Who is doing our drafting in the last 2 years?

[toffee]

We didn't draft well, especially on the defense side for quite a few years, but we started drafting well from 2022. Did the front office hired a new guru? Schneider had more power? Pure luck?

At this point, with guys from the last two drafts, we could almost field an all in-house team, except QB, Safety, and kicker. We wasted so many picks on safety in 2021 and 2020, but none worked.

OL: Cross-Lewis-Olu-Bradford-Lucas (with an all in house backup of Stone-Curhan-Haynes)
TE: Dissly - Parkinson
WR: DK - Lockett - JSN - Bobo - Eskridge
RB: K9 - Charbonnet - DJ - McIntosh

DL: Hall - Cam Young - Reed (Morris as backup)
LB: Mafe - Bobby - Brooks - Taylor
CB: Witherspoon - Woolen - Tre Brown
SS: Jerrick Reed
FS:

	Offense	Defense	Special team
2023	Anthony Bradford Olu Oluwatimi Jake Bobo Jaxon Smith-NJigba Zach Charbonnet Kenny McIntosh	Derrick Hall Cam Young Devon Witherspoon Jerrick Reed Mike Morris
2022	Charles Cross Abraham Lucas Kenneth Walker III Dareke Young	Boye Mafe Riq Woolen Coby Bryant Tyreke Smith
2021	Stone Forsythe Jake Curhan D'Wayne Eskridge	Tre Brown
2020	Colby Parkinson DJ Dallas Damien Lewis	Jordyn Brooks Darrell Taylor
2019	Phil Haynes DK Metcalf
2018	Will Dissly		Michael Dickson

 

[CactusJack]

You left out Damien Lewis (2020)

 

[toffee]

You left out Damien Lewis (2020)

Thank you!! We have no active defense players from the '18-'19, we waste all the picks and drafted poorly in those years.

 

[CactusJack]

Thank you!! We have no active defense players from the '18-'19, we waste all the picks and drafted poorly in those years.

DK is preventing the 2019 draft from being a total dud. 2018 wasn't great. But at least you got some production from guys like Penny, Dissly & Dickson.

2020 was actually one of their better drafts imo.

In '21, they just didn't have the draft capital because of the Adams deal.

 

[themunn]

It's a bonus as a result of having loads of top picks for the first time in a decade - there are better players to choose from and also loads of picks available so no nerd to trade down!

 

[BASF]

We didn't draft well, especially on the defense side for quite a few years, but we started drafting well from 2022. Did the front office hired a new guru? Schneider had more power? Pure luck?

At this point, with guys from the last two drafts, we could almost field an all in-house team, except QB, Safety, and kicker. We wasted so many picks on safety in 2021 and 2020, but none worked.

OL: Cross-Lewis-Olu-Bradford-Lucas (with an all in house backup of Stone-Curhan-Haynes)
TE: Dissly - Parkinson
WR: DK - Lockett - JSN - Bobo - Eskridge
RB: K9 - Charbonnet - DJ - McIntosh

DL: Hall - Cam Young - Reed (Morris as backup)
LB: Mafe - Bobby - Brooks - Taylor
CB: Witherspoon - Woolen - Tre Brown
SS: Jerrick Reed
FS:

	Offense	Defense	Special team
2023	Anthony Bradford Olu Oluwatimi Jake Bobo Jaxon Smith-NJigba Zach Charbonnet Kenny McIntosh	Derrick Hall Cam Young Devon Witherspoon Jerrick Reed Mike Morris
2022	Charles Cross Abraham Lucas Kenneth Walker III Dareke Young	Boye Mafe Riq Woolen Coby Bryant Tyreke Smith
2021	Stone Forsythe Jake Curhan D'Wayne Eskridge	Tre Brown
2020	Colby Parkinson DJ Dallas Damien Lewis	Jordyn Brooks Darrell Taylor
2019	Phil Haynes DK Metcalf
2018	Will Dissly		Michael Dickson

Do the same thing for the Raiders before, during and after Ken Norton Jr. being their DC with major input into their drafts and you will see the same thing. He was the weak link for both organizations.

As far as offense, we no longer have to factor scramble drill into the drafting process.

 

[AgentDib]

Draft success doesn't really correlate from year to year very well like you would expect if there were front offices who were particularly good at drafting. The Seahawks 2012 A++ draft was followed by a 2013 draft that only avoids an F grade because Luke Willson was a lot of fun. The Saints 2017 A++ draft was followed by an equally bad draft in 2018.

There is a strong temptation to overexplain why that happens (narrative fallacy) in terms of specific decisions, drafting personnel or speculation about methodology changes. The much better explanation is simply that the draft is highly uncertain. Every team invests a ton of effort and money into it and there are big hits and misses everywhere from the first pick to the last.

