A Brief History of John Schneider and 1st Round Picks

2013

In one of John Schneider’s only gaffes as Seattle’s general manager, Schneider gave away the 25th overall selection in a trade for then Viking WR Percy Harvin. Schneider then promptly gave the electric wideout a 6 year, 67 million dollar contract extension to keep the pending free agent in Seattle.

However, Harvin failed to deliver on his immense potential, as character issues, Darrell Bevell’s stubborn desire to keep unnecessarily feeding Harvin the football, and repeated injuries led to him only playing six games during his two seasons in Seattle.

It’s fitting that his two defining moments of his brief tenure in the Pacific Northwest were his kickoff return TD in Super Bowl XLVIII that put the game out of reach and his refusal to re-enter a week six game against Dallas during Seattle’s comeback attempt because he was unhappy about his lack of touches in the passing game.

Harvin was shipped to the Jets in return for a conditional late round pick in 2015. After Harvin got released by the Jets, the pick ended up being a 6th rounder that was eventually traded to Washington in order to move up and take Tyler Lockett. Harvin is now retired after a failed stint in Buffalo.

Had Schneider been on his game, some players that would have been available to Seattle if they hadn’t traded out of the round were Clemson wideout DeAndre Hopkins who went 27th, Purdue defensive tackle Kawann Short, who fell into round two, or Wisconsin center Travis Frederick, who Dallas chose at 31.

Next: 2014: trade, and another trade

2014

Fresh off of their Super Bowl XLVIII triumph, Schneider decided that he didn’t like their options at 32, so they traded down with Minnesota for the second straight draft. Seattle received Minnesota’s second and fourth round picks in exchange for the 32nd pick. The Vikings used the pick to take top QB prospect Teddy Bridgewater, who led Minnesota to a division title last season.

Seattle ended up trading back a second time, eventually drafting Colorado WR Paul Richardson. When healthy, Richardson has flashed the ability to be a consistent deep threat, so the jury is still out on his selection.

However, Richardson has been badly bitten by the injury bug during his time in Seattle. With the 108th pick, the Seahawks took UCLA DE Cassius Marsh. Next year will be a big year for Marsh. He will be competing to help fill the void at SAM linebacker that was recently vacated by Bruce Irvin. Marsh has been a key contributor on special teams, but he has yet to assert himself on the defensive side of the ball.

Next: The year of the TE