The Seattle Seahawks are being up front about their desire to trade back and add more to their list of picks in the NFL Draft this week.
“It’s no secret with us,” Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider said at a press conference Monday. “We have four picks, so we’ll be looking to move back.”
More: Seahawks open to trading first-round pick for bigger draft class
Normally, owning the last pick in the first round – which the Seahawks do as the reigning Super Bowl champions – isn’t seen as an advantage in the draft. But as Seahawks legend and former ESPN analyst Matt Hasselbeck pointed out Monday to Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, there is a very possible scenario that could make Seattle’s first-round pick quite a bit more valuable that it would seem on the surface.
“It is interesting having that 32nd pick because let’s just say Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback, doesn’t go and then he’s still available at pick 32,” Hasselbeck said. “I think that’s an opportunity for a team to want to trade up to the Seahawks so they can get a fifth-year option on a guy like Ty Simpson.”
As Hasselbeck was mentioning, a perk for teams picking players in the first round is they get the option to keep the players under contract for a fifth year – something that is not applied to picks in the remaining six rounds of the draft. Hasselbeck had a example of a case just like this, too, which was the Baltimore Ravens making a deal in 2018 with the Philadelphia Eagles, sending a pair of second-round picks and a fourth-rounder to Philly for the No. 32 pick and a fourth-rounder. With that No. 32 pick, the Ravens selected their franchise quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
Any team interested in Simpson being their QB of the future would be smart to get him in the first round.
“Usually you want that fifth-year option on a quarterback,” Hasselbeck said. “Takes longer to develop, (and Simpson has) only got 15 starts in his college career. Certainly that would make a ton of sense.”
As for how important it is for the Seahawks to get themselves more picks in the 2026 draft, Hasselbeck thinks that could be a bit overstated.
“I don’t think you need more picks because there’s not a lot of starting opportunities available on this team,” he said. “There are some, but not too many.”
You can hear the full Wyman and Bob conversation with former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in the podcast at this link or in the player below. Catch Wyman and Bob from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.
More Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft coverage
• A player Seahawks could trade for another draft pick
• Brock: How Seahawks can use NFL Draft to make O-line elite
• The Day 2 running back option for Seahawks in draft
• A full Seahawks mock draft – with a trade and six picks
• Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft Preview: Needs, storylines and more