What does correlate very well with draft success is having a lot of draft capital. Our four best drafts under Schneider have been 2010, 2012, 2021 and 2022. Of course, those are also the drafts where we had the most draft capital with multiple first round picks three of the four years.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I think the simple answer is that Pete and John had enough draft capital over the last two years from the Wilson trade that it made it much easier to draft BPA knowing they had other picks to draft for need if their draft board didn't fall their way. Luckily, the board seemed to fall their way throughout the draft and they were able to find BPA at positions that also filled needs. The drafting for need wasn't forced as it was in prior years.

 

[rcaido]

Seahawks simply had more draft capital. Early ones at that.

Imagine the draft last year, if we didn't have Cross and Mafe.
Imagine this draft without Witherspoon.

Not as impressive and would be pretty much be the same impact as the previous draft. As much as we won the trade from the Broncos, we are not exactly a better team then having Wilson as our QB pre injury.

The best move was too rip the bandaid and traded everyone the year we lost Wagner & Wilson. Should have traded Lockett and Metcalf too. We probably would have sucked pretty bad and got two top 5 pick this year. (Richardson or maybe even Stroud)

Now we are 9-8 / 8-9 team, stuck in mediocracy hell.

 

[KinesProf]

-As Recon said, the amount of capital that they have had allowed them to avoid having to fight their board and force a position that they felt they had to have.

-The Russ years/late LOB years justifiably felt like a window for contending, which means: less jobs up for grabs, having to target positions where you need an immediate augmentation to a team you hope can compete.

-Being a playoff team put them late/near the end of every round. Often ending up behind on position runs. The Broncos trade allowed them to start drafts "ahead of schedule".

-When you're building a new team, or undergoing a "reset", you feel good about taking the highest graded player regardless of position.

-Some luck: Neal and Ekwonu going before Cross; Ebeketie being drafted ahead of Mafe; the devaluation of the RB position allowing them to get Walker where they did; 3 teams ahead of them this draft needing QBs

-An unwillingness to compromise on character/football character/work ethic (a smaller board), which they may have done in the past.

 

[KinesProf]

As much as we won the trade from the Broncos, we are not exactly a better team then having Wilson as our QB pre injury.

Maybe not in a vacuum and at present. But the trajectory and future is considerably better.

Late-Russ Hawks were trending downwards. This current version, given the youth and how homegrown it is, is trending upwards.

It is not too dissimilar from 2011, except with a better bridge QB.

 

[knownone]

It's worth remembering that Seattle's had significantly higher relative draft value the past two seasons. If you pick higher in every round, targeting the guys you want is much easier. For example, the 1st pick of the 2nd round is worth twice as much relative value as the last pick in the 2nd round. But most fans only see that a player is a 2nd round pick.

That was my defense all those years ago when people were saying JS was bad at drafting.

 

[Lagartixa]

Maybe not in a vacuum and at present. But the trajectory and future is considerably better.

Late-Russ Hawks were trending downwards. This current version, given the youth and how homegrown it is, is trending upwards.

It is not too dissimilar from 2011, except with a better bridge QB.

Further, the Seahawks narrowly avoided being stuck with the white elephant they managed to unload on the Broncos at what now looks like just the right moment.
Before the trade, the Seahawks were a team in decline and the Broncos were a team on the rise, one that people thought would be contending for titles with their newly acquired starting QB. The Seahawks now look like a team on the rise, with a possible championship window opening soon.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are a laughingstock, stuck with a roster that suddenly doesn't look so good (the rep of the OL and "weapons" mysteriously went from good to bad very quickly, defensive players traded away to get something before they left in free agency), and a tough situation for filling the holes, what with the absurd cap hits for a QB who was bottom-three-in-the-league in his first season and has now improved... all the way to the lower part of the middle third (from the sixth to the fourth sextile, or if you prefer, from the 12th to the eighth duo-decile). There's not a team in the league that would want that QB on that contract, so the Broncos' choices are basically either bite the bullet and take an $85 dead-money hit on their cap for cutting him or, if he's still on their roster as of St. Patrick's Day of 2024, fully guarantee him another $37M, thus taking another huge step in the wrong direction.

There, but for the grace of Carroll and Schneider, go we!

 

[rcaido]

Maybe not in a vacuum and at present. But the trajectory and future is considerably better.

Late-Russ Hawks were trending downwards. This current version, given the youth and how homegrown it is, is trending upwards.

It is not too dissimilar from 2011, except with a better bridge QB.

Unless we get lucky in the 3rd round and draft a HOF QB, i dont see how our future would get any better then the Wilson era.
2011 RB >current
2011 Defense > current

This team has a better WR core but how much longer can Lockett last? How many years until we get the QB of the future? 2 years from now Metcalf contract is up.
Geno is doing more then expected but he is only good for 1 more season.

There is no QB worth paying next season, the only one is Cousins but he will be asking 50+million. Then in 2025, its Prescot, Tua, & Goff.

We would need to suck one year, so we can have a high draft QB. This would be the year to do it, but tanking is never good.

 

[keasley45]

I think its 2 parts.

