Everything seems to be trending in the right direction for the Seattle Seahawks after a strong 2022 season. But is there a potential dilemma ahead of them in the 2023 NFL Draft?
Don’t believe what they tell you, the Seattle Seahawks weren’t meant to be this good this soon. The team appeared to be heading towards a tough couple of seasons after the conclusion of the 2021 campaign.
Gone was Russell Wilson, arguably the greatest player in franchise history. Traded to the Denver Broncos following several seasons of reported discontent and netting the Seahawks a king’s ransom worth of picks. The end of an era in Seattle also looked like the end of being competitive for a period as the Seahawks looked set to start Geno Smith heading into 2022.
Instead, the Seahawks were one of the best stories of the season. Smith turned in a career-year, winning Comeback Player of the Year while completing a league-leading 70 percent of his passes for 4282 yards and 30 touchdowns as the Seahawks won 9 games and reached the Wild Card round. The 49ers handily dispatched the Seahawks in the playoffs, but the bones of a successful roster were in place moving forward.
Smith’s performance in 2022 was good enough for the Seahawks to re-sign him to a 3-year $75 million contract with $40 million in guaranteed money. With an improving roster around him, led by a strong 2022 draft class that featured Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas – the starting tackles for the team – as well as Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant, Kenneth Walker, and Boye Mafe, the Seahawks look ready to compete in the NFC West now. Way ahead of schedule.
The trade that sent Wilson to the Broncos netted the Seahawks a 2023 1st round pick and the expectation was that the pick would likely be in the late 20s as the Broncos were aiming to challenge for a Super Bowl. Oh, how wrong they were.
The Broncos were abysmal in 2022, finishing with the fifth-worst record in the NFL along with one of the worst offenses. In short, the Broncos regressed while the Seahawks took a massive step forward. As a result, the Seahawks landed the No. 5 pick and, with it, the chance to draft a real impact player. Along with the No. 5 pick, they have another three selections in the first two rounds of the draft.
The real question in play, though, is what do the Seahawks do in the first round?
Do they draft a quarterback?
An interesting dilemma if there ever was one. If Anthony Richardson or Will Levis fall to the No. 5 pick – and there’s a chance one of them could if the Cardinals don’t trade out of the pick (they’ll likely draft a defensive player) – then the Seahawks are in the position to pick one of them. It’s all about need and timing.
The Seahawks are seemingly set and happy with Smith as the starting quarterback for the next couple of years. They wouldn’t have signed him to an extension if that wasn’t the case. Assuming the role of Devil’s Advocate however, Smith will be 33 at the start of the 2023 season and 35 once he becomes a free agent at the end of 2025. It wouldn’t hurt the Seahawks to consider addressing the position from a long-term lens. As the adage goes, the worst time to draft a quarterback is when you need one. Now is a potential opportunity to draft someone like Levis or Richardson, have them sit behind Smith for a year or two and then step into the role when the time is right.
If all goes according to plan, the Seahawks won’t be drafting in the top 10 again for a while. They might not be in the range to draft a top 5 quarterback for the next several years until Smith has moved on. Now could be the perfect time to set up a transition plan – most teams don’t have that luxury but the Seahawks are in the right position to do so.
The flip side of that is that they’re missing out on the chance to draft a player who can help the team win now. When everything is said and done, that’s the ultimate goal: winning. The Seahawks aren’t Super Bowl favourites, but there’s a lack of quality teams in the NFC at the moment. With some clever game planning the Seahawks could take advantage of that.
If there’s a chance that a quality defensive player like Jalen Carter or Tyree Wilson is there at No. 5, especially Carter who might just be the most talented player in the entire draft, the Seahawks will probably bite. Carter has slid down draft boards over the last few weeks after a poor pro day followed an arrest warrant that was issued to him in connection with a fatal car crash on the night of the NCAA Championship Game. There’ll naturally be concerns over Carter’s character, but if anyone can set him right it could be Pete Carroll. Plus, Carter would be an absolute menace on an improved Seahawks defensive line.
Beyond the No. 5 pick, the Seahawks still have their own first round pick at No. 20. The selection there could purely be used to target the best player available, but seeing them target a receiver, particularly one who could provide consistent play in the slot, feels like the move. That could mean Zay Flowers, or Jordan Addison if he’s still available. The Seahawks could also swerve and take Michael Mayer or Dalton Kincaid since tight end is a potential need as well.
They could always double-dip on the defensive line if a player like Nolan Smith or Myles Murphy suits their needs. But if Carter or Wilson happen to be the pick at No. 5, then it’s more likely that we’ll see a receiver off the board.
With their two selections in the first round, the Seahawks have the chance to strengthen their team in ways that not many franchises can. However, the temptation to draft a quarterback will be there right up to the moment they lock in their choice. The dilemma exists and we’ll find out what the Seahawks do in just a few short weeks.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.