Tag Archives: John Schneider

NFL draft, Trades

McDowell’s ‘unique,’ but is he committed?

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NFL draftThe Seahawks got great value on their first-round trades down Thursday and ended up parlaying their top pick into five selections via three trades. But there’s a reason they moved down three times before drafting inside pass rusher Malik McDowell.

McDowell had an underwhelming 2016 season in which some think he mailed it in, and he did not impress some teams during the pre-draft process. But John Schneider and Pete Carroll really wanted him because of his size (6-6, 295), athleticism and versatility.

“He’s too unique,” Schneider said, comparing him to Calais Campbell, the 6-8 lineman who used to terrorize Russell Wilson as an Arizona Cardinal (and will again as a Jaguar next season). “We’ve been looking for a pass-rushing 3-technique since we’ve been here together.”

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NFL draft, The roster

Pocic more evidence of bad O-line strategy

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NFL draftEthan Pocic is the Seahawks’ league-high 16th offensive lineman drafted since Pete Carroll and John Schneider arrived in 2010. He also is a symptom of why Seattle has failed to put together a functional offensive line.

One scouting report calls Pocic a “five-for-one lineman offering roster flexibility.” The Seahawks love that so much they almost traded up for him — even though they have no idea where they are going to play him.

“He was the one guy that, quite frankly, we were really sweating out because we felt like you’re drafting maybe two and a half players with one guy,” Schneider said. “We debated whether to go up and get him or just wait and sweat it out.”

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NFL draft

Wheeling & dealing sets up ‘a fun weekend’

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NFL draftAs usual, the Seahawks’ draft will start on Day 2. If it seems like we say that every year, it’s because it has been that way in four of the past five drafts.

It’s not a bad way to do business at the bottom of the draft. Like last year, John Schneider & Co. did very well Thursday. Dropping just eight spots, they added another third-rounder, a high fourth and a seventh.

The Hawks have a league-high six picks today — the most Day 2 selections they have had under Schneider — and they have seven of the next 78 picks overall (counting the fourth pick in the fourth round).

As Schneider said, “It’s going to be a fun weekend.”

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Franchise history, NFL draft

Hawks’ drafts went from historic to subpar

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NFL draftJohn Schneider set such a high standard in his first three drafts, it would be nearly impossible to match. So it’s no surprise that he hasn’t.

According to an excellent study put together by The Washington Post using Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value (AV) rating, Schneider’s 2012 draft was the best in 20 years — as measured against expected value (EV). And his 2011 draft was fourth on that list.

That clearly was an impossible level to sustain.

As Schneider joked Monday: “How come that doesn’t happen anymore? What’s your problem, dude?”

The problem was how far the Seahawks dipped for a couple of years. And the hope is the 2016 and 2017 draft classes will bring them out of the slump.

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NFL draft, Trades

Will Schneider trade first pick for sixth straight draft?

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NFL draft“You want to have picks all the way through. You kind of look at Cleveland’s board (11 picks) like, ‘Dang, it’s awesome.’” — John Schneider

John Schneider always wants more draft picks. In his seven Seattle drafts, he has never had fewer than eight. At this point, he has seven for this week’s draft — including an impressive five in the first three rounds — but he seems quite likely to add to his stockpile.

He still could add picks by trading Marshawn Lynch and/or Richard Sherman — although the Oakland Raiders and Lynch still have not worked out a contract and Schneider repeated he is not expecting a Sherman deal.

“We’ve kind of moved past that,” he said Monday, reminding everyone the price for Sherman remains high. “The guy’s one of the top cornerbacks in the league. You don’t just give him away.”

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NFL draft, Trades

‘Quarterbacks are going to drive this draft’

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NFL draftThe problem with drafting in the bottom 10 picks of the first round is you are basically adding a second-round player for first-round money.

That’s largely why John Schneider has traded his first pick in each of the past five drafts — and is very likely to do it again, if the chance arises.

Twice in the last three years, Schneider has leveraged other teams’ desires for quarterbacks to net Seattle extra picks.

