The 2026 NFL draft begins on April 23, but unlike last year, when the Seattle Seahawks had 11 selections, the team only has four this year. The draft is exceptionally deep, however, and maybe general manager John Schneider is fine with four, but that doesn't seem like him.
Instead, Schneider could look to move back from pick 32 in the first round, and add choices in rounds two and three. That is assuming Seattle could find a taker to move down. After all, a team would want to move up into the first round for a player; the Seahawks can't force a move, of course.
Or Seattle could trade a player or two, just as they dealt quarterback Sam Howell during the 2025 draft. The good part is that the team has a lot of depth, so giving a player to another team for a young player at a different position makes a lot of sense. That could involve the three players below.
3 players the Seattle Seahawks could deal before the 2026 NFL draft
Quarterback Jalen Milroe
A third-round choice in 2025 should have a lot of value this year. Does that mean Seattle would get a draft pick higher than round three in return for Milroe, but something in the middle rounds should do? A couple of reasons exist for this, but the main one is that Milroe has exceptional arm strength and speed. He just needs to go to a team where he might have a chance to play sooner.
Schneider taking the former Alabama quarterback made sense. Sam Darnold was a recent free agent signing, but had had only one good year in the NFL. He wasn't a sure thing, and if the team needed to do a bit of a rebuild, having Milroe made sense.
Darnold proved to be quite good again, however, and is obviously the long-term answer for the Seahawks. Milroe has no path to play real snaps, and that is the only way he is going to greatly improve. He is also under team control for three more seasons.
Quarterback Drew Lock
Teams might want to take a look at Lock for the same reasons they might want Milroe. The quarterback draft class is relatively weak this year, and a team that feels it might be a decent QB away could take a chance on Lock.
He is a fantastic teammate, a good person off the field, and willing to do whatever he can to help his team win. He might not be a Pro Bowl quarterback, but in the right system, he would likely be productive. The question might be what a team would offer Seattle for Lock, who has a year left on his contract.
Seattle currently has one selection each in rounds one through three, and one in the sixth round. A team giving up a fifth-round selection for Lock might make a deal doable, and then Milroe could be elevated to QB2.
Linebacker Tyrice Knight
With two years left on his rookie deal and starting experience, a team during the draft might be willing to make a move for Knight. He appears set to be, at best, a rotational player moving forward. He was overtaken on the depth chart by Drake Thomas last season, and Knight, of course, isn't going to supplant Ernest Jones IV.
The inside linebacker is a solid player, but not an elite one. He doesn't create many turnovers, and Thomas has that ability. To play in Mike Macdonald's system consistently, a player needs to be a bit of a ball-hawk. Knight is also simply OK in coverage, though he might be a good pass-rusher for a team that uses him that way.
A fifth-round pick in exchange for Knight would be a good return. At that point in the draft, the Seattle Seahawks would simply be retooling their depth instead of finding a game-changing player.
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