In my final Seattle Seahawks mock draft before the real deal on Thursday, I am taking one last swing at trading back. The hope is to walk away with three solid players in the first three rounds, without trading too far back and losing the chance at a potential star. It's a difficult path, but if done right, the Seahawks could be a legitimate contender almost immediately.
Seattle might also be able to find a lot of trade partners wanting to move up in the draft. I don't have the Green Bay Packers listed below, but they are certainly an option as well. The point is trying to get a second-round choice back which I was able to do.
The fun part of the draft for 12s this year is that there is no way of knowing what Seattle will do. General manager John Schneider is fully in charge for the first time since he came to the team in 2010. Anything can happen.
Seattle Seahawks pull off a first round trade
When looking to trade back, I've always believed that (using the Rich Hill Trade Value Chart), I want to walk away between a plus 15-25 if I'm going to be giving up on the talent that will be available at pick #16. In this trade, the Seahawks walk away at +22 on the value. This looks like a great deal for Seattle, so why would Dallas make this jump?
When looking to make a trade back, I wanted to hunt the desperate teams. Teams that felt they were a move away from a Super Bowl, or were foolish enough to think that. Enter the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas is coming off one of the most embarrassing playoff losses in NFL history, has a coach on the hottest of hot seats, a quarterback that can't quite get over the hump, and an aging owner that is desperately chasing 30 year old ghosts of past glory.
With Dallas, they may feel that they are a true #2 wide receiver away or need that offensive tackle to hold up along the trenches as they try to hold onto their potentially fading championship dreams.
So, Seattle obliges and moves back 8 spots while collecting an extremely valuable top 60 pick. The pick that was lost trading for Leonard Williams now feels like an aftermath when you consider Seattle has re-signed Williams, hired a coach that should put him in a better position to succeed, and found a way to get back into round 2.
1st Round, pick 24 - Cooper DeJean, defensive back, Iowa
I know what you're thinking, and yes I actually agree with you. I would probably not take a defensive back in the first round of back-to-back drafts, but I do think Seattle’s leadership sees it differently.
Devon Witherspoon was one of the best and most physical defensive backs to come out of college. He was a monster in the run game, a potential shutdown corner, and someone who can cause chaos from the nickel position. With DeJean, Seattle may see a guy who can be a monster in the run game. A potential shutdown corner, someone who can be otherworldly as a safety (especially in Mike Macdonald’s three safety system), and can be a Pro Bowl-caliber punt and kick returner with the new rules.
When you lay it all out like that, it sounds a lot better than some corner from Iowa.
DeJean is a premier athlete. The 6 ½ ft 202 lbs twenty-one-year-old was recently recovering from a broken leg, but looked healthy and absolutely shined in his pro day on April 8th. The Hawkeye ran a 4.42 40-yard dash, a 10-yard split of 1.55 seconds, and a vertical jump of 38.5 inches. A scout told Albert Brewer of NFL Network that considering DeJean was only cleared a month ago, he looks in great shape and looked great in position drills.
If healthy, Seattle could be adding one of the more unique stars in all of college football. As a sophomore, DeJean totaled 75 tackles with 5 interceptions (3 for touchdowns) and 8 passes deflected. While Big Ten offenses avoided him like the plague this season, he still managed 41 tackles, 2 INTs, and 5 passes deflected in just 10 games.
As a punt returner, DeJean averaged over 13 yards per return and scored a touchdown. He also had a remarkable and what looked like a game-winning punt return for a touchdown against Minnesota, but it was called back after the refs controversially decided that DeJean had called for a fair catch before his epic return.
While I would like to see a 1st round pick go to the trenches, this guy has everything that Mike Macdonald could want. He's a unique blend of Kyle Hamilton and Brian Branch and could be Macdonald’s ultimate chess piece with his first Seahawks pick as head coach.
2rd Round, pick 56 - Bralen Trice, defensive lineman, Washington
We talked about the potential for a UW or UM connection to Seattle in this draft, and with the newly acquired 2nd-round pick, the Seahawks dipped into their backyard for a potential premier defensive lineman in Bralen Trice.
When you look at the combine numbers for Trice, you're not that impressed by his 4.72 40-yard dash, but a reported illness may have affected his numbers. In a class that is pretty deep with talented edge rushers, there's a chance we could see Trice slip into the late 2nd or even early 3rd round. That shouldn't happen if the Seahawks are equipped with pick 56.
Despite an underwhelming combine, Trice has been a reliable and productive star during the Huskies' dominant two-year run under Kalen DeBoer. In the past two years, Trice totaled 87 tackles, 23.5 for a loss, and 16 total sacks. According to PFF (subscription required), they measured notable rushers to enter the draft and have success in the NFL, based on “True Pass Set Win Rate” and “Overall Pass Rush Win Rate”. Bralen Trice measured in the same tier as Myles Garrett, the Bosa brothers, and was more successful than Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Trice’s pure power as not only a pass rusher but an edge player that can blow up the run game, makes him a diamond in the rough. Trice is going to make a team extremely happy and former UW OC and now Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb should be bugging Macdonald all day on Friday to go get this former Dawg. Seattle pairing him with Boye Mafe and Derick Hall feels like a solid young trio for years to come.
3rd Round, pick 81 - Zak Zinter, guard, Michigan
Entering the Big Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, Zinter was the anchor to the second-best O-line in the country, much like Troy Fautanu with the Huskies. Unfortunately for Zinter, he suffered a gruesome injury in the game, as Zinter broke his tibia and fibula, missing the rest of the Wolverines' championship run.
The injuries are less concerning than an ACL tear, as Zinter should be able to play this season, but it appears to be strongly affecting his draft stock. Graded as my top traditional guard in this year's draft, and if healthy, he'd likely be a top 50 pick. This offers an opportunity for the Seahawks to get a second-round value player in the third or fourth round
When healthy, Zinter is your classic mean run-blocking monster that is slightly above average in pass-blocking out of Ann Arbor. Every year under Jim Harbaugh, a mountain of men keep coming to the NFL and producing. Considering the strong Michigan connection that Seattle now has with Macdonald and special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh, it's hard not to see a couple of Wolverines finding their way onto the Seahawks. If he medically clears, Zinter could be a massive addition without reaching non-premier positions.
With Zinter reunited with his former teammate Olu Oluawtimi on the interior, the Seahawks can feel better about their cheap IOL free agent additions, knowing it's more about buying time until Zinter is medically cleared this season. Because when he is healthy, expect the Wolverine to make a big impact immediately for the Seahawks.