Seahawks did not give up too much in trade for Jamal Adams

The Seattle Seahawks traded for safety Jamal Adams on Saturday. But Seattle gave up a lot in return for him. Was it too much?

The Seahawks and the Jets agreed on a trade on Saturday that should change the fortunes of both teams. Seattle received First-Team All-Pro strong safety Jamal Adams for a bunch of picks and Bradley McDougald. Did Seattle give up too much to get Adams?

No.

Here is what the Jets got from the Seahawks:

Safety Bradley McDougald

2021 first round pick

2022 first round pick

2021 third round pick

Here is what the Seahawks got from the Jets:

Safety Jamal Adams

2022 fourth round pick

So, yes. Seattle did give up a lot to get Adams. But let’s look at it this way. Seattle stinks at first-round picks, usually trades out of the first round to get more picks and none of those choices that they pick up are guaranteed to be very good. But Adams is a special talent.

In the 2020 NFL draft, Seattle chose linebacker Jordyn Brooks. Hopefully, Brooks will be a starter by 2021 and play for Seattle for several seasons and be productive. But if he does, that would mean he would be the first Seahawks first round pick to be consistently productive since 2012 when Seattle took Bruce Irvin.

Since 2012, Seattle has chosen Germain Ifedi in 2016 (no longer with the team and not a very good right tackle), Rashaad Penny in 2018 (has not maintained any successful consistency in his career so far and is likely to start 2020 on the PUP list recovering from a knee injury), L.J. Collier in 2019 (a bust in his rookie season but might still be OK) and Brooks.

One could look at Adams as Seattle’s first-round choice in 2021 and obviously he is worth that. Adams is also signed through 2021 and could be extended beyond that. Seattle has time to make that decision and work out a deal; There is no rush.

Giving up the 2022 first-round pick will limit the Seahawks ability to trade down and pick up more choices, which Seattle almost always does. But this draft is a year and a half away and a lot of things can change before that and general manager John Schneider is smart enough to add more picks one way or another.

The most harmful pick that Seattle loses in 2021 could be the third round pick. As it stands right now, the Seahawks have just five choices in 2021 with a pick in the second round, fourth round, fifth round and two in the seventh. This leaves Seattle with a very backend of the draft to add depth to future rosters.

Still, like every NFL team, the Seahawks window of opportunity to win a championship is relatively short. Adams makes the defense immensely better for at least the next two years. While a franchise has to look beyond two years in the big picture for long-term success, Seattle also owes Russell Wilson a chance to win a Super Bowl this year and next and getting Adams does just that.