The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2019 NFL draft with just five picks on the books – including the additional first rounder they acquired from Kansas City after trading defensive end Frank Clark to the Chiefs.
But general manager John Schneider wasn’t about to risk drafting with a league-low number of selections.
After first moving back from their original pick at No. 21 overall in a trade with the Packers, Seattle stayed put at No. 29 (via the Chiefs) and selected defensive end L.J. Collier out of TCU.
With the very next pick in play – No. 30, acquired from Green Bay – Schneider executed a second draft-day trade, dealing that selection to the Giants for their second-round pick, No. 37 overall, and an additional fourth and fifth rounder.
Recouping the second-round pick was critical for Seattle.
“Oh I think it was very important, especially with the way our board looked,” Schneider explained Thursday night. “There’s a ton of work that goes into it. Want to be able to give us the flexibility to be able to do what we wanted throughout the whole draft, not just the first round. You got to remember, the first round is like everybody knows all the players and we talk about it for months. It’s entertainment. And that’s cool. It’s what we do, but that’s not necessarily the meat of the draft.”
After the first round, the Seahawks gained four additional picks, for a total of eight selections, over the last two days of the NFL draft . . . and Schneider is likely not finished wheeling and dealing just yet.
