Seattle Seahawks should have 11 NFL Draft picks this year
By Keith Myers
Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider likes high volume drafting in the NFL Draft. Having lots of picks lets him take some risks. Even if some don’t work out, the team still picked up a bunch of other guys. Its a strategy that has worked very well for him since taking over in Seattle.
Typically, that means trading down on draft day early and often in order to acquire more picks. The Seahawks traded down twice last season before finally making their first pick. While I always expect Schneider to trade down, he doesn’t have to this year. The Seahawks will head into the draft with 11 draft picks.
Here is how it breaks down for Seattle:
- All teams have 7 native picks each year, one in each round.
- The Seahawks traded their sixth round pick for CB Marcus Burley
- Seattle will get a pick in return for WR Percy Harvin, likely a fifth round pick.
- The Seahawks should get four compensatory picks this year for players who left in free agency last season.
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That last item is one that is tough for many fans to wrap their heads around. The NFL can award up to 32 picks to teams who lost players in free agency. The exact formula used is a closely guarded secret, but it has been reverse engineered a few times with some accuracy.
The Seahawks lost Golden Tate, Brandon Browner, Clinton McDonald, Walter Thurmond, Breno Giacomini and a few other players in free agency last season. The only significant player they added from another team was Kevin Williams.
Picks are awarded mostly due to contract size, adjusted slightly for playing time and production. Using, previous years as a guide, the Seahawks should be awarded an additional pick in each of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounds.
Overall, taking into account comp picks and trades, that makes Seattle’s list of draft pick look like: 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7. That is a lot of picks, with most coming on the third day of the draft.