5 'Untouchables' Seahawks Shouldn't Include in Trade for Jamal Adams

With reports signaling Jamal Adams has interest in being traded to the Seahawks, most of the players on Seattle's roster could be fair game to make a deal. But these five "untouchables" shouldn't be part of any discussions.

Every person who follows the NFL is thinking about Jets superstar Jamal Adams and how their favorite team can snag him after the safety publicly demanded a trade on Thursday. Much to the delight of Seahawks fans everywhere, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the franchise was one of Adams' seven preferred destinations.

This naturally begs the question: what would the Seahawks need to give up to acquire such a talented player? Trading for arguably the best safety in the entire league won't be cheap, especially with Adams coming off a First-Team All-Pro selection and still under 25 years old. A unique talent who is just as skilled in pass coverage as he is at stopping the run, the former LSU standout even contributes as a pass rusher, as he collected 6.5 sacks in 2019 as well as 13 quarterback hits.

The starting price tag would be justifiably high and that is without factoring that any team who does trade for Adams will likely have to reset the safety market in an attempt to lock him up long-term. The current "top of market" contract for safeties belongs to Landon Collins, who secured a 6-year, $84 million contract with Washington before the 2019 season.

Eddie Jackson currently holds the record for AAV (average annual value) at the position, pulling in $14.6 million. So Adams is likely looking for at least $15 million AAV for at least 4 seasons. Such contract demands will factor into the price of Adams, but he does have two full seasons left on his current deal before he hits the open market. The Jets recently picked up his fifth-year option worth $9.86 million.

Regardless, the Jets will certainly look to cash in on Adams, so a first-round pick and a mid-round pick is probably considered a starting point to facilitate a deal. But in order to lessen the draft capital required to make such a move, teams could instead offer players. The Seahawks aren't afraid to add players to blockbuster deals, as the trade for Jadeveon Clowney last August featured two players and a third-round pick going to the Texans in exchange.

But how many players should Seattle make "untouchable" in these trade talks? The number certainly isn't in the double digits, but it's also not zero. So who is likely on the "untouchable" list?

Russell Wilson

Do I really need to explain why that's not going to happen? This is obvious and not even worth debating further. Let's move right along.

Bobby Wagner

With all Seattle has invested in the linebacker position, this would make more sense than trading Wilson, but Wagner is the heart and soul of the Seahawks defense and still a highly productive All-Pro caliber linebacker. Getting better in the secondary while taking a significant cut in the front seven doesn't make any sense for Seattle and New York already has C.J. Mosley at middle linebacker anyway. It wouldn't be a trade match.

Tyler Lockett

Lockett could have made more sense in a hypothetical scenario to land Adams if Seattle had invested heavily in the wide receiver position this offseason. But the 27-year old has evolved into an elite weapon and Wilson's most trusted target on the outside. He is also a tremendous bargain on his current contract, earning less than $11 million per year. Trading him now wouldn't make any sense, though he would be an attractive asset for New York.

DK Metcalf

Metcalf is a young star who has three full seasons of club control left on his rookie contract and as a late second round selection, he's going to remain a bargain for the rest of the deal. The Seahawks aren't going to trade a player who has the ceiling to become the best receiver in franchise history, especially after he produced massive numbers as a rookie and broke records in the playoffs.

Duane Brown

Brown stands out on this list. Seattle didn't select a left tackle of the future this offseason. However, if they had, making this move could have been more logical. The Jets are likely looking to compete in a suddenly up for grabs AFC East and adding a solid, veteran left tackle to protect Sam Darnold could have some appeal.

But Brown's age (34) would likely cross him off the list for the Jets anyways and given the amount of turnover on the rest of Seattle's offensive line, he remains critical for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Aside from those five names, any other Seahawk should be considered available. While the aforementioned names are arguably the five best trade chips on the current roster, the team has some other potentially intriguing trade candidates the Jets could have interest in, including Marquise Blair, Quandre Diggs, Bradley McDougald, Rashaad