Seattle Seahawks Top-5 second round draft picks in the 32-team era

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Apr 25, 2021
Seattle Seahawks draft
Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks.

No first-round pick, no problem. The Seattle Seahawks have a great history in the second round. Here are the Top-5 Seahawks second-round picks of the 32 team era.

This year the Seattle Seahawks don’t have a first-round pick. They traded it last year to the New York Jets as part of the package to acquire safety Jamal Adams. Their first pick comes in Round 2 at 56th overall.

Even without a first-rounder, the Seahawks can still get top talent. Seattle has a good track record in the second round. We found the team’s best Round 2 picks in the NFL’s 32-team era (since 2002). 12s should remember these players because they are some of the best ever to represent the Seahawks.

Honorable Mention: Ken Hamlin, 2003 (42nd overall) – It was close, but Ken Hamlin just missed. He played four seasons in the Emerald City, appearing in 54 games and making 300 tackles. It wasn’t until 2008 with Dallas that he earned his only Pro Bowl selection.

5. Lofa Tatupu, middle linebacker, 2005 (42nd overall)

His NFL career was brief, six years, but it was highly impactful. In his first three seasons, Lofa Tatupu both led the team in tackles and made the Pro Bowl. Additionally, the Seahawks won the NFC West in all of those years as well. That includes a Super Bowl appearance as a rookie.

Tatupu was the glue of the Seattle defense before there was a legion of boom. In 2009 he tore a pectoral muscle which was the beginning of the end. He rebounded in 2010, but that ended up as his last season.

4. Frank Clark, defensive end, 2015 (63rd overall)

It was somewhat controversial when the Seattle Seahawks drafted pass-rusher Frank Clark in 2015. On the field, he was fantastic; off it, Clark was trouble. His career at Michigan was marred by several arrests, including ones for theft and domestic violence.

Once Clark got to Seattle, it took a season to establish himself. After that, his career took off. Then next three seasons, Clark played in 47 of 48 games and picked up 32 sacks. His four-year total of 35 is 10th in franchise history.

Clark was traded to Kansas City before the 2019 draft for a first-round pick.

3. D.K. Metcalf, wide receiver, 2019 (64th overall)

Selected 64th overall in 2019, D.K. Metcalf came to Seattle with a chip on his shoulder. Eight other receivers went ahead of D.K., who thought he was the best in this draft class at his position. Since then, Metcalf has done everything in his power to make the other 31 teams regret not taking him.

Last year, his second in the NFL, Metcalf broke the Seattle Seahawks single-season record with 1,303 receiving yards. He’s also one of only three Seahawks with 50 or more receptions to average over 10 yards-per-target in a season.

Currently third on this list, Metcalf already showed the skills that could make him number one by the end of his career.

2. Max Unger, center, 2009 (49th overall)

The Seattle Seahawks couldn’t have asked for more when they drafted Max Unger with the 49th overall pick in 2009 from the University of Oregon. NFL centers don’t usually get much attention unless they do something wrong. Because Max Unger played as well as he did in Seattle, he drew his share of praise, anchoring the Seahawks offensive line during the Super Bowl years.

During his five seasons with the Seahawks, he was selected to two Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in 2012. How highly did the Seahawks think of him? Prior to his All-Pro season, Unger signed an extension with Seattle that made him one of the highest-paid NFL centers.

Had he not been traded to New Orleans in 2015 for Jimmy Graham, Unger might have supplanted Robbie Tobeck as the best center in franchise history.

1. Bobby Wagner, middle linebacker, 2012 (47th overall)

12s like to talk about the great players from the Legion of Boom days, such as Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman. Without Bobby Wagner, the back-to-back Super Bowl seasons of 2013 and 2014 wouldn’t have happened. His ability and leadership make everyone else on the defense better.

Since coming to the Seahawks in 2012, Wagner missed just nine games. He’s third in franchise history with 726 tackles. That’s led Wagner to seven Pro Bowls and six All-Pro selections. Maybe most impressive is that Wagner was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s.

The 2021 NFL draft begins on Thursday, April 29. Stay with Pacific Northwest Sports for our comprehensive Seattle Seahawks draft coverage.

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