Ranking the last 10 Seahawks first-round draft picks in the NFL draft
Seattle has missed on about half of its most recent first-round picks.
By Lee Vowell
Since the Seattle Seahawks were pretty good for most of the 2010s, they have a different kind of recent first-round draft history than most teams. Plus, couple that with general manager John Schneider's tendency to trade back and sometimes completely out of the first round, and since 2010 Seattle has only had 11 first-round selections. Some have been very good, though others have been horrible.
One player I am leaving out of this list was the first pick Seattle had in 2010 which was Russell Okung who the team chose with the number six overall pick. Okung was not a bad player and even made the Pro Bowl in 2012. But he never quite met expectations. He would have been Seattle's first-round choice 11 picks ago and would have ranked in the middle of the players that follow.
A couple of players on the list likely would move up in the ranking if I re-wrote this in a few years. It may also say something about the Seahawks' decision with first-round selections in that of the 10 players listed, only three remain on the current roster, and all of those from the previous two drafts. Hopefully, whoever is chosen in the first round in 2024 will work out better than most.
Ranking the last 10 first-round selections for the Seattle Seahawks
No. 10 - L.J. Collier, defensive lineman (2019, pick 29)
Why spend much time on Collier? He somehow started all 16 games in 2020 and in his entire five-year career he has started a total of 17. He proved incapable of rushing the passer, was not good against the run, went from full-time starter to outcast, and was finally signed by some other poor sap of a team (the Arizona Cardinals). Thankfully, Seattle traded back to get Collier instead of thinking he was worthy of a really high pick.
No. 9 - James Carpenter, guard (2011, pick 25)
Carpenter turned out to not be a bad player in the NFL, but he just wasn't overly good with Seattle. For whatever reason, he truly became quite good after he left Seattle in 2015 and joined the New York Jets. By far his best years were his first two in New York. Otherwise, it's almost as if someone else - someone much less efficient as a blocker - was wearing Carpenter's uniform during the rest of his career.
The left guard was oft-injured or simply a backup with Seattle. Only one season (2013) did he play the entire year but he only started 10 games. His progress might have been slowed by starting at right tackle and then flipping to the other side of the line to play guard. That seems to be a weird experiment, but sadly, then-offensive line coach Tom Cable did strange things like that.