TRADE ALERT!!! Leonard Williams to the Seahawks!

[Spin Doctor]

Not a "big trade" though.

A second round pick is pretty substantial.

 

[CPHawk]

Yep, guys want to stay here, we've seen it time and time again.

Yep. Shelby Harris waited around for months hoping to come back.

 

[Fade]

I wonder if the team had permission to approach Williams about what it would take to extend him before pulling the trigger

I'd think they have some confidence in their ability to get something done, or they wouldn't have made the move.

But all it takes is 1 team offering the moon, and then Seattle is stuck between a rock in a hard place. Pay a king's ransom, or let your 2nd rd pick walk out the door.


Side note:

Pete has continued to pile on the investment into the defense. They better be one of the best in the league.

Payed Nwosu
Payed Dre Jones
Payed Diggs
Payed Adams + two 1sts, and a 3rd.
Payed Love starter money.
Payed Wagner starter money.
Brooks 1st rd Pick
Taylor 2nd and 3rd rd pick
Mafe 2nd rd pick
Hall 2nd rd pick
Witherspoon 1st rd pick (top 5)
Leo Williams 2nd and 5th

I'm pretty sure no one has more invested into their defense than the Seahawks. I haven't taken the time to look at every team, but when I looked at the top 8 defenses last year in a thread as compared to the Seahawks. Seattle was #2. And that was before adding Witherspoon, Hall, paying Dre Jones, Wagner, Love, and now trading for Leo Williams.

They better be elite.


Another Note:

The Seahawks are capped out for next year.

They are going to have to cut some high priced players if they want to retain their best upcoming Free Agents.

 

[cymatica]

A second round pick is pretty substantial.

Depends on how you look at it. They destroyed the last 2 drafts, I think at 5-2 they can sacrifice a 2nd round pick to reinforce the dline after a key injury

 

[Spin Doctor]

I can’t disagree. I will root for him like he’s been here all along. I don’t think I’ve ever rooted for a trade to fail and I’m not starting now

I think the guy is going to be great for us. It’s just a matter of cost to resign him at the end of the year and whether or not he sticks with our team long term. Also, how long is he going to be productive and at what cost?

 

[kidhawk]

I don't get why nearly everyone figures it's a foregone conclusion that it's just a 1-year rental and there's no possibility Seahawks will sign him for additional years. Unless I missed it, I've yet to see a comment from anyone entertaining the notion that he could decide to stick around beyond this season. I get he might command a hefty new contract after this season, but surely there's the possibility the market isn't going to automatically entice Williams to another team for big bucks after this season.

Sure we could extend him and having him here gives us an inside track there but he was due to be a free agent so it’s possible we could have signed him in the off season. That is why I look at it as a rental. What happens after the season may depend on how he does here.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

A late 2nd when we already have the Bronco's 3rd round pick.

Meh x10

 

[warden]

I'd think they have some confidence in their ability to get something done, or they wouldn't have made the move.

But all it takes is 1 team offering the moon, and then Seattle is stuck between a rock in a hard place. Pay a king's ransom, or let your 2nd rd pick walk out the door.


Side note:

Pete has continued to pile on the investment into the defense. They better be one of the best in the league.

Payed Nwosu
Payed Dre Jones
Payed Diggs
Payed Adams + two 1sts, and a 3rd.
Payed Love starter money.
Payed Wagner starter money.
Brooks 1st rd Pick
Taylor 2nd and 3rd rd pick
Mafe 2nd rd pick
Hall 2nd rd pick
Witherspoon 1st rd pick (top 5)
Leo Williams 2nd and 5th

I'm pretty sure no one has more invested into their defense than the Seahawks. I haven't taken the time to look at every team, but when I looked at the top 8 defenses last year in a thread as compared to the Seahawks. Seattle was #2. And that was before adding Witherspoon, Hall, paying Dre Jones, Wagner, Love, and now trading for Leo Williams.

They better be elite.


Another Note:

The Seahawks are capped out for next year.

