Seahawks excited for draft while holding two first-round picks
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 13: General manager John Schneider talks with head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Mill
RENTON, Wash. - Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have never had a pick in the top five of the NFL Draft in their first 13 years together in charge of the Seattle Seahawks.
With the fifth overall pick, two picks in the top 20, and five of the first 83 picks of the draft in their pocket, it's understandable the Seahawks' head duo is rather enthusiastic about next week's NFL Draft.
"Everybody is very excited about the fifth pick, so we have a lot of general managers in this building right now," Schneider said on Wednesday.
The highest pick the Seahawks have made in the Carroll era came in their very first draft in 2010. Like this year, Seattle had two picks in the top 20 – No. 6 and No. 14 overall – that the Seahawks used to select tackle Russell Okung and safety Earl Thomas. Linebacker Bruce Irvin was selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2012 draft. Then the team went a decade without a selection higher than 27th overall before the team selected tackle Charles Cross with the ninth overall pick last year.
"Five of the top 83 (picks) is probably the one thing that really stands out," Schneider said. "We're getting a pretty good feel for what it looks like and now how do we go execute our game plan."
Another successful draft class could be enough to vault the Seahawks back into the NFL's elite. Last year's group was a tremendous success as Cross, running back Ken Walker III, tackle Abe Lucas, and cornerback Tariq Woolen became full-time starters with linebacker Boye Mafe and cornerback Coby Bryant being regular rotational pieces.
"I think they put together a great group of guys coming to us," Carroll said. "So many guys were so clearly able to handle the process and the pressure of jumping in and playing. So they took full advantage of the opportunities, and they had huge contributions last year.
"If we can come close to matching that up, it'll be a great couple years back-to-back."
Notes:
– Carroll said they've still got things to accomplish on their defensive line despite the offseason additions of Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed.
"We've got some work to do," Carroll said. "We've done some work here in free agency, and we're going to continue in the draft, and we'll just keep battling throughout to put it together. We made some big commitments that have gotten us to this point, and we're really excited about it, but it has left us with a few question marks we've got to get filled out, so there's plenty of time to get that done."
The defensive line remains an obvious area for Seattle to consider addressing with the at least one of their top selections in the draft. The player most regularly connected to the Seeahawks is Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is a tremendously skilled player that has some off-field concerns, per reports. Carter pleaded no contest to charges of a street racing gone bad that led to the deaths of a Georgia teammate and staff member.
While not speaking on Carter directly, Schneider spoke to how they manage players with different types of concerns.
"Every situation is completely different," Schneider said. "We learned early on, or I did - I don't want to speak for Pete - but I learned early on that you can never say, this is the way it is and that's how we're going to move forward. I mean, I think you can back yourself into a corner."
Schneider's reference is to a moment when he said in 2012 the team "would never take a player that struck a female or had a domestic violence dispute like that." The Seahawks then drafted defensive end Frank Clark in the second round in 2015 despite a domestic violence issue that got him kicked off the team at the University of Michigan.
– Schneider said that the team's draft board is smaller than it was in pervious years as they've culled the list down to a group they feel fully committed to as possible pieces for the the Seahawks moving forward.
"I think that's maybe the biggest clear difference is zeroing in on the personnel, the people really," Carroll added. "That's why we have a fewer number to pick from. We've really kind of circled the wagons in a way that it's about the guys and who they are and as much as we can possibly figure that out. It seems like it gives us the best insights to what we're doing."
– Schneider said that chatter about possible trades of picks doesn't really ramp up until a few days before the draft. He's expecting to check in with other general managers early next week to gauge who could be interested in their top draft picks and what the market will be to move around the draft board.
"Kind of periphery stuff," Schneider said. "That stuff really gets pretty intense I'd say next Tuesday, Wednesday. Those are really the two days that people kind of set up broad parameters for moving up, moving back at different spots, and then you have to be really pliable once it starts because if you've moved, you've got to be able to move to the other spots or move up. You have to be ready to roll."
– Carroll said safety Jamal Adams and linebacker Jordyn Brooks are fighting to get back on the field in time for training camp in July.
Adams sustained a torn quadriceps tendon in the team's season opening win over the Denver Broncos last September while Brooks tore his ACL in a game against the New York Jets on New Year's Day.
"They're doing well," Carroll said. "The progress is being made. Their visits, I think it's this week we're getting with them again to make sure they're making their progress. But everything is going fine so far. Very optimistic on their side. They really think they're going to make it. We'll hold a good thought.
"They're trying to make it for camp. That's what they're shooting for. They're not resigning to the fact it's going to take them past that, so they've got the right mindset at this point. We'll see what happens. … We'll be conservative through that time frame to make sure that we don't screw it up by hurrying them along, but I'm wide open to -- they think they can do it, so we'll see what happens."