Apr 27, 2021

  • Brady HendersonESPN

SEATTLE -- Since John Schneider became the Seattle Seahawks' general manager in 2010, their 105 NFL draft selections are second-about behind only the Minnesota Vikings' 111. Seattle has averaged more 9.5 picks per year in that span, with no fewer than eight selections in any of those 11 drafts.

So you lot can imagine how Schneider feels nigh heading into this twelvemonth's typhoon with a league-low three selections, no get-go-rounder and only one pick over the commencement two days.

"Yeah, information technology's killing him," said Jim Nagy, a former NFL spotter who worked in the Seahawks' front end office before becoming the executive director of the Reese's Senior Bowl. " ... Iii picks, you desire to come away from a draft with more than 3 bodies."

The Seahawks' three selections -- Nos. 56 (second circular), 129 (fourth) and 250 (7th) -- are easily the fewest in the league. No other squad has fewer than vi.

According to ESPN Stats & Data, just 5 teams take made three or fewer selections since the Common Typhoon Era began in 1967. The last time it happened was in 2009 with the New York Jets. Of the v, four of those teams' historically small typhoon classes included a commencement-round pick -- all of which illustrates how little the Seahawks have to piece of work with this year.

For at present, at least.

The Seahawks' 19 draft-twenty-four hour period trades since 2016 are third-most in that span, as they've fabricated a addiction out of moving back -- especially from their first pick -- and acquiring more selections.

"The thing with this year'southward typhoon, some of the subsequently, later on depth isn't quite at that place," Nagy said. "I yet think it's a potent draft through well-nigh the fifth round. So I think that that'south kind of the sugariness spot. If they can motility off 56 ... and add [a] third, add a couple fours, that strategy seems like something they would do."

In a normal draft, that approach would seem like a virtual certainty given the Seahawks' history of trading back and their electric current dearth of picks.

But this is not a normal draft. There's less game tape to evaluate due to players who opted out of terminal year's college season due to COVID-19 concerns. There was less access to prospects in the pre-draft process, with no formal scouting combine and no in-person visits, so lots of medical questions remain unanswered. And with so many would-be prospects returning to college instead of entering the typhoon, the overall talent pool isn't as deep as it usually is.

Here are 3 things to know about the Seahawks' draft:

Where the picks went

The Seahawks gave up their commencement- and third-rounder in concluding summer'south trade for Jamal Adams. They gave up a fifth in March for Gabe Jackson and a sixth to get back into the seventh round in terminal year's draft, where they took Stephen Sullivan. Their 2019 merchandise for Quandre Diggs brought back an extra 7th, which is the choice they gave upwardly last October for Carlos Dunlap.

The Seahawks didn't receive compensatory picks this yr, leaving them with only their native selections in the second, fourth and 7th rounds.

Adams was named to the Pro Bowl and is in line for a massive extension afterward setting the single-flavor sack record for a defensive back. Dunlap helped ignite Seattle'south pass-blitz and is dorsum on a new two-year deal. Jackson, whom the Seahawks signed to a new three-yr bargain, is an upgrade to their offensive line.

Then the obvious silver lining to the Seahawks' lack of draft upper-case letter is that three of the four players they acquired with the v picks they traded project to accept prominent roles for Seattle in 2021 -- albeit not on inexpensive rookie deals. The exception is Sullivan, who'due south now in Carolina.

The biggest needs

Cornerback is easily the biggest question mark on the Seahawks' roster, with no clear-cut No. ane post-obit Shaquill Griffin's gratuitous-agent departure. D.J. Reed played well enough in the second half of last flavor to hang onto a starting job, but he looks like the best pick among a group that includes free-amanuensis pickup Ahkello Witherspoon, Tre Flowers, Damarious Randall and Pierre Desir.

A No. iii broad receiver is arguably the next-biggest need, as Seattle didn't sign anyone after losing David Moore in gratis bureau. The Seahawks are high on Freddie Swain as a complementary option behind Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. But the other five receivers on their roster have combined for just three career catches.

The proficient news: ESPN NFL typhoon annotator Mel Kiper Jr. considers the depth at broad receiver and cornerback two of the biggest strengths of this year'southward typhoon.

"I think there's some really good receiver depth, whether yous want slot guys, outside guys," he said. "I take forty receivers with grades inside the showtime six rounds, xxx cornerbacks with grades inside the start six rounds."

Kiper and Nagy both named Fundamental Arkansas' Robert Rochell, Minnesota's Benjamin St-Juste and Washington's Keith Taylor equally cornerbacks whose size could make them appealing options to the Seahawks.

"Robert Rochell is a guy that totally fits what they do," Nagy said. "He's long, he's got 32-plus, 33-inch arms, ran 4.3s, jumped 42 inches, he's got all the physical stuff. Had a good couple of days here in Mobile (at the Senior Bowl) so got injured. Simply he's going to be the first small-school defensive player off the board. I think it'south going to be somewhere in that late-2, third-round range. So I think he makes a lot of sense."

Offensive line is another need for the Seahawks, though maybe more than long-term than 2021. Center is the near obvious spot to potentially upgrade, only they view Ethan Pocic as a solid starter there. Pocic is but signed through 2021, as are tackles Duane Brown and Brandon Shell.

The Seahawks are as well sparse at linebacker and could utilise more depth, even if they re-sign Thousand.J. Wright.

Value in opt-outs?

Kiper considers this year's draft the most mysterious he's seen. One reason: the incertitude over how teams view prospects who opted out of 2020.

"Will they create bargains for teams where [other] teams are a footling conservative in how they grade out the opt-out players? They push them down the board a picayune bit, which presents deal possibilities," Kiper said.

The Seahawks could exist one of those conservative teams. After all, part of their rationale for giving up what they did for Adams was the uncertainty over the 2020 higher season and reduced access to prospects during the pre-draft process, leaving them with less information to base their evaluations. That same line of thinking could impact how they view opt-out players, especially those with earlier medical concerns.

But it could also requite the Seahawks a adventure to get a steal on a thespian who's talented enough to have gone much earlier. Considering it's non just that the Seahawks are depression on picks. Information technology's also that they only take one in the height 125, which could make it hard to find a role player who can brand an bear upon right away.

"You might go a 2nd-round-quotient player because he opted out and didn't play, drops into the third or quaternary round," Kiper said, "or a first-round-quotient histrion drops into the second or third."