SEATTLE — If the Seattle Seahawks were really interested in taking a quarterback early in the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27, 8 p.m. ET on the ESPN, ABC, ESPN app), they’ve acted unorthodox. Instead of lying around and using the natural cover of an already strong quarterback plus larger needs on defense to keep teams off their scent, General Manager John Schneider and Coach Pete Carroll did just the opposite.
Two of the team’s top decision makers said they may still take the quarterback after re-signing Gino Smith and backup Drew Lock. They were front and center in four prospects’ pro days — and even took selfies with Alabama Bryce YoungOhio CJ StroudKentucky Will Levis and Florida Anthony Richardson — posted them all to the team’s Twitter page for the NFL to see.
The idea that the Seahawks could take a quarterback early is based not on need but on their uncommon attitude. The No. 5 pick they own from the Denver Broncos via Russell Wilson’s trademark is the highest they’ve drafted since 2009, a year before Carroll and Schneider arrived.
Young and restless pic.twitter.com/mBJo8ZDPtR
– Seattle Seahawks March 23, 2023
So they may have a chance in the kind of quarterback who is usually long gone by the time they pick him, though there are three other teams in need of a QB sitting in front of them, and speculation continues that the Arizona Cardinals could come back from third place. .
The Seahawks also have their first rounder, No. 20 overall, and an extra second rounder from the Broncos.
In our exit interviews with Geno and Drew, we said to these two guys, ‘Hey, look, we haven’t picked up here in a long time. There’s a chance—we can’t say whether or not we’ll. We’d love to have you guys back but we don’t know if we’ll get back. Midfielder or not.” We don’t know yet. So these guys have been in the loop in terms of everything we’re doing with all these quarterback studies this year.”
It was widely expected that Stroud and Young would go first and second overall. So barring the unexpected drop of one of those two, the Seahawks’ quarterback options in the fifth will be down to Richardson and Levis, depending on what the Indianapolis Colts do in the fourth and whether the Cardinals stay in the third.
Richardson and the Seahawks have been a popular pair in mock drafts ever since he lit the scouting lineup in February. ESPN’s Mel Kipper Jr. had Seattle take Richardson to back-to-back downs before his most recent pitch, which had Richardson take third via a trade, the Levis take fourth and Seattle take a defensive role. Galen Carter at No. 5 before trading up the Tennessee quarterback draft Hendon Hooker Late in the first round.
Any team that selects Richardson at this high level will do so based on his tremendous progress, rather than his college resume. The keeper’s fourth quarterback, Richardson struggled with precision during his only full season as a starter. But he’s got metrics and physicals that are off the charts, including a blazing time of 4.43 in the 40-yard dash and a vertical jump of 40.5 inches — at 6-foot-4, 244 pounds.
His pro day was less intense, with Richardson beaming with smiles and working at a moderate pace before finishing the workout with a backflip. But Schneider called the show “really impressive”.
“A really cool athlete,” Schneider told 710-AM, shortly after they posed for a group selfie. “Wonderful young man. It’s just that – he’s 21 May 22. He’s got a lot of physical talent, there’s no doubt about that. There are definitely questions there, as there are with all of these people. It’s like 6-6 for a start. New staff here last year with the coach [Billy] Napier. But, yeah, a really impressive workout. He has fun. was loose. He had a great time with his teammates.”
Levis, Kiper’s second-ranked QB, has a rocket arm and pro offense experience, but an inconsistent bar and underwhelming collegiate production.
Hooker, a QB5 keeper, would rank higher if he didn’t come out of a torn ACL. ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum, former general manager of the New York Jets, still believes enough that Hooker writes in his last mock draft that he’d take him as the fifth overall if he were the Seahawks. Part of Tannenbaum’s logic is that Hooker could continue to rehab in 2023 on a team he doesn’t need to start right away.
Similar thinking has been applied to the Seahawks and Richardson, given that his game may need at least a full season of improvement in order for him to be ready to play. Smith’s contract has also added to the belief that the Seahawks can draft a quarterback early because it’s structured in such a way that Seattle could move on after 2023 with manageable maximum penalties if they fall back from last year’s breakout season.
Smith will be receptive to a quarterback draft pick, according to Carroll.
“I talked to GNU way back,” he said at the league’s annual meeting. “He knows what’s going on. I thought that was an obvious expression of respect, understanding how he would be viewed and how other people in the past would view him and all that. So I told him what we were doing and what the idea was and what could happen, and as Geno did in everything, he was Totally involved. He understands. And if we get a guy, he’ll take care of him and take care of him. He gets it. So we’ll see what happens.”
The Seahawks brought Lock back in a one-year, $4 million deal that had $1.75 million guaranteed. One of the reasons they think they won’t eliminate an early pick on a quarterback is because at Lock, they already have a young option with plenty of developmental upside. They targeted Lock in the Wilson trade, as much of the organization expected him to be their starter last year, and they still believe he has that kind of ability.
Interestingly, Lock’s contract includes $510,000 in per-game bonuses, which may indicate that the Seahawks were trying to secure some financial protection in the event he beats the No. 2 job.
In 13 drafts under Carroll and Schneider, the Seahawks have only taken a quarterback other than Wilson: Alex McGough in the seventh round in 2018. Still, they were so infatuated with Patrick Mahomes that they were willing to take him if he fell to them in 2017. They felt Reciprocated towards Josh Allen in 2018 and called the Cleveland Browns to gauge their interest in trading the top overall pick for Wilson, who was still in his prime.
This history lends credence to the idea that they could pounce on a quarterback early if someone they love signed them, although there are several reasons why this isn’t understood – especially in the fifth.
With the overhaul of the front seven far from complete, and defenders like Carter passing, Terry Wilson Or Will Anderson Jr. in that spot would mean giving up their best chances to add the kind of difference-maker up front they still desperately need. For a team low on cap space and cash, it would also be an inefficient use of precious financial resources to allocate first-round money to a quarterback who will be locked into a backup role as a starter, if not a senior. And if someone trades for a quarterback on third down, four of them could be gone by the time the Seahawks are on the clock.
There are apparently too many factors that will work against taking a quarterback this high – more than you can shake.