The Seahawks arrived at the NFL combine this week holding just four picks in April's draft, fewer than any other team.
What are the odds that four picks is all the team makes when the draft actually rolls around?
"I hope it's slim," Seahawks general manager John Schneider said with a smile during his session with the media Wednesday.
Schneider has proved adept at working the phones to get extra picks throughout his tenure with the Seahawks _ the team hasn't used its original first-round pick since 2011 and in all but two of those years traded it to get extra selections in later rounds (the other two years it went in trades for Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham).
"We don't necessarily have to go (trade) down all the time, but it's kind of fun," Schneider said.
And it's likely to be the course of action again in 2019 for Seattle, which has the 21st pick in the first round.
But if, say, Seattle becomes enamored of someone who is suddenly there at 21 (as it's thought they were with safety Derwin James last year, who the Seahawks may well have taken at 18 had he been there instead of trading down) then the Seahawks will have to be more precise than ever in their evaluations to assure they make the most of the four picks they have.
Seattle learned last season that for all the tape watching, interviewing and medical evaluating of prospects undertaken in the months before the draft it's simply impossible to account for everything that could impact what they'll get out of their picks.
Two of Seattle's most notable picks of 2018 _ first-rounder Rashaad Penny and fifth-rounder Shaquem Griffin _ each had rockier-than-hoped-for rookie seasons that Schneider on Wednesday said were affected by things basically outside of anyone's control.
For Penny, it was handling suffering the first significant injuries of his career _ a fractured finger that held him out the final three games of the preseason and then a knee injury that caused him to miss two games in December, which limited him to 419 yards on 85 carries.
For Griffin, it was dealing with the attention that came with his breakout performance at the Combine (a 4.38 40 that was the fastest ever for a linebacker) followed by the heart-tugging story of being drafted by Seattle to be reunited with his twin brother Shaquill as well as overcoming the long odds of making it to the NFL despite having just one hand.
Schneider recalled Wednesday that Penny _ who was something of a surprise pick at No. 27 overall as just the second tailback selected _ had gotten one of the best medical evaluations of any player the team had ever drafted after playing in a whopping 41 games his final three seasons at San Diego State.
"I mean, he had one of the better medical grades that our docs have ever given anybody," said Schneider, who said on the day Penny was drafted that his durability was a key factor Seattle selected him, noting how injuries had led to a revolving door at tailback from 2015-17.
So when Penny hurt his finger, Schneider said Penny struggled initially with how to deal with it.
"This is the first time he had ever been hurt," Schneider said. "He was like, 'What?' He didn't know how to handle it, really, you know. He's got a ton of pride. So he's like, 'Hey, I don't want to be disappointing anybody,' right? So it's just about him getting through that, having that confidence in himself that, 'I can play through this injury' or 'I'm going to get better. I'm going to get better in two weeks and then be ready to go.' "
Understanding the rigors of an NFL season, Schneider says, should better prepare Penny for Year 2.
"So moving into next year I think he's got a much better feel for knowing his body and communicating that to people like 'OK, this is how I'm feeling, should I go for it, should I fall off?' " Schneider said. "He's a real respectful nice kid. He's still just trying to figure that out."
As for Griffin, Schneider says there was also just no way for him to prepare for the onslaught of attention that greeted his entree to the NFL, most of which he shared with Shaquill.
"I think just naturally those guys had so much pressure on them (from) outside (from) all the everything that was going on," Schneider said.
At the same time, each was also dealing with a new on-field role _ Shaquill Griffin moving to left cornerback to take over the spot manned by Richard Sherman from 2011-17 and Shaquem not only jumping from college to the NFL but also going from playing primarily on the edge at Central Florida to playing weakside linebacker, one of Seattle's two inside linebacker spots.
Shaquem started the season-opener against Denver in place of injured veteran K.J. Wright. But when he looked a little overwhelmed he was replaced by Austin Calitro, and then later Mychal Kendricks before Wright eventually returned. Griffin ultimately played just 50 defensive snaps, only nine after the opener. Shaquill Griffin started all season but was ranked just 111th out of 112 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus and allowed an opponent passer rating of 100.5 compared to 75.2 as a rookie in 2017.
For each, the 2019 season looms large _ for Shaquill to show he can handle playing the more significant of the two corner spots in Seattle's offense as he heads into a 2020 season that would be the last on his rookie contract, and for Shaquem to show he can jump into the competition at WLB, especially if Wright leaves via free agency.
"I look for better things for him (Shaquem) next year where his offseason he is not going from focusing on getting ready for the Combine and then you get to the draft and all the exposure that the two of the had the draft and commercials and book deals and movie deals and all these things," Schneider said. "I think they are both ready to just be able to have a whole offseason focused on football."
