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ESPN’s Field Yates Says Seattle Is the Most Likely Team to Trade Down. He’s Probably Right.
ESPN’s Field Yates identified the Seahawks as the team most likely to trade out of the first round, and his logic isn’t complicated. Seattle holds four picks total, the fewest in the league. They lost starters at running back, edge rusher, and cornerback in free agency. Staying at 32 and selecting one player doesn’t solve three problems.
4
Total draft picks for the Seahawks — the fewest in the NFL entering April.
The math practically demands it. The Seahawks’ four picks sit at 32, 64, 96, and 188. That’s one selection in each of the first three rounds and a compensatory sixth from Cleveland. The missing fourth and fifth-rounders went to New Orleans in the Rashid Shaheed trade. Every miss hurts more when the margin is this thin.
Schneider has been here before. The only other time he held pick 32 was in 2014, when he shipped it to the Vikings for a second and fourth-round pick. Minnesota took Teddy Bridgewater. Schneider turned the extra selections into more bodies. Stacy Rost at Seattle Sports dug up the numbers: outside of the COVID-warped 2021 draft, Schneider has never drafted fewer than eight players in a single year.
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Every miss hurts more when the margin is this thin.
If he trades back, the running back class gets interesting fast. Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price keeps showing up as a Seattle fit in the second round. Daniel Jeremiah is separately pushing a trade-up for top RB prospect Jeremiyah Love. The edge rusher class is deep enough that names like Malachi Lawrence and Gabe Jacas could still be available on Day 2. The board is flexible, but only if you have enough darts to throw.
Nineteen days. Four picks. History says there will be more.
SOURCES →
Edge Rusher
Daniel Jeremiah Has a ‘Home Run Pick’ for Seattle’s Pass Rush. His Name Is R Mason Thomas.
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Thomas totaled 15.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles over the past two seasons at Oklahoma, earning first-team All-SEC honors in 2025. He’s 6-foot-2 and 241 pounds, undersized for his position, but Jeremiah said the explosiveness and relentless motor more than compensate. Jeremiah ranks him as the 49th overall prospect, putting him squarely in range for Seattle at 32 or 64.
15.5
Career sacks for R Mason Thomas over the last two seasons at Oklahoma.
The fit makes sense because Thomas wouldn’t need to carry the load. Jeremiah sees him as a rotational terror: “When he’s your No. 3 rusher and he’s part of that rotation, when you’re keeping him fresh and he’s just throwing fastballs the whole time.” With Lawrence, Nwosu, and Hall ahead of him, Seattle can let Thomas cook without burning him out. That’s the Macdonald model. Waves of rushers. No one player carrying the weight.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
The Seahawks’ offseason program starts April 20. OTAs run May 26 through June 4, mandatory minicamp June 9–11. Last year the team had near-perfect voluntary attendance. Macdonald’s buy-in wasn’t a one-year thing. It’s the culture now. Seahawks.com
Jeremiah also told Brock and Salk that none of Seattle’s four free agent departures should be concerning. “Not to be callous, but I think they all are replaceable.” The man said it, not me. Seattle Sports
One more Jeremiah nugget: he also suggested the Seahawks should consider trading up for Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love. Schneider simultaneously being told to trade up and trade down is the most Seahawks draft discourse possible. Seattle Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams’ extension talks with Puka Nacua just got another complication. GM Les Snead was asked directly about signing Nacua to a big deal in the wake of JSN’s record contract. His response: “Right now, we’re just focused on the human being and then we’ll get to that step.” That is not the language of a man about to cut a check. The civil lawsuit hearing is April 14. The Rams’ “big-time priority” extension keeps finding new reasons to wait.
NINERS
Brandon Aiyuk still hasn’t been released. Kyle Shanahan still hasn’t done anything about it. The 49ers’ logic, per Niners Nation: they’d rather force a team to trade a draft pick for Aiyuk than hand him over for free. The problem? Nobody wants to trade for a receiver who stopped showing up to rehab and hasn’t played since 2024. San Francisco’s front office is holding a yard sale where every item is priced at twice what it’s worth, and they’re wondering why nobody is stopping.
CARDINALS
The Cardinals open 2026 against the Panthers with a Larry Fitzgerald Hall of Fame tribute. That’s the high point of their season, and it’s happening in Week 1. Marvin Harrison Jr. caught 41 passes for 608 yards in 12 games last year. He enters Year 3 under his third coaching staff, making roughly $4 million, and the Browns have already called about his availability. Arizona insists they’re keeping him. Arizona also insisted Kyler Murray was the future.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Russell Wilson threw a franchise-record 40 passing touchdowns in a single season during his time with the Seattle Seahawks. That 2020 season also saw Wilson set the NFL record for most passing touchdowns through the first three games of a season, breaking Patrick Mahomes’ previous mark. How many touchdown passes did Wilson throw in those first three games to set the record?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
14. Wilson threw 14 touchdown passes through the first three games of the 2020 season, including back-to-back five-touchdown games against the Patriots and Cowboys, breaking Patrick Mahomes’ record of 13 set in 2018.
Got a Draft Take? Drop It Here.
Think Schneider trades down? Trades up? Somehow ends up with 14 picks through dark sorcery? Tell us your wildest draft scenario and the best ones hit Monday’s mailbag. We’ll only judge you a little.
Nineteen days to Pittsburgh. Schneider's whiteboard has more crossed-out names than a spy novel. The draft math doesn't add up on purpose. Go Hawks. — The Rooster