NFL draft

Schneider needs to make Day 1-2 picks count to finish contender

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Draft Weekend is here!

And John Schneider finds himself in a familiar position — stocked with five picks in the first two days (and 10 overall) as he tries to finish building a contender for a rising coach.

In 2010-13, he and Pete Carroll built a Super Bowl team using three historically awesome drafts and a couple of key free agents to put them over the top by Year 4 of their program.

Thanks to the Russell Wilson blockbuster trade in 2022, Schneider has been putting together another contending roster – and is looking to finish it off for second-year coach Mike Macdonald with a draft that should be very impactful.

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NFL draft

Schneider wants to ‘maneuver’

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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.”

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NFL draft

Draft IQ shows how it could play out

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We’re just days away from the NFL draft, and the Seahawks and the rest of the teams are finalizing their draft boards.

NFL.com has a new tool called Draft IQ that projects the top eight on the big board for each team, using a combination of pre-draft interest, team needs and draft philosophies.

If they stay at 18, who are the Hawks most likely to pick? Which guys in that top eight might still be there? We used the Draft IQ boards to walk through the first round and see how it might play out.

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NFL draft, Trades

Trade talk: Howell, Woolen — who else?

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When the Seahawks brought back Drew Lock last Friday, the first thought that came to mind was: Whither Sam Howell?

With Lock reportedly signed to a two-year deal, it sure seems to put Howell on the trade block.

The Hawks acquired Howell in a pick swap last year, getting a fourth and sixth while giving up a third and fifth. It was not a bad price to pay (equivalent of a fourth-rounder) for a look at a guy who had started a full season in the NFL and might be a possible long-term QB.

But Howell was no competition for Geno Smith and showed very poorly in clearly trying circumstances against the Packers late in the season.

John Schneider had said he looked forward to seeing Howell in Klint Kubiak’s offense because Ryan Grubb’s offense “wasn’t a good setup for him.” But now here comes Lock back, and he seems like as good a fit or better as the backup in Kubiak’s offense, which includes plenty of rollouts and bootlegs.

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NFL draft

Draft notes: WR at 18? No O-line until Round 3?

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For a month now, mock drafters have loved matching the Seahawks with a wide receiver at No. 18 — assuming the team naturally would use its top pick to replace the traded DK Metcalf.

And there is scuttlebutt that the Hawks might indeed be leaning that way. The guy who keeps coming up now is Emeka Egbuka, former Ohio State teammate of Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

But do the Hawks really need to force a receiver pick high in this draft?

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Coaches, Contracts, Trades

Carroll’s return was Geno’s out as he felt ‘disconnect’ in Seattle

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Without saying it out loud, Geno Smith basically confirmed what we always thought: Pete Carroll’s return to the NFL precipitated Smith’s departure from Seattle.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again (along with ESPN’s Brady Henderson): We think Smith very likely would still be in Seattle (under a new deal) if Carroll had not been hired by the Las Vegas Raiders.

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NFL draft

Draft talk: Moving up in Round 2, adding corners and more

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At the NFL meetings this week, John Schneider and Mike Macdonald offered a few draft nuggets – some of which confirm conventional wisdom and others which create questions.

Macdonald said they would take the best player available – offense or defense – with their top pick (18). He also said they would be looking at drafting some cornerbacks, and he gave a lukewarm endorsement of Riq Woolen – a guy we think might be traded at some point this year.

Schneider, meanwhile, said (1) he was laying groundwork for trades with other NFL execs in Florida, (2) he might consider moving up in the draft and (3) the Hawks likely won’t be able to upgrade at center.

Here’s a look at the key draft-related comments from Seattle’s two chiefs and our take on them.

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NFL draft

NFL draft: Top needs, best strategy and what Schneider might do

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While the Seahawks continue to add role players to the bottom of their roster and still might sign a veteran guard later, they are pretty much done in free agency. So all eyes have turned to the draft, which is now a mere three weeks away.

We are not scouts, nor do we pretend to be draft experts. And we certainly have no idea what John Schneider is going to do in three weeks – who does?

But, after checking out consensus boards, seeing what top analysts think of this draft and running through a bunch of scenarios, we have thoughts on the strategy Schneider should/could use.

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Franchise history, NFL draft, The roster

Will Schneider deliver the dream: O-line consistency?

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Whether it has been draft misses, bad (or no) free-agent signings, poor coaching or injuries, Seattle just has not fielded a good offensive line during the majority of John Schneider’s tenure – that’s 15 seasons of mostly bottom-10 rankings.

Despite another whiff in free agency in 2025, Schneider has a chance to turn that around. But he needs to do something he has tried only a couple of times: Create continuity with top talent.

We’d call that living the dream.

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Contracts, Free agency

Hawks saved $30M in 2025 swapping out QB and receivers

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Ever since the Seahawks
essentially swapped Geno Smith, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett for Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp and Marques Valdes-Scantling, plus a couple of Day 2 picks, fans have debated whether the Hawks made a good aggregate deal.

Now that we have numbers on all of Seattle’s contracts, we can compare the money (pending Smith’s new deal with the Raiders).

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