The Seahawks absolutely have to solve their defensive woes this season, and Will Anderson is the absolute best solution. The Hawks can guarantee themselves this top pick; here's how.
It's no secret that the Seahawks needed to bolster their defense this off-season. They've already taken several big steps in the right direction with their acquisitions in the free agent market. Landing defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones was a huge win for the Hawks. I'm not minimizing the additions of Jarran Reed, Devin Bush, and Julian Love, but bringing back Bobby Wagner is a gigantic win for Seattle, both the team and the 12s.
But it's not enough. Happily, the Seahawks have a bevy of top draft picks this year. If things go as well as we expect at Lumen Field, they won't have a draft with this potential again for at least a decade. With two picks in the first and second rounds, the Hawks are in a position to repeat - or even better - the wild success they had in the 2022 draft. There's no better way to kick off that success than by drafting Will Anderson, the phenomenal defensive end from Alabama. The only problem with that plan is that Seattle has the fifth pick, and at least two of the teams ahead of them also need defensive help. So, what can poor little Pete and John do? I have a few ideas, gang.
Plan one: Seahawks fake out the league
I'll admit right now this is the stupidest idea and the least likely to work. Then again, the Seahawks don't have to hoodwink smart people like the 12s. They just have to fool a couple of... oh, let's be charitable and say less-than-genius-level GMs. Let's get real, here. No one would expect Texans GM Nick Caserio or Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort to survive into the second round of Jeopardy - not even a football edition.
So, the least likely scenario is to pull a bait and switch. The Hawks will need to hype a player they have less interest in and downplay their desire to bring Will Anderson into the fold. Whether or not this was their intention, they've already laid the groundwork for this nefarious scheme. The Hawks completed a quartet of high-profile selfies with each of the top four quarterback draftees. As Bob Condotta wrote in his article for the Seattle Times, it doesn't hurt to keep everyone guessing. Despite the Hawks obvious need for defensive help, they certainly could take a QB with the fifth pick. As John Schneider said when asked about these visits, franchise quarterbacks don't grow on trees.
It doesn't hurt the Hawks case for subterfuge that they also had a visit with the other top defensive player in the 2023 draft, Jalen Carter. The fact that they met with Carter a week ago and waited until the last possible day to meet Will Anderson could play into the marrative that Carter is their primary target. Less astute GMs may read their meeting with Anderson as the Hawks simply doing their due diligence. While I'm certainly glad that Seattle met with Carter, I'd definitely rather see Anderson in navy, gray, and action green.
Plan two: Seahawks hope the Cardinals are still stupid
Now for this to work, the four teams picking ahead of the Hawks obviously can't take Mr. Anderson. If that name invokes images of incredible skill, you remember the Matrix quite well. When the Hawks draft him - and they will - I'll refer to him only as The One. So, back to business. The current draft order is Panthers, Texans, Cardinals, Colts, then the Seahawks. It's no secret that Carolina traded up for the Bears' top pick to grab a QB. The Texans need a quarterback as well. So far, so good. That leaves just two problems for Seattle: Arizona and Indianapolis.
The Colts are a bit of a wild card but are still expected to go after a quarterback with the fourth pick. I mean, Matt Ryan, Nick Foles? Please. That leaves the Cardinals as the main stumbling block between the Seahawks and Will Anderson. Arizona is enamored with QB Kyler Murray, despite the fact that he's coming off his worst season ever. He's also coming off an ACL injury and is expected to miss several games this season. Despite that, the Cards are committed to Murray for at least the next two seasons. His dead cap space for 2023 is over $97 million and over $81 million in 2024, so there's no way the Cards will invest in a QB in this draft.
Add that the Cardinals lost both J.J. Watts and Zach Allen this off-season, and it's obvious they need to shore up their defensive line. Arizona did add L.J. Collier to their roster, but as far as Seattle is concerned, that amounts to addition by subtraction. If the Cards don't draft either Anderson or Carter with that third pick, they might as well rehire Steve Keim and just phone in another decade. Bring back Kliff while you're at it, too.
So the question amounts to this: will the Cardinals draft Carter, the man with as many red flags as tackles for loss? Or will they go for the more certain prospect, Anderson? Maybe, just maybe, the fact that Carter is more similar in size to both Allen and Watt will push the Cards toward him. They played around 285 or 290, and Carter weighs in at 314. Well, he does when he bothers to work out. Anderson is much smaller, at 243 pounds. Still, I can't trust the Cardinals to continue their stupidity. The new guys can't be as bad as the old ones, right?
Plan three: Seahawks do what we all expect and trade up
There's been quite a bit of buzz that the Hawks and Cards will swap picks, I really can't see that happening, especially as both teams are looking at the same players. I think it's much more likely that Seattle would find a very willing trade partner in Houston. The Texans have a lot of needs, and the Seahawks have a lot of picks. Sounds like a workable situation to me.
One reason I see this as a very plausible deal is that Houston could still get one of the prizes on their wish list at the fifth pick. As I wrote earlier, they need a quarterback in Houston. Let's see how this could play out if the Seahawks move up to two. If the Panthers take Stroud at one, the Hawks get their guy Anderson at two. Again, the Cardinals aren't going for a QB, so they take Carter (or another defender, but certainly not a quarterback). That leaves the Colts to take Young or Richardson at four, and the Texans can then take the last of the big three. Or Levis, if they're also stupid. Or they could take another great defender and snap up Levis at 12, which would be more reasonable. Either way, Houston accomplishes what they need in the first round, and picks up whatever Seattle offers as well.
So many sources have reported that the Texans are receiving trade offers for that second pick, the rest of this article would be a maelstrom of links if I cited them all. Suffice it to say that they're getting more offers than Tyler Lockett has career touchdowns. Okay, maybe not quite that many, but you get the idea. Houston GM Nick Caserio has already stated that they're listening to all offers. We know all GMs will say all sorts of crazy stuff before the draft, but in this case, it makes sense. The Seahawks are by far in the best position to make the trade work.
First, with 10 picks in the draft, including two each in the first and second rounds, Seattle has a ton of draft capital. Yes, Houston has 12 picks, but five of those are in the fifth and sixth rounds. The Hawks could dangle their second pick of the second round, number 52, along with other treats for the talent-hungry Texans. Second, Houston would only drop three slots in the draft with Seattle, as opposed to a possible trade with Las Vegas for the seventh pick, or an even bigger drop with whoever else they might trade with. Third, the Seahawks aren't looking at the same players as the Texans.
Sure, it's possible that Houston goes for Anderson or Carter, but they currently have Davis Mills, Case Keenum, and E.J. Perry on their roster. Yeah, sure, of course, they'll pass on a quarterback. I mean, maybe the Texans are that stupid after all.