Zabel and Zabel for Bradford.

Some fans have suggested moving Zabel to center, but that seems very unlikely. That position is too hard to learn midseason, and Jalen Sundell has been the second-best lineman behind Cross so far this season.

Typically, making that many moves in a unit that thrives on consistency and camaraderie would seem like a recipe for trouble. But this is not mixing and matching to fix a terrible line. This is about adding an All-Pro to turn a decent line into a very good one.

Once Cross is back, the unit will feature three first-rounders, a third (Abe Lucas) and a UDFA (Sundell). That’s how great lines are built.

With Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price both on the way back shortly – either or both could play this week – the Hawks are putting their running game back together.

Nelson also will make Sam Darnold’s life easier as the Hawks will post up a better all-around pass-blocking unit.

Even though it takes him away from the home he has made in Indianapolis over the past eight years, Nelson has to be stoked he is going to a Super Bowl contender. The Colts were a sub-.500 team during his time there, making the playoffs just twice and not going far once they got there.

Now Nelson is with the reigning Super Bowl champs, who have one of the league’s top two defenses (with the Vikings) and the NFL’s best wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

What happens after the season?

If Nelson helps the Hawks win another Super Bowl, he surely will want to stay with the franchise. It’s as stable and competitive as an NFL team can be. Schneider will be willing and able to pay him the $25 million that top guards get now.

Schneider has been able to keep his past three big midseason acquisitions, so odds seem good he can keep Nelson.

If Nelson ends up as a rental a la Sheldon Richardson and Jadeveon Clowney, the Hawks still might get that 3 back in 2028. But Nelson is much better than any 3, especially the way Schneider tends to burn them.

The Seahawks still have 10 picks for the 2027 draft – and 10 rookies are not going to make the team. So it will not be a surprise if Schneider makes another deal.

Some are calling for another trade with the Colts – for star running back Jonathan Taylor. Would Schneider and Dodds make another deal? Would Schneider perhaps offer up Price and a 2 for Taylor and something like a 5?

We didn’t really think Schneider would make any moves this time, expecting reinforcements from within to fix the offense. But we did also say a Nelson deal seemed like something he and Macdonald might consider.

As for running backs, Schneider did not want to pay Walker (who got $14.3 million a year from the Chiefs), but would he consider Taylor more worthy of the big bucks? Taylor is under contract for two more years, at $16 million and $18 million.

Colts owner Carli Irsay-Gordon reportedly does not want to deal Taylor, but would Schneider be interested if she did? We still doubt it – the All-Pro guard was a better move.

Now what about a pass rusher?

The other position Schneider might look at is edge rusher. We wanted him to use the first-round pick on one in April, because back then there were none signed for 2027 (DeMarcus Lawrence will retire). Derick Hall signed an extension later in the offseason, but Uchenna Nwosu is a free agent after this season and Dante Fowler Jr. has not shown enough to be kept.

A deal for a pass rusher could upgrade over Fowler. Ageless wonder Khalil Mack is expected to be traded by the Chargers (the Bears have been heavily linked). Others mentioned by NFL insiders include Josh Sweat (Arizona), Kayvon Thibodeaux (NY Giants) and Josh Uche (Miami).

And what about Maxx Crosby? Schneider has tried to get him a couple times previously, so it would not be a surprise if he called Raiders GM John Spytek again (they did the Geno Smith trade last year).

Klint Kubiak’s Raiders got off to a hot 3-0 start against some bad teams, but they have faded with four straight losses to contending teams. After the Jets this week, they face the 49ers before the trade deadline. If they are 3-6 at that time, would they be willing to revisit a Crosby trade?

Crosby has come back healthy this season at age 29, and he has two sacks and 25 pressures. He is signed for three more years at about $28.4 million a year. He would cost about $1.7 million a week for the rest of this season. The Hawks would need to adjust that a bit to fit him, but they could make it work.

Imagine what fans would be saying about Schneider if he ended up with both Nelson and Crosby.