Seattle Seahawks: 2022 Draft, what good, bad, and great looks like
The Seattle Seahawks start their rebuild in earnest with the 2022 Draft. Analyzing what good, bad, and great draft results look like.
There are just a few weeks left until the NFL draft. What would a good draft for the Seattle Seahawks look like? A great one? Maybe it all turns sour, and they miss out on their targets. What does that look like, as well?
Great Scenario
Sometimes everything goes your way.
1st Round
I hate the idea of banking on players to fall, but if it all breaks the Seattle Seahawks way, that happens.
Alabama’s Evan Neal is the best tackle in the draft. In my opinion, he has all the tools to wear a gold jacket once his career ends 15 years from now. Others don’t see it the same way. They like Ikem Ekwonu (North Carolina State) and Charles Cross (Mississippi State) better. Great, the Seahawks will be happy to scoop up Neal.
A cornerstone tackle is what they need and likely pick. But Schneider and Carroll might like the tackles they could get on Day 2, so CB Ahmad Gardner (Cincinnati) and DE Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) work nicely as well.
Ideally, the Seahawks trade back two or three spaces, add a second or third round pick, and still get Cross.
2nd Round
With two picks, relatively early in the second, this is when the Seattle Seahawks can take advantage of fallers. Obviously, they would love it if one of the top corners, such as Kaair Elam, Andrew Booth, or Trent McDuffie, fell to number 40. But even in the best of circumstances, that’s unlikely.
We’ll get back to a corner momentarily. The player Carroll and Schneider would do somersaults over, if he’s available, is Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd. Looking at what Lloyd did in college, he seems like the kind of player who could step right in for Bobby Wagner.
Another highly regarded player who could drop to the Seahawks is guard Kenyon Green. He also has All-Pro potential. If Seattle selected Green, they’d have to move Damien Lewis to center.
3rd Round
At pick 72, it’s back to cornerback. There is a decent chance Seattle can land a local product, Kyler Gordon, from Everett and the Washington Huskies. It might take a year for him to adjust to NFL receivers, but by his sophomore season, Gordon could turn into the shutdown corner they so desperately need.
While on the subject of players from Everett, they’d also love it if Washington State Cougars left tackle Abraham Lucas was available this far down in the draft. Like Gordon, he’s a year away from being a franchise building block.
4th – 7th Rounds
This is a very deep draft class. So deep that a higher than the usual number of undrafted free agents will make NFL rosters this year. That’s why the Seahawks will find players who can help the team on Day 3. As a matter of fact, if the draft goes well for them in the first three rounds, they could take a flyer on a wide receiver in the fourth round.
Either that, or if the Seahawks’ first few picks are Neal/Ekwonu, Elam, Green, and Gordon, Seattle could shore up the other side of the offensive line with huge offensive tackle Daniel Faalele. The Australian is still learning the game. But that can be learned. Coaches can’t teach someone to be 6’8” 390-pounds and have his kind of agility.
Again, lots of talent in this draft for developing future starters. In the later rounds, the Seahawks might again consider taking a skill position player, especially one who can help on special teams. It would be nice if the offense didn’t have to start drives in the shadow of their own endzone so often.
Guard Marquis Hayes from Oklahoma would be a good third-day pickup. He would be someone to groom as Gabe Jackson‘s eventual replacement. Zach Tom from Wake Forest has experience at both center and tackle. The Seahawks need linemen who can fill in at different positions.