Seahawks Fan Survey: Pre-Draft
It's your chance to speak your mind on Jalen Carter, Anthony Richardson, and trade scenarios: Seaside Joe 1505
Seattle Seahawks fans only have to wait 12 more days to find out what Pete Carroll and John Schneider do with their two first rounds picks, fifth and 20th overall. And 13 days until using their three day two picks, officially finalizing the Russell Wilson tradeā¦unless they trade for future picks.
Which they very well could.
Today is the 1,505th day in a row of the Seaside Joe newsletter for Seahawks fans, letās jump right into it this time. I have five poll questions for you about five key topics on the 2023 NFL Draft and Iāll post five results when the surveys close in three days. Donāt be afraid to give your thoughts because as I always say with polls: There is no wrong answer! I even added āI donāt knowā options for some questions to keep you enticed, plus relevant Seaside Joe articles for the topics at hand.
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Jalen Carter
Before the combine, Seahawks fans were not even allowed to dream of Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter because he was expected to be off the board before Seattleās choice at #5. Since then, Carter is rarely projected to go in the first four picks because of reported character concerns and off-field issues. The Seahawks have met with Carter and 99% of people would be stunned if that was because Seattle expects him to be available at #20.
None of us know exactly what Jalen Carter is like in person or as a teammate or as an employee, but know you have your right to feel however you want to feel about the possibility that he could become a member of the Seahawks in two weeks. This question is not about if you think Seattle will pick Carter, itās about how youād feelāyouāif the Seahawks do pick Jalen Carter. Too risky?
Anthony Richardson
If Carter is an excellent player who could have a short career because of character concerns, then Richardson is a bad player who could have a stellar career because of elite athleticism and arm strength. Or Carter could be a bad character who has a Hall of Fame career because of coaching and management, and Richardson is a phenomenal athlete who never starts an NFL game because heās the dream of defensive coordinators and not offensive coordinators.
These are the risks of the NFL Draft!
Richardson started 13 games in college and none of them were great start to finish. But heās got a chance to be too good of an athlete to fail and there is a timeline in which Anthony Richardson is the best player in the league. Seattle has a rare opportunity to get immediate help with a high floor and a high ceiling for a defensive prospect, would you be upset if they took a chance on a quarterback project instead?
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John and Pete
Now I know this is one you can answer.
I have a feeling that this draft will return the most surprises and shocks of any class in the 14-year history of the Pete Carroll and John Schneider regime. Not just because they have the most draft capital since 1977. It seems like they are throwing us some change-ups lately andā¦itās probably about time.
Center/Guard
Iāve long been the writer who has had to say āNo, I donāt expect that, sorryā when it comes to Pete investing in the interior of the offensive line. As I just said, that may change this year and the Seahawks had an interesting meeting with one of the top center prospects in the draft this week.
I have never mocked a center or guard to the Seahawks in the top-50. Could that change? Maybe. How would that make you feel, especially given the current state of the roster and opportunities to land someone at a different position with Seattleās second pick of the first round?
I know the Seahawks could trade down first, but letās pretend that they didnāt get any offers and had to make the pick at #20.
Trade Down
Finally, I am not ruling out that the Seahawks could trade down from #5 and it all depends on how the top-four of the draft falls, which I think will have at least one shocking surprise to fans.
Pete and John didnāt trade down in 2010 or 2022, the other two times that they held a top-10 pick. They did trade down in 2012, from 12 to 15. They didnāt trade down in 2010, when they had the Earl Thomas pick at 14.
But with this particular draft class and the opportunity to maybe change out some 2023 capital for 2024 capital, I could see it if thereās a team willing to go all-in on a quarterback prospect out of desperation. Linked above are five āmost-likelyā trade down partners, but I came up with a sixth one to really make it difficult for you to decide. I hope, at least.
The Saints signed Derek Carr, but New Orleans loves to be aggressive and maybe theyād be the team that thinks they can get the most out of Anthony Richardson with a three-year plan. I also wanted to pick a trade spot in the draft that would really make you question if you were okay with the Seahawks falling that far: What if New Orleans offered pick 29 (from the Broncos in the Sean Payton deal), pick 40 in the second round, their 2024 first round pick, and Alvin Kamara? Seattle would only have to pay Kamara $1 million this year, so heād easily fit under the cap.
The issues: Kamara could be facing a six-game suspension for involvement in a battery case (assaulting a man in Las Vegas, allegedly), heāll turn 28 in the summer, and he has a $10 million base salary in 2024, then an inflated $22.4 million salary in 2025 that he will never EVER get. The flip side is that the Seahawks could add an elite complementary back to Ken Walker III that joins the team in October. Kamara isnāt the same player he once was, but I could see him as equal to Christian McCaffrey, who was traded for second, third, and fourth round picks.
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I'm at neither cloud 9 nor vomit city with that trade proposal, but voted cloud city due to the 2024 1st. I'd rather a trade partner with a better 2023 first rounder in a perfect world, but there are still a lot of fantastic prospects at the end of round 1/early round 2.
Kamara and K9 in the same backfield would be pretty sweet, and I wouldn't have to worry about when we pick RB in the draft. I don't know much about his assault charge, and would hope we wouldn't bring in a knucklehead though.
I would love Carter at #5. I would love 'Spoon there just as much, and even be happy with Tyree. I really don't want to trade back with that pick, but if you're telling me we would have 4 picks from #20-40, and the Saints 1st rd next year, then I find it hard to turn down. That's 5 probable starting players in a trade for Carter. IMHO he is a difference maker, but you can game plan for a guy and he has risks. I really think adding 4 starters now would allow us to challenge SF for the divison because EVERY position of need would be addressed immediately. Then in 2024 we could draft a QBotF with the N.O. pick or package it with our other 2024 capital to move up to the top of the draft (possibly #1 overall) for a QBotF. It is almost a Godfather Deal.