Armed With Multiple High-Value Picks, Seahawks Excited For Rare Opportunity in 2022 NFL Draft

With the stunning trade of Russell Wilson, Seahawks general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll bet on themselves. Now stocked with an abundance of draft capital acquired for their former star quarterback, the longtime duo is chomping at the bit for the chance to put their money where their mouth is.

RENTON, Wash. — The last time the Seahawks picked in the top-10 of the NFL draft, head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider were just settling into their current positions. Reaping the benefits of the previous regime's shortcomings, the eventual longtime duo made their first draft pick together in 2010 at slot No. 6, taking offensive tackle Russell Okung out of Oklahoma State.

Since then, Seattle has gone on to appear in two Super Bowls, winning one, while posting the sixth-highest winning percentage (61.9 percent) in the NFL. Before trades, the organization has sat as low as No. 32 in a particular draft and no higher than No. 12. 

Now a dozen years removed from the day Okung's name was called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the Seahawks have returned to the top half of the draft order—but not as a result of their first sub .500 season since 2011. The No. 10 pick derived from their failures instead belongs to the Jets as part of the trade that sent safety Jamal Adams to the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 2020. Alternatively, Seattle will pick one spot ahead of New York with the No. 9 pick acquired from Denver in return for star quarterback Russell Wilson.

Naturally, dealing away someone of Wilson's fame has marked a seismic shift for the Seahawks as a franchise. With exactly one week to go until the 2022 NFL Draft kicks off in Las Vegas, Nevada, Schneider and Carroll are essentially stepping into uncharted waters, with the former joking that neither one of them "know what do with [their] hands." 

But while the gravity of their upcoming decisions is immense, Seattle's leading men cannot help but be enthusiastic about the challenges ahead.

"There is definitely an excitement about this," Carroll expressed during his joint press conference with Schneider on Thursday afternoon. "... There's only so many things that can happen when you're picking 25th and 28th and down, there's a million scenarios. This is not like that; it's a little different. So there's a different level of excitement about the opportunity."

As to be expected, Schneider has left the door open for a potential trade back. 

"We may pick at nine, we may not," Schneider floated. "We don't know yet. We're gonna do whatever we can to help this football team as much as we possibly can."

While this is by no means a confirmation that Seattle is planning to work its way down the draft order next week, one could certainly find the merits of doing so. Very little is set in stone with this year's draft class, particularly in the top-10. It's a highly talented group, but one that lacks a consensus No. 1 player and has a lot riding on the fate of a divisive class of quarterbacks.

That, paired with a potential return that would almost certainly include at least one other premium draft pick, creates an attractive proposition for a team in the Seahawks' position. Despite their stated emphasis on competing in 2022, there are clear holes littered across their roster, including the chasm opened at quarterback by Wilson's stunning departure. 

Essentially, Schneider and his staff have been provided with a blank canvas, free to paint the future of their organization as it comes to them. There are an infinite number of possibilities and routes they can go down, and it doesn't just stop with their first selection.

The Seahawks not only have the Broncos' first-round pick, but their second as well—slotted at No. 40, just one pick ahead of Seattle's own second-rounder. Schneider and company may opt to stay put and take advantage of the rare chance to select a pair of prospects back-to-back. But they may also trade down from one or both of them, or use them to trade back into the mid-to-late first round. 

"That was a big part of the [Wilson] trade," Schneider noted. "To have that flexibility with the second draft pick, especially in this year's draft with the way things look to us. But it does give you flexibility in picking back-to-back or moving around if we deem necessary."

Historically speaking, trade-ups into the first round are commonly made for quarterbacks. The Seahawks have been on the opposite end of such deals before, including 2013 when they traded pick No. 32 to the Vikings, who used the selection to take Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. 

Ultimately, all eyes are glued to Seattle, eagerly waiting to see how it approaches the quarterback position. And after what will be roughly seven weeks of rampant speculation in the wake of Wilson's exit, some clarity will finally be given starting next Thursday.