In 2014, with the Hawks picking last on the heels of their Super Bowl win, he let Minnesota come up from No. 40 to draft Teddy Bridgewater. He moved down another five spots in the second round and ended up with Paul Richardson, Cassius Marsh, Kevin Norwood and Kiero Small.

In 2016, Schneider got an even better deal, dangling Paxton Lynch to Denver, which paid a third-round pick to move from 31 to 26. The Seahawks used the 31st pick on Germain Ifedi and the third on Nick Vannett.

It looks like that same strategy could be in play again this year.

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State of the team, The roster, Trades

The search for ‘spark’

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Draft -- Schneider and Carroll“I think he’d admit that he had a rough year. So he’s looking for maybe a new spark and he’s either going to find that here in Seattle or he would find it somewhere else, but odds are he’s going to find it here.” 
— John Schneider on Richard Sherman.

That’s the key quote from Schneider’s interview with 710 ESPN on Thursday night.

Schneider also talked about mutual respect, constant communication and “a great relationship” between the Seahawks’ chiefs and the All-Pro cornerback. But the bottom line is in those words: “He had a rough year” and is “looking for maybe a new spark.”

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NFL draft

Draft rumors: More QB bait, first-round TE?

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NFL draftAmid rumors that John Schneider is talking with teams about a possible move up in this draft, he also appears to be prepping for his usual strategy — using a quarterback as bait to move down. But, in need of a backup QB, might he actually draft one?

A couple of years ago, the Seahawks had the chance to use one of their fourth-round picks on UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, who seemed like he could be a perfect guy to groom as Russell Wilson’s backup.

Instead, the Seahawks drafted offensive lineman Terry Poole, who failed to make the team as a rookie or in 2016. And the Hawks moved on from Tarvaris Jackson in 2016, going with undrafted Trevone Boykin as Wilson’s backup.

After Boykin was arrested a few weeks ago, Schneider might be regretting his decision to pass on Hundley, who went to Green Bay in the fifth round of that 2015 draft. The Packers reportedly are poised to move him for a profit next year.

Schneider has been profiting off quarterbacks in the draft for the last few years, which probably explains why the Seahawks hosted Cal QB Davis Webb the other day.

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NFL draft, Trades

Schneider poised to make a few trades?

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NFL draft“Who says we’re picking at 26?” — John Schneider in 2016 (and 2017?).

With the draft two weeks away, it looks like John Schneider could be getting ready to make some big moves.

On top of the Marshawn Lynch trade that seems destined to happen at any time and the potential Richard Sherman deal, Schneider is rumored to be talking to teams about moving up in the first round — which would be a first for him as Seattle’s general manager.

Reports early Thursday indicated the Seahawks and Raiders would end up working out a trade, assuming Lynch and the Raiders worked out a contract. On Thursday night, Lynch sent out a tweet that seemed to indicate he and the Raiders had come to terms, and it was reported as done Friday until Lynch seemed to set everyone straight.

Once it gets “real” with the Raiders, a deal between Seattle and Oakland would seem to be coming shortly after.

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Franchise history, State of the team, X's & O's

Are Hawks capable of building a talented, consistent O-line?

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Pete Carroll has said he wants to create continuity on Seattle’s offensive line.

He said he thinks Seattle’s young guys are going to improve and he hopes Luke Joeckel becomes part of the core. As he said after Joeckel signed, “Now that we have a good young bunch of guys, we’re going to try to keep this thing together.”

It’s debatable whether they have enough good guys yet, but the bigger question as pertains to Carroll’s stated goal: Will they ever be able to keep a quintet together in Tom Cable’s zone blocking system using their scattershot approach?

Whether it’s bad drafting, a bad scheme or just bad luck, Carroll’s Seahawks have had terrible fortune on the offensive line — typically fielding one of the weaker units in the NFL and annually needing to overcome its deficiencies just to get to the playoffs.

Why has it been so terrible? John Schneider and the coaches have consistently pointed to the disconnect between college and NFL offenses and the CBA-mandated lack of practice time.

But every team faces those issues. For Seattle, it has been more than that. It has been a complete inability to field a healthy, consistent line — and a total failure to set up a line of succession.

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