Seahawks Pursuing Trade-Down Move From No. 32

John Schneider‘s GM tenure has seen plenty of trades involving first-round picks. Although the GM has stayed in his first-round draft slot(s) in each of the past three years, the two-time Super Bowl winner has a history of trading out of his top draft position.

Seattle has traded four first-round picks for veterans during Schneider’s 16-draft GM run, acquiring Percy Harvin (2013), Jimmy Graham (2015) and Jamal Adams (2020). Schneider has traded down from his first-round position in six other drafts. In three of those drafts, Schneider has traded down at least twice from his first-round draft slot. Although the results of this process have not always panned out — with some unremarkable returns forming in Rounds 1 and 2 in several Seattle drafts — Schneider has a pattern. Back at the mountaintop, the Seahawks are aiming to return to their Round 1 M.O.

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Schneider said it is “no secret” (via The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar) the team is looking to trade down from No. 32. The Seahawks hold just four selections in this draft — Nos. 32, 64, 96 and 188. Two of Seattle’s picks went to New Orleans for the since-re-signed Rashid Shaheed. No team enters this draft with fewer selections than the defending champions.

The Seahawks will be willing to trade the No. 32 pick to an NFC West rival, Schneider added (via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson). The Seahawks have done so in the past, moving down in 2017 to allow the 49ers to select linebacker Reuben Foster. There have been 35 intra-divisional draft trades since 2002, per Henderson. That Foster-based swap was the only Schneider-era Seattle pick flip inside the NFC West.

“We’ve talked within our division,” Schneider said. “That was kind of frowned upon for a while, like you don’t trade within your division. Everybody in our division, we would trade with. We have good relationships with all three of those teams. You’re maneuvering around the board to try to help your team no matter what. So, when you look at it through that lens, you’re basically not concerned about [helping another team].”

Seattle’s decisions to stay in its draft slot recently have paid dividends. The team held onto its Broncos-obtained No. 9 pick in 2022, selecting Charles Cross. Denver’s other pick sent in the Russell Wilson trade — No. 5 overall in 2023 — gave Seattle Devon Witherspoon. The Seahawks’ own 2023 selection became Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and they did not move down to select either Byron Murphy or Grey Zabel over the past two years.

The Seahawks’ No. 32 pick could conceivably be a gateway for the Cardinals to climb up for Ty Simpson and pick up a fifth-year option on the polarizing QB prospect, though it is certainly possible Arizona would need to move higher than 32 for the Alabama passer. Other teams could be calling by then, perhaps if one of the tackles falls to the end of Round 1, but this is not viewed as a particularly strong draft. That could lead Seattle to stay at No. 32 and perhaps trade down in Rounds 2 or 3 to add to its four-pick total.