Seattle Seahawks Draft: The chess game begins at NFL Draft Combine
By Jake Luppino
On day 1 of the NFL Draft Combine, Seahawks fans knew both GM John Schneider and HC Pete Carroll would be bombarded with 2 questions. One is Seattle’s response to the rumors surrounding Russell Wilson wanting both of them fired in February of 2022 (according to The Athletic – and yes, a subscription is required). And two, the status of contract negotiation with pending free agent Geno Smith.
Regarding Russell Wilson, as expected, much wasn’t given. Pete Carroll gave a very Pete Carroll response in discussing how he will always stick by his players, despite things they’ve said or how their tenure might have ended in Seattle. John Schneider shared a similar point of view, referring to the situation as, “water under the bridge”.
As for Geno, both Schneider and Carroll reiterated the sentiments that were given a couple of weeks back, stating talks are going “good” and they are “positive” something will get done. But, speaking of quarterbacks, Schneider and Carroll seemed very excited about this upcoming draft class.
The chess pieces begin to move for the Seahawks at the combine
With drills officially starting on Thursday, March 2 at the NFL Draft Combine, expect this to be the beginning of the rumor mill. Stories get leaked surrounding certain prospects. The hype surrounding certain players blossoms as they partake in the drills at the combine, followed by their pro days.
Certain players sit out at the combine and just perform in their pro days. There is always that one player that wows everyone at the combine with an impressive .40 time or vertical jump. There is always one quarterback who rolls out and drops a dime 40 yards down the field that has Twitter exploding. But, shouldn’t they be accurate when no one is playing defense?
Nonetheless, the point is that a lot of hoopla is going to be spewed over the next couple of weeks. Some, are partially true. But, the majority of it comes from NFL general managers trying to either have a prospect slide in the draft to make it to their pick or move up the boards in an attempt to get another team to trade up for said player.
I always refer to it as a game of chess. For our Seattle Seahawks, they made their first move when discussing quarterbacks. In my opinion, this first chess move is them sending a message to other general managers and a pending free agent.