Seahawks Draft: First Round Options That Won’t Make me Angry

Predicting a Seattle Seahawks draft pick can be almost impossible, but there are some players who should be available at No. 26 that I’d be happy to see them select.

The Seahawks have traded out of the first round of the NFL Draft in each of the past three seasons, either for players or additional draft picks. In general, I am a proponent of this strategy when picking late in the first round as often the players available don’t match the draft pick value.

The average draft will only have 12-20 prospects with true first round grades, meaning the draft has to fall just right for any of them to be available at the end of the round. If those guys are gone by the time they pick that usually translates to a trade.

With the college All-Star games in the books, these are the players I would stay put and select “with the 26^th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.” Essentially, these are the players I think have first round grades that also have at least a tiny chance to be around by the 26^th selection.

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Noah Spence, EDGE, Eastern Kentucky

Most mock drafts have Spence going before the 26th pick and truthfully he should be a top 10 selection based on talent alone. If his off the field issues push him as low as 26, Seattle should jump at the chance to select this supremely talented pass rusher as a replacement for the likely unaffordable Bruce Irvin.

Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville

A fast riser up media draft boards due to an exceptional week of practice at the senior bowl, Rankins offers special potential as an interior disruptor. He has good balance to go with both speed and power. He may lack a little size and length compared to a normal Seattle DT, but his ability to get into the backfield from the middle of the line would be devastating with Bennett and Avril outside.

Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor

Billings would be an absolute steal at 26, meaning he’ll likely be long gone by then. A powerful “nose tackle” with the speed to play in multiple gaps he could be a fantastic three down player for Seattle. I’d love to see what Pete could do with him and Bennett moving around the line.

Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech

Butler is another defensive lineman that began shooting up media draft boards during Senior Bowl week. He moves like a man 30-40 pounds lighter than he is and again fits the theme of providing three down disruption from the defensive interior. He’s been compared to Mo Wilkerson of the NY Jets.

DeForest Buckner, DL, Oregon

Buckner is a fantastic athlete but a little rawer than the previous names. He would probably play more on a rotational basis until he could improve his consistency as a pass rusher but he has the physical tools to dominate against the run and pass.

Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia

At 6’4” and 230 pounds, Floyd is kind of between a Kam Chancellor and Bruce Irvin in size. He’s got impressive athleticism, speed, and length as an edge rusher. He could play the Irvin role but needs to add a little strength to his game first. He has enough potential to warrant a first round selection for me.

Note: I think Nick Martin could be had in the second round, but for various reasons I wouldn’t be terribly upset if Seattle “reached” for him at the end of the first round. I might be able to be convinced Ryan Kelly or Max Tuerk could fit in this category as well after the combine but I’m not there yet.

Nick Martin, C, Notre Dame

It’s no secret that Seattle needs help all along the offensive line. I think they go after a free agent offensive tackle to go with Garry Gilliam and use the draft to improve the interior of the line. Martin has the requisite size, versatility, and nastiness for a Tom Cable lineman.

I know Schneider recently lamented selecting offensive linemen this early because of all the talent available at other positions that you have to pass up, but I think Martin displays Pro Bowl potential at a position Seattle desperately needs.

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Equally as interesting as the names I listed are some of the names I, perhaps glaringly, left off. I did not put any of the offensive tackles in my list because I only have Laremy Tunsil and Ronnie Stanley as first round talents and there is zero chance they last until the 26

th

pick.

Additionally, there are no defensive backs on my list because Seattle just doesn’t use early round picks on this position (Earl Thomas excluded). It takes time to “indoctrinate” cornerbacks into their system and the risk of failure is too great to potentially waste a first round pick (see every FA cornerback Seattle has ever tried this with). It’s proved much more tenable to draft mid to late-round projects and take a season or two to develop them (Lane, Shead, Maxwell, Sherman, etc).

I left out some of the guys I’m 100% confident will be gone already, such as: Joey Bosa, Myles Jack, Shaq Lawson, Jaylon Smith, and Laremy Tunsil.

Finally, I excluded Robert Nkemdiche because while Seattle is accommodating of off-field “baggage”, I don’t think his production matches his athleticism. I’m just not convinced he loves football enough for Seattle to grade him in the first round. Obviously that’s just my perception and having never interviewed the guy, I could end up 100% wrong.