Virtual NFL Draft Could Thwart Seahawks Trade Down Ambitions

Few teams enjoy conducting draft week trades more than the Seahawks. But with general managers, coaches, and scouts forced to work remotely amid the COVID-19 crisis, pulling off such trades could be far more difficult next week.

Widely renowned for their mastery navigating the draft board, few teams move picks more frequently than the Seahawks and general manager John Schneider have over the past decade.

Since signing on back in 2010, Schneider has orchestrated 27 trades during the draft, the sixth-most in the NFL. Seattle has been even more active maneuvering up and down the board over the past four seasons, making 16 trades, tied for third behind only Patriots and Vikings.

A significant chunk of these trades have taken place in the first 32 picks, as the Seahawks haven't selected a player with their native first round choice since guard James Carpenter in 2011. Over the past eight years, they have traded away two first-round selections for Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham along with trading down at least once in the six other drafts.

In each of the past four drafts dating back to 2016, Schneider either traded down a few spots to recoup draft picks or traded out of the first round completely. In those instances, the Seahawks eventually selected tackle Germain Ifedi, defensive tackle Malik McDowell, running back Rashaad Penny, and most recently defensive end L.J. Collier with their first draft pick.

Reportedly with only 16-17 players receiving first round grades for this year's 2020 draft class on Seattle's big board, rumors have already been circulating about Schneider working actively to find a trade down partner less than a week before the draft starts on April 23. Making calls in advance could certainly help such efforts.

But amid unparalleled circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to facilitate draft day trades could prove to be far more difficult this year, even for a mastermind the caliber of Schneider. A process that already is time-sensitive will be further complicated by how teams are conducting this year's event virtually.

Unable to meet at team facilities due to stay-at-home orders by most states, coaches, general managers, and scouts will be operating their war rooms remotely from their homes. When asked about how this setup could impact potential trades, coach Pete Carroll broke down the typical process under normal circumstances.

"I think it's hard for people on the outside to realize how intricate and how timely the urgency is during those moments leading up into your pick, because you have minutes, and then you have a minute, and then you're down to 30 [seconds]," Carroll said in an interview on Sirius XM Radio.

"And what happens is, we have a lot of guys that are talking to other clubs and they're gaining information and there could be a pick coming up where you have four or five teams - this is not uncommon - that you're talking to about wanting the position you're choosing at. They want a player they have in mind at that pick and so they're calling you."

As teams such as the Seahawks consider options while under the gun with precious seconds ticking away, they must weigh what they'd surrender in a trade and what they would receive in return, relying on value charts to help make a decision.

"All of that has to be added up and totaled right at the moment," Carroll elaborated. "And you're looking across the table at a guy who's talking to the other club, and he's scribbling down the numbers and he hands them across to John and we're sitting there looking, 'OK, which way are we going? We've got three cards - which one are we going with?'

If that sounds complicated, now imagine Schneider, Carroll, and Seattle's other key decision makers sitting behind a computer from their homes trying to conduct such business. Instead of being able to talk directly with other key members of the draft team, they will be using an online platform developed by Microsoft to stay connected.

Even with teams scheduled to do a test mock draft on Monday, there's always the chance technology will fail. The NFL will have landlines and e-mail ready in case that happens, but as Carroll noted, if any glitch happens during trade discussions, it could be the difference between adding picks and being forced to select a player when the clock expires.

Given Schneider's talents and his contacts around the league, a trade down shouldn't be ruled out, especially with 10 minutes between selections in the first round. If any front office is built to handle such adjustments on the fly, it's the Seahawks.

But when it comes to negotiating deals after the first round when teams have less time to operate, including seven minutes between second round picks and five minutes between picks in the third through sixth round? Those types of trades may be far fewer in number this year than usual.

On the flip side, Seattle may not need to make as many deals as it did this time a year ago. After having only four draft picks at this time last April, Schneider has seven picks to work with this time around.

"Yeah, that was a disaster wasn't it?" Schneider laughed. “All I was praying on was like ‘okay let’s just get a couple more picks.’ I didn’t figure it was going to be like that.”

Orchestrating six draft weekend trades - seven total once adding in the move sending Frank Clark to Kansas City - Seattle wound up turning five picks into 11 new players, including receiver DK Metcalf.

Bracing for the unknown like the rest of the league, Carroll has no idea what to expect. But as always, he's putting a positive spin on a "fascinating" situation and expects the Seahawks will weather the storm successfully.

"I don't know that it's going to be as much fun because you won't be in the same room with all the guys where all the juice happens and all the energy and you get fired up, people are scrambling and battling and all that and the comments are flying. It'll be different in that regard. But we'll figure it out. We'll get it done."