1. Draft capital.

2. Draft profile. After Pete went about ridding the team of personalities that would challenge Russ, he went from drafting and bringinb in aggressive, proud, personality types the likes of which created the LOB in the first place and instead prioritized good guy players with an underdog story as the chip on their shoulder.

No way was he going to go out and get another Dog, big personality type like Sherm and Earl or Marshawn who would have no issue calling a spade a spade if it came to it.

How many Alpha types did Pete draft from 2014 to 2021? None. They don't only exist in the first 20 picks if the draft.

How many did he Draft before 2013 or bring on the team? Many. Virtually every player who is part of the core of that championship team was an Alpha.

He also hasn't been shy about drafting those types since 2021.

This team, for 7 years, was constructed around personalities that would be easy to keep in line, that would do so and just play ball. No edge to them. No fire. None of what made the championship teams great.

When Pete and John talk about going back to what they do best, it's not just about developing a young team. It's about not being afraid to bring in personalities that might rock the boat some, but in doing so, make the team better in the end.

 

[rcaido]

It had nothing to do with drafting dogs lol. It was just lack of draft capital and the ones we pick were bad draft picks. If we avoided having vocal alpha dogs in the locker room, we would have never gotten Duane Brown or gave up a ransom for Jamal Adams. We would have never drafted Malik Mcdowell or Frank Clark. We would have never extended Kam Chancellor, Baldwin, & Michael Bennett. Newer guys like Blair, Diggs & Metcalf. Neil seem like a "dog" but we got rid of him. Brought back Bruce Irvin & even Marshawn again. Im sure there are other too.

 

[keasley45]

It had nothing to do with drafting dogs lol. It was just lack of draft capital and the ones we pick were bad draft picks. If we avoided having vocal alpha dogs in the locker room, we would have never gotten Duane Brown or gave up a ransom for Jamal Adams. We would have never drafted Malik Mcdowell or Frank Clark. We would have never extended Kam Chancellor, Baldwin, & Michael Bennett. Newer guys like Blair, Diggs & Metcalf. Neil seem like a "dog" but we got rid of him. Brought back Bruce Irvin & even Marshawn again. Im sure there are other too.

Bro. Former players have said as much and its been discussed on podcast and seattle talk radio. High effort guys that demanded accountability and had varied personalities that were permitted to flourish is what made this team great. And it is precisely the ingredient that was lacking for 7 years.

You don't make it a point to rid your team of a certain profile of player and then bring in more as a solution when SOOO much obviously relied on the emotional stability of the QB.

We resorted to relying on the likes of mild mannered Tre Flowers, the Griffin brothers when the prior era was built on the likes of B Browner and ET3. Even on offense, ADB wasn't shy about saying what needed to be said. And that's what made the team great.

The absence of those tupes is in part what made the J Adams trade a harbinger of things to come. You don't bring in a dude like that unless you see change on the horizon, and we now know they certainly did.

Either way, I'm glad the team is starting to again look, sound and feel like the team of old. They certainly have made the most of the picks they've received and walk into next year with far fewer holes to fill than any time in recent memory. I mean, if they were to fortify the O and D line next year what's left, other than locking down a long term franchise qb? Not that that's a minor thing. But this team won a championship with a qb who at the time wasn't at all the dude he'd become known to be. We can do it again.

 

[Fade]

Take out the 1st round picks and the last 2 drafts are still considerably better by a lot.

JS interviewed with the Lions, he was on his way out. It is my educated belief JS was given final say on draft picks, Pete is still giving input, but JS is running it. If not for this, he would've left.

Chalking it up to a couple of high picks is absolutely laughable, especially when one of those picks is incredibly average.

No. The power shifted to JS. That is the #1 reason. Also, hard lessons were learned from their previous draft failings.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Tacos, Nachos or Burritos? Tough choice.

 

[keasley45]

It had nothing to do with drafting dogs lol. It was just lack of draft capital and the ones we pick were bad draft picks. If we avoided having vocal alpha dogs in the locker room, we would have never gotten Duane Brown or gave up a ransom for Jamal Adams. We would have never drafted Malik Mcdowell or Frank Clark. We would have never extended Kam Chancellor, Baldwin, & Michael Bennett. Newer guys like Blair, Diggs & Metcalf. Neil seem like a "dog" but we got rid of him. Brought back Bruce Irvin & even Marshawn again. Im sure there are other too.

From the lips of John Schneider -

"Some of the background information we had on players from a confidence standpoint or a swagger standpoint weren't necessarily able to compete with the Richard Shermans and the Kam Chancellors and the Bobby Wagners and the K.J.s [Wright]. Earl Thomas, you know what I mean?" Schneider said. "We knew we had to do a little better job in that regard [like] in 2010, '11, '12, picking players and building this thing."

I dont know how much clearer it gets than the GM saying they didn't get draft guys of the profile of the original, confident, full of swag players for the period between when the OGs left and 2021.