They are going to have to cut some high priced players if they want to retain their best upcoming Free Agents.

Good post. I do want to add a couple of thoughts, with all the resources put into our defense, it sure seems to be paying off and I do believe it will continue to improve through the season as they grow together to be a complete unit. The second comment is revenues are up so we can hope for a bump in the cap which will make it easier to keep our players.

 

[toffee]

If both were available, I would rather pay more, like two 2nd, for Dexter Lawrence.

 

[keasley45]

I honestly don't see why folks don't see that this team is in position to win now. With this trade, where are our glaring weaknesses? Wr - nope. Rb, nope. TE? Nope. O line, no. D line? No. LB and db? No.

When you have a team with no holes, a Geno Smith who can just manage the game is all that's necessary. And he can do much more than that.

This week, our 5 and 2 record and this trade, feels like that scene in Rocky when Balboa breaks Apollo's ribs. Before that, he was a Longshot to win. As soon as that happened, all bets were off and it was anybody fight.

2023 - it's not a stretch to see us still playing in mid January.

 

[Lagartixa]

I’ll say it again...this guy was the 6th pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

And Ryan Leaf was the second pick in the 1998 draft, and JaMarcus Russell was the first pick in the 2007 draft.
Dion Jordan was the third pick in the 2013 draft.

Being drafted early isn't really relevant to how much the guy is worth or likely to be worth after the guy's had nine and a half seasons in the NFL

Plus he’s more than proven his worth in the NFL.

OK, now you're talkin'!

This year isn’t even close to being over and folks are griping about next season? This could still be a remarkable year...he may stick around if they continue to win. Even if he doesn’t, let’s enjoy the ride while he’s here. Hopefully he adapts well to the Seahawk culture and rocks from the get go.

I think this deal comes out best for the Seahawks if Williams plays really well in the Seahawks defense this year, thus making the trade worthwhile for the Seahawks in immediate-success terms, and gets a big contract next offseason somewhere else, getting the Seahawks a nice draft pick that lowers the total net cost for acquiring Williams.

That said, I think "let's enjoy the ride" is the best point I've seen in this thread.
The Seahawks have shored up their DL rotation and done it in a way that suggests management believes the title window is already open now, not about to open.
As @pmedic920's sig says, "it's a great time to be a Seahawks fan!"

 

[Rat]

I guess we could franchise him in the off-season if we need to. I'm blanking on any indispensable players we have whose contract runs out after this season.

If someone had posted a thread yesterday asking if we'd be willing to trade a 2nd and a 5th for Leonard Williams, I'll bet a lot of these posters who are acting like this is some no-brainer steal of a deal that only an irrational Pete hater could question would have been against it. Hell, I'll bet a lot of them had no clue who Leonard Williams was before today.

He's a useful player. He has had stretches where he has looked like an All-Pro and others where the fan consensus was that he was a disappointment. The stats sure don't jump off the page. I hate to see us lose a 2nd rounder when we've been killing the draft the past few years, but I don't have a problem with the player himself, and I'm rarely against adding help on the DL. I'm kinda lukewarm. Hope he's ready to go.

 

[CallMeADawg]

I guess we could franchise him in the off-season if we need to. I'm blanking on any indispensable players we have whose contract runs out after this season.

If someone had posted a thread yesterday asking if we'd be willing to trade a 2nd and a 5th for Leonard Williams, I'll bet a lot of these posters who are acting like this is some no-brainer steal of a deal that only an irrational Pete hater could question would have been against it. Hell, I'll bet a lot of them had no clue who Leonard Williams was before today.

He's a useful player. He has had stretches where he has looked like an All-Pro and others where the fan consensus was that he was a disappointment. The stats sure don't jump off the page. I hate to see us lose a 2nd rounder when we've been killing the draft the past few years, but I don't have a problem with the player himself, and I'm rarely against adding help on the DL. I'm kinda lukewarm. Hope he's ready to go.

