Ranking the five best Seahawks drafts of the Carroll-Schneider era
Seahawks best draft ever: 2012
Come on now, admit it. At least three of you knew this was going to be my pick as the best draft of the Carroll – Schneider era. Well, make that the best draft ever by the Seahawks. After all, it isn’t every draft that brings you the best quarterback in franchise history and the best linebacker, now is it? Yes, by definition we know that’s true, but let’s not get all pedantic about it.
It’s more than a little bittersweet to name this the best draft in history, as both of our absolute sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Fame stars are now with other teams. The names Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson propel this draft past all the rest. Yet they were far from the only talent the football gods bestowed upon the Hawks.
As great as that duo is, the first pick of the 2012 draft was Bruce Irvin. No, he isn’t going to be in Canton unless he buys a ticket, but he’s had more than a solid career. He was never a monster like Wilson and Wagner, but he did post eight sacks as a rookie despite getting zero starts. He had 8.5 sacks in 2019 and came back home to the Hawks in 2020, but injuries prevented a happy homecoming. He was still a solid pick, even in the first round.
The Seahawks continued their seventh-round magic with guard J. R. Sweezy. He never made the Pro Bowl, but he did get 104 starts out of 117 total games over eight seasons. In his second season in Seattle, Sweezy sat out seven snaps in one game and one snap in another. He only missed four plays over the next two seasons.
There’s a lot to be said for consistency, and Sweezy was consistently good. The average score for the class of 2012 was 4.35, miles beyond the average of any other Hawks draft class. That’s what happens when you have incredible talents like Wagner and Wilson backed up by a strong group like Sweezy and Irvin.
Russell Wilson AAV 12.50
Bobby Wagner AAV 11.00
J.R. Sweezy AAV 5.88
Bruce Irvin AAV 4.00
Next. Three potential draft day trades for the Seahawks. dark
As I wrote earlier, it wasn’t easy to skip over the 2019 draft. After all, it did bring us DK Metcalf. Even with the uncertainty surrounding Rashaad Penny – is he really this good, finally – the 2018 draft gave us Rasheem Green and Michael Dickson, the best punter since that Ray Guy guy. I admit I have a soft spot for the 2017 haul with Shaquill Griffin, then both David Moore and the great Chris Carson in the seventh round. I don’t think we’ll ever match the 2012 draft, but if we can slide the 2022 draft in the top five, we’ll all be happy little 12s.