Seattle Seahawks: 3 things we learned from the 2021 season

Draft picks showing promise

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have endured criticism for their recent drafts. When Pete and John first took over this Seahawks team, they were able to build a championship team fast. Primarily by building through the draft.

They were able to hit on many late rounders, Russell Wilson is one of them, and because of that, were able to spend some money in free agency on impactful players. But, as of late, they have been ridiculed for some of their first-round selections.

I am not saying they have drafted extremely well, but I also don’t think the hatred is warranted or fair. If you look at the Seattle Seahawks this year, they have had many of their young players who were drafted within the last couple of years flash some of their potential. Of course, the primary one is Rashaad Penny as he was a first-round pick back in 2018. But, also 2nd-year player, LB Jordyn Brooks who was also a first-round pick.

When people discuss Seattle and their draft struggles, they seem to always ignore Jordyn Brooks and skip over the fact that he just finished 2nd in the NFL for total tackles (184). Not to mention that in Week 18 he tied a franchise record for most tackles in a single game (20). There is no denying that his future is bright.

LB Cody Barton was drafted back in 2019, showed some promise over the last two weeks filling in for Bobby Wagner. 2021 draft pick LB Darrell Taylor, played exceptional in his first year, finishing with 6.5 sacks. Another player who has already been mentioned numerous times, 2018 draft pick Rasheem Green, also finished with 6.5 sacks.

CB Tre Brown showed very good signs in the limited amount of games he played. I believe Seattle will look to use him as a starter next season. S Marquise Blair is another player who has shown flashes of potential. Seattle likes to use him at nickel back. On the offensive side, RT Jake Curhan turned a lot of heads with impressive play down the stretch. G Damien Lewis is going to be a cornerstone of this offensive line for years to come.

My point is that the criticism on Seattle’s draft abilities has been misconstrued. I know the majority of that has surrounded the talk around the Jamal Adams trade and how New York now has 2 top 10 picks when Seattle could certainly use a top 10 pick.

But, there are other teams who have invested more into their futures with way less payoff. The Seahawks will be fine. With a 2nd, 3rd, two 4ths, 5th and 7th, they will have plenty of opportunities to find more diamonds in the rough. The future is bright.