Getty Geno Smith will most likely be the Seahawks QB1 in 2023.
The Seattle Seahawks helped fuel the ongoing quarterback rumors as the team considers their available options at No. 5, but the smart money is on the team taking the best defender available over a signal-caller. ESPN’s Matt Miller reported that the Seahawks are likely to prioritize the defensive line over quarterback with their first selection.
“The Seahawks might be checking in on the quarterbacks, but a source in Seattle said to expect defensive line help over quarterback at No. 5 overall,” Miller detailed on April 13. “That would seem to point to a belief that either Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) or Jalen Carter (Georgia) will be available, a situation that’s highly likely at this point. But here’s one more Seattle nugget that throws a wrench in that: I was told it loves cornerback Devon Witherspoon (Illinois) if the top pass-rushers are gone.”
The Seahawks Were Mentioned in Trade Rumors Potentially Moving Up for a Quarterback
Are the quarterback selfies a sneak peak from the Seahawks into their draft board or an elaborate smokescreen to entice other general managers to move up to No. 5? Time will tell but there has also been buzz that Seattle is so enamored with Will Levis and Anthony Richardson that the team would explore trading up. This would be a rare move by general manager John Schneider who has typically preferred to trade back in drafts.
“… The buzz at Monday night’s NFL party [at the owner’s meetings] , with owners, general managers, coaches, agents and reporters hitting the open bar, was that all four quarterbacks will be long gone by the time the Raiders pick at No. 7,” The Athletic’s Vic Tafur wrote on March 30.
“…The buzz is that the Seahawks will jump up from No. 5 to No. 3 to grab either Richardson or Levis, as Stroud and Young are expected to go 1-2. The Cardinals can move down to No, 5 and still get the top defensive player, as the Colts are expected to also draft a QB at No. 4. Quarterbacks have never gone with the first four picks in the history of the NFL.”
Potential NFL Draft Targets for the Seahawks Include Will Anderson, Jalen Carter & Tyree Wilson
ESPN’s Brady Henderson sees Alabama’s Will Anderson, Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson as the most likely options for Seattle at No. 5. The Seahawks insider labeled it “an inefficient use of precious financial resources” for the team to select at quarterback with their first selection pointing to the defensive line as the more likely target.
“With the overhaul of their front seven far from complete, passing on defenders like Carter, Tyree Wilson or Will Anderson Jr. at that spot would mean foregoing their best chance to add the kind of difference-maker up front that they still badly need,” Henderson noted on April 13.
“For a team that is low on cap space and cash, it would also be an inefficient use of precious financial resources to devote first-round money to a quarterback who’d be locked into a backup role as a rookie, if not longer. And if someone trades up to take a quarterback at No. 3, then four of them could be gone by the time the Seahawks are on the clock.”
There is also a third path where Seattle addresses other positions early and selects a quarterback later in the draft. This could be done as early as the second round for a prospect like Hendon Hooker or much later targeting a more developmental quarterback.