Rams stole dream prospect from Seahawks in 2023 NFL Draft thanks to Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll had some special magic in the early 2010s. The Seattle Seahawks were trending downward when Carroll came to Seattle in 2010 to run the team along with general manager John Schneider. Carroll and Schneider reworked the roster hundreds of times in the early going of their tenure to try to reshape Seattle's future.

They were successful, of course, and through it all, Carroll had the final say over all the roster moves. This continued until the day Carroll was removed from his duties after the 2023 season.

In other words, if Carroll wanted a player or to address a certain position group then Schneider could give his input but Carroll had the final word. Would Schneider have wanted to take running backs in the second round of back-to-back NFL drafts, for instance? He might not have but Carroll did and so Seattle chose Kenneth Walker III in 2022 and Zach Charbonnet in 2023.

Pete Carroll is likely the reason the Seahawks did not draft this dream pick in 2023

One area that did not seem to have priority for Carroll was the defensive line. The issue with that was ahead of the 2023 draft a glaring need for Seattle was to choose an interior defensive lineman who could help stop the run but also get interior pass rush. Seattle signed Jarran Reed and Dre'Mont Jones in 2023 free agency, but Reed was over 30 years old and clearly a short-term option.

While Seattle was taking another running back high in the 2023 draft, the Los Angeles Rams were taking defensive tackle Kobie Turner in the third round at pick 89 overall. Seattle initially had choice 83 but traded back with the Denver Broncos to the fourth-round and pick 108. Sure, Schneider was the one to finalize the trade with Denver, but no moves would have been made without the approval of Carroll.

Turner turned in a rookie season in 2023 where he finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, had 9 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and 8 tackles for loss. With pick 108, Seattle chose right guard Anthony Bradford who was not good in his rookie season and could easily be beaten out by 2024 pick Christian Haynes for the starting right guard spot this coming season.

Seattle could have also chosen Byron Young instead of Charbonnet in the second round but the Rams took the linebacker in round three and Young had 8 sacks while being used mostly in depth at edge rusher. Seattle could have passed on Derick Hall in round two and chosen Young, too.

Because Seattle did not address the defensive line early in the 2023 draft and the line was not good at the beginning of the season, Seattle traded for Leonard Williams and gave up a second-round choice in 2024. Williams was good for Seattle, but the need to add him might not have been present had Carroll and the Seahawks had a different approach in the draft. An approach that could have netted Seattle, instead of the Rams, Kobie Turner.

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