3 Up, 3 Down: Biggest Winners, Losers For Seahawks Following 2022 NFL Draft

Now that the dust has settled, Ty Dane Gonzalez looks at the three biggest winners and losers for the Seahawks following the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Seahawks have just about completed all the heavy lifting for this franchise-altering offseason they've undertaken. Free agency—albeit still featuring several high-profile names—is in its latter stages and the 2022 NFL Draft has been fulfilled, with Seattle making nine selections over the course of the three-day event. 

After dealing star quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos and cutting ties with future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner, the Seahawks' front office focused the majority of their free agency efforts on retaining their own. That, along with the limitations of having $44.5 million of dead money on the books, made their available funds disappear in a hurry, resulting in just a handful of outside additions—only two of which were of the multi-year variety. 

However, more long-term help eventually came via the draft. With one of the five picks acquired from Denver in the Wilson trade, Seattle general manager John Schneider and his staff made just their second top-10 selection since he and head coach Pete Carroll started calling the shots in the Pacific Northwest. 

They added eight more prospects after that, spending the majority of their capital on premium positions with an emphasis placed on shoring up the trenches. These nine picks in total addressed just five areas of the Seahawks' roster, which is great news for many and terrible for others. 

Now that the dust has settled, let's talk about those who were positively impacted by Seattle's draft and those who seemingly got the short end of the stick.

Winners

Drew Lock and Geno Smith

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Seahawks' draft—aside from the players they brought in, of course—is the fact they did not select a quarterback with any of their nine picks. Add in several draft-week reports that the team has no interest in acquiring quarterback Baker Mayfield from the Browns, it would appear that Wilson's immediate successor in Seattle will either be Lock or Smith. 

Austin Blythe

The Seahawks addressed both of their tackle spots during the draft but did not select someone who can play in the interior of their offensive line. That bodes well for Blythe's chances of starting at center this fall as he reunites with former Rams coaches Shane Waldron and Andy Dickerson.

Cody Barton

The Seahawks have publicly aired a vote of confidence in Barton, but their actions during the draft spoke even louder than their words. Despite having multiple opportunities to select one of this year's top off-ball linebacker prospects, Seattle refused to pull the trigger and will instead let the fourth-year man out of Utah try to fill the large shoes of the departed Wagner. 

Losers

Chris Carson

Carson's future with the Seahawks was up in the air beforehand, but the draft made it all but certain he's seen the last of his days in the Pacific Northwest. In the wake of Seattle using one of its second-round picks to take Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III, Carroll was noncommittal when speaking about Carson's recovery from a December neck surgery. Notably, the team can save $4.6 million towards the salary cap by releasing him after June 1. 

Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan

The selections of tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas have put a ton of pressure on Forsythe and Curhan. Barring injury, Cross is going to be the Seahawks' starting left tackle right out of the gate, so it will come down to either Forsythe or Curhan being able to beat out Lucas on the right side this summer. 

Artie Burns

Burns still has a decent chance to start for the Seahawks in Week 1, but his odds were certainly higher before draft week. Even if the team is cautious with the recovery of Tre Brown (patellar tendon), the arrivals of rookie cornerbacks Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen complicate things for Burns. Woolen less so due to his rawness as a recent convert from receiver, but the accomplished Bryant should be deep in the mix.