Getty Seahawks general manager John Schneider (left) and head coach Pete Carroll appear to have won the Russell Wilson trade.
The rumors are heating up connecting the Seattle Seahawks to a number of top prospects, and the good news is there is only a few days remaining to find out what the franchise will do in one of the most pivotal drafts of the Pete Carroll-John Schneider era. It would not be a surprise if the Seahawks traded down from No. 9, but NBC Sports’ Peter King offered an ideal scenario for Seattle on draft night.
King projects the Seahawks to make a trade with the Texans to move down to No. 13 while still snagging Oregon star pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. Seattle also lands a third-round selection (No. 68) from Houston for moving down four spots.
“Perfect Pete Carroll pick. Thibodeaux’s an LA kid, he’ll be supremely ticked off at not being the first edge off the board and falling this far, and Carroll knows how to feed into the mental game that fuels players,” King wrote on April 25, 2022. “That, plus Thibodeaux would be the kind of top talent that the Seahawks never get to pick in the draft because they’re always picking at the bottom of the round, or later. Thibodeaux, if he works out, would be a good pick for a team devoid of a top-end pass-rusher, in a division with some serious passing games.
“I’d like this pick, in this spot, for Seattle. I’m not alone. ‘Thibodeaux at 13 would be a coup for Seattle,’ one GM told me Sunday when I apprised him of my diabolical plan to send the Oregon edge down the draft board.”
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Schneider: ‘We May Pick at Nine, We May Not’
Just a reminder that Kayvon Thibodeaux is going to be special, and definitely underrated #NFLDraft
If the Seahawks do want to trade down in the draft, the perfect situation would be a team moving up to land one of the top quarterbacks. The most lucrative trade would involve a quarterback-needy team moving up to No. 9 and sending a bundle of picks to Seattle. King added that the Seahawks are “trying to trade the ninth overall pick.”
“I hear he’s trying to trade the ninth overall pick—no surprise for Schneider, who never met a trade he didn’t like—but if he doesn’t, he’s going to get one of the best players on a shaky board,” King noted.
Schneider himself indicated the Seahawks are looking to move down (or potentially up) from No. 9. The Seahawks general manager admitted “we don’t know yet” if Seattle will remain on the clock at No. 9.
“So there’s a lot of planning, a lot of thoughts that go through your head, a lot of different scenarios,” Schneider explained during the team’s April 21 pre-draft press conference. “We may pick at nine, we may not. We don’t know yet. We’re gonna do whatever we can to help this football team as much as we possibly can.”
Thibodeaux Was Once Projected to Be the No. 1 Pick
Landing Thibodeaux while also trading down would be a big victory for the Seahawks as the pass rusher was the consensus No. 1 pick heading into the 2021 college football season. Thibodeaux has been projected to go as high as No. 2 to the Lions, but there are question marks surrounding the pass rusher that could have him slide as King predicted. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler sees some similarities between Thibodeaux and former No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney.
“Overall, Thibodeaux isn’t a fluid mover, and his impact runs hot-and-cold, but he understands how to create leverage as a pass rusher with his length, flexibility and hand strength,” Brugler explained in his annual NFL Draft guide. “He draws comparisons to Jadeveon Clowney with NFL teams and has the talent to develop into a high-end starter if he stays committed.”
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Proposed Trade Has Seahawks Landing Former Projected No. 1 Pick