There is no way Seahawks will stay in the first round of the draft
The mock drafts are everywhere and will keep coming. Forget those that show the Seahawks drafting anyone in the first round. Uh uh. Ain’t happening.
There are plenty of mock drafts floating through the interwebs, and there will be many more every day from now until April 25th. You’ll find almost every mock draft lists the player the Seahawks will take with the 21st pick. There’s a bit of a problem with that. There’s no way Seattle is going to stick with just four draft picks, and that’s all they have right now.
You can’t exactly say the Hawks didn’t receive decent value for the picks they traded away. The second-round pick turned into left tackle Duane Brown, who is easily Seattle’s best offensive lineman. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the fifth-best tackle in the league. Brown is signed through 2021 and will continue to anchor the Seahawks improving line play. As for the other two moves, it’s a mixed bag.
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The sixth-round pick was traded for backup quarterback Brett Hundley. It’s fair to argue they gave too much for a player that would be a free agent in 2019. Hundley was both semi-competent in Green Bay and was inexpensive. And you have to have a backup that can actually play. The Seahawks converted the seventh-round pick into former Washington State Cougar Shalom Luani. He got into twelve games, mostly on special teams, and added depth when both Tedric Thompson and Delano Hill missed time with injuries. Luani is an exclusive restricted free agent, so if Seattle wants him back, they can get him.
All of which is the long way of saying the Seahawks only have picks in the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds in 2019. They still need an edge rusher to complement Frank Clark and Jarran Reed. They may need to replace K. J. Wright, and he proved to be difficult to replace in 2018. Seattle needs to upgrade their offensive line, especially if they let either D.J. Fluker or J.R. Sweezy walk.
We still have questions in the defensive backfield, too. Will Seattle re-sign Salvation Army hero (also slot corner) Justin Coleman? Will Shaquill Griffin continue to grow into the role of the number one cornerback? Is Thompson the long-term answer as Bradley McDougald‘s partner? Those are eight potential positions to fill, and that’s hardly the end of it.
Four draft picks aren’t going to be nearly enough, regardless of how much talent is available on the free agent market. Lower picks get locked in for relatively low dollars. With mega-dollar deals pending for Clark this year, then Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson the next, the Seahawks need to squeeze every penny until it cries for its momma. Well, not Rashaad Penny, but the rest of them. Expect Pete and John to move down early and often.