He's been franchised twice, so unless you want to give him QB money that's not an option.

 

[CPHawk]

I honestly don't see why folks don't see that this team is in position to win now. With this trade, where are our glaring weaknesses? Wr - nope. Rb, nope. TE? Nope. O line, no. D line? No. LB and db? No.

When you have a team with no holes, a Geno Smith who can just manage the game is all that's necessary. And he can do much more than that.

This week, our 5 and 2 record and this trade, feels like that scene in Rocky when Balboa breaks Apollo's ribs. Before that, he was a Longshot to win. As soon as that happened, all bets were off and it was anybody fight.

2023 - it's not a stretch to see us still playing in mid January.

Yeah, but Geno can’t hold onto the ball all day and make bad reads. Waldron needs to get back to quick throws, and run the ball more than we did yesterday.

 

[Chuckwow]

Okay, but what does that have to do with Leonard Williams? The picks traded? We still have a first, you know...

With all respect, my Dawg brother, if the belief is that Leonard will take us deep, and I see that as a possibility, then our 1st rd pick will be at or near the bottom of the round. That spot won't get us much more than a JAG QB. There's a particular QB coming out that I think will prove to be a 10+ year stud for the team that get's him..also known as ...not us. To move up to (probably) the 2 or 3 spot, cuz some fool team will draft Williams #1, we'd need to cough up no less than 2 1s and a 2. Maybe more.

I am stoked to get another big guy up front. Williams has a lot of tread left and we will see instant improvement to an already good DL. But my '24 QB fantasy has been dashed. Not the first time and now that I think about it, the Hawks have never drafted a QB that I coveted. And I can't recall us ever drafting a QB that anyone else wanted either. Help me out with this...I must be missing somebody. Did anyone else want McGwire or Stouffer? I can't recall. I just know they were so disappointing that I can't even call them JAGs (Just Another Guy).

 

[Rat]

He's been franchised twice, so unless you want to give him QB money that's not an option.

Does it matter if they weren't consecutively?

 

[Raifers]

I could be wrong (and apologize if it's been pointed out), but I read somewhere (can't remember) that some of the pending FAs who could be traded would cost more than a 3rd due to what the team would receive via compensatory (edit: 3rd round comp pick) picks. So a (edit: low) 2nd isn't really an overpay if all that is true.

I feel like it's a good trade.

 

[Kamcussionator]

We have the second best record in the NFC right now, about to embark on the toughest leg of our schedule. Our D-Line was decent, and it just got better and deeper. We might have a top-5 defense now. The Eagles haven't been blowing people away either. This is a good year to make a push.

I've had my reservations about this team, but now I'm excited.

 

[CallMeADawg]

Lots of QBs in the upcoming draft for sure.

 

[GemCity]

A couple things....

1. It's a possibility that this is not a one year rental. Right now, it appears we are up against some serous cap limitations, but that can change. Also, expect LW to really ball out during the rest of the season as he tries to maximize his FA contract leverage.

2. I will admit, I don't like losing picks for short term rentals unless you are an absolute powerhouse who is objectively one piece away. (Sheldon Richardson is an example of what I hate).

3. We still have a 2024 1st, two 3rd's, and a 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. Also the pick we gave the Giants will almost certainly not be a top 20 pick.

4. Like @SoulfishHawk insinuated early on. Picks are a crapshoot even for teams that do draft well. L. Williams is a known quantity, a sure thing if you will.

Look at this way, would you trade any of these guys for Leonard Williams.....

Christine Michael?
Paul Richardson?
Malik McDowell?
Ethan Pocic?
Marquise Blair?
D'Wayne Eskridge?

Those guys were all JS 2nd round picks. Sure, there are other unmentioned 2nd round picks that were absolute studs and that's not lost on me, but the point is we miss in the second as much as we hit.

If we extend him, I love it. If it's truly a half a year rental, I'm not near as happy. We are a better team than we were this morning though, and we should all be excited for that.

Perfectly said.