John Schneider and Pete Carroll arrived in Seattle together in 2010 and quickly put together a Super Bowl-winning roster for the Seahawks. In addition to serving as head coach, Carroll also held the title of vice president of football operations. As such, he was intimately involved in all matters relating to roster construction.
Under a normal structure, the GM calls the shots when it comes to drafting, but in Seattle for more than a decade, it was more of a two-man operation. If there was disagreement, Carroll usually got the final word.
The Seahawks certainly swung and missed on their share of picks during the Carroll/Schneider years (D’Wayne Eskridge, anyone?), but overall, they did pretty well compared to the rest of the league. In Carroll’s final two drafts with Seattle, the team added about a dozen players who are currently starting. That includes stars like Devon Witherspoon, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Charles Cross, and Kenneth Walker.
Seattle Seahawks must stick to these rules in the 2025 NFL draft
Of the 19 players selected in the 2022 and 2023 drafts, 17 made the roster as rookies, while the other two were signed to the practice squad. Then Carroll departed.
2024 was the first season in which Schneider made all the selections without having Carroll next to him. He had eight picks. One of them, sixth-rounder D.J. James, did not make the team and was not signed to the practice squad. That may not seem like a big deal, but I cannot remember the last time a draft pick was not at least carried on the practice squad for part of his rookie season. It’s not a good sign.
What’s worse is that the other seven rookies chosen by Schneider had a negligible impact on the team in 2024. Top pick Byron Murphy, Jr. was OK, as was A.J. Barner in limited doses. Tyrice Knight probably had the best season of the lot. Knight, Murphy, and Barner all could have bright futures. As for the other four – three offensive linemen and one defensive back – only the most rose-colored of glasses sees a bright future for them. Possible? Sure. Likely? (Shoulder shrug emoji.)
If we dive in on PFF ratings, the picture grows particularly dim for Schneider’s first draft class sans Carroll, so I won’t bore you with numbers. Suffice it to say, fans have reason to be concerned. Seattle has the most average of draft positions in 2025.
They pick right in the middle of the first round. After a little bit of wheeling and dealing, they come out with a pretty standard number of picks. All eyes will be on Schneider and his scouting department to see if they can rebound from a blasé 2024.
With that in mind, I’m here to help. I hereby offer the three following rules for John Schneider (or any GM, for that matter) to follow. Doing so will raise the chances of this being a solid draft class and not … a redux of 2024.
Rule #1: Do not panic when the run starts
Every year it seems that some position sees a run in the early rounds. This is most obvious at quarterback, where frantic buyers might see their options dwindling and desperately grab at whoever is left. That’s how Mac Jones goes number 15 overall.
In 2024, it was offensive tackles. Valuable position. A lot of teams are looking. Eight tackles were drafted in round one of the 2024 draft. The first few – Joe Alt, JC Latham, and Olu Fashanu – were projected to go high. Opinion was divided over the ones who came late in the round. Some analysts did have players like Jordan Morgan and Tyler Guyton rated as first-rounders. Some did not.
As rookies, the final three picks (Morgan, Guyton, and Troy Fautanu) did not have especially good campaigns. Guyton was pressed into service with the Cowboys. He was not exactly a train wreck, but he didn’t play very well either. Morgan and Fautanu barely played at all.
This was extended into the second round when four more tackles were selected. Three of them – Patrick Paul, Blake Fisher, and Kingsley Suamataia – had some of the lowest PFF ratings of any tackle in the league. Just to show that no system is foolproof, the fourth second-round tackle, Roger Rosengarten, had a very solid first year in Baltimore. That notwithstanding, when you chase after a position that is experiencing a run, you generally end up with poor value.
Rule #2: Don’t trade up in the early rounds
Obviously, there have been examples of teams trading up in early rounds and hitting home runs. Last year, Detroit moved from 29 to 24 in a trade with Dallas and grabbed Terrion Arnold, who became a valuable cornerback for the Lions.
But here’s the thing. Dallas used the two picks they received in return to get the aforementioned Tyler Guyton, who may or may not turn out to be a legitimate left tackle, and Cooper Beebe, who became Dallas’ starting center as a rookie. In other words, even though Detroit is probably happy with the deal, Dallas still has two starters compared to Detroit’s one.
That’s just the nature of the NFL draft. It’s a numbers game. Or a dart throw. And you want to have more darts than the next guy because more darts means you have a better chance of nailing a bulls-eye. That’s what happened when Minnesota traded up in the first round last year with Jacksonville. The Vikings wanted edge rusher Dallas Turner at 17. They got him and he was mediocre. Maybe he’ll get better. Maybe not.
Jacksonville moved back to 23 and picked receiver Brian Thomas, Jr. As in “Pro Bowler” Brian Thomas, Jr. They also got kick returner Keilan Robinson on day three. He may never do anything. He doesn’t have to in order for it to be a good trade for the Jags. Though it is possible to clean up by trading up, I’d avoid it.
The odds are not in your favor. (And notice I am not even using slam dunks like the huge trade-ups for the likes of Trey Lance and Bryce Young in recent years. But feel free to consider them if you like.)
Rule #3: Do not fear the double-down
Let me take you back to 2002. You must remember. It was a big year for Nelly, Ja Rule, and Ashanti. But Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” was the top song of the year. Over in the world of football, the Philadelphia Eagles had three picks in the top 60 of the draft. They took defensive backs each one.
What made it truly stunning was that the 2001 Philadelphia Eagles had not one – not two – but three defensive backs on their team who made All-Pro. That’s right, three-quarters of their defensive backfield were All-Pros, and they still tripled down in the first two rounds of the 2002 draft.
Those three DBs – Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, and Sheldon Brown – combined to start 217 games for Philly over 20 combined seasons. More importantly, they helped ensure that the Eagles would have just one losing record over the ten following years and would go to the playoffs in seven of them.
If that’s ancient history for you, the Rams – drafting after the Seahawks – doubled down on defensive linemen in the first two rounds of the 2024 draft. Their first-round pick, Jared Verse, just won DROY. Their second-rounder, Braden Fiske, had 8.5 sacks as a rookie. They won the division. (You probably remembered that.) The point is – you don’t need to spread your picks among a lot of positions. Your only requirement is to get impactful players. The rest will work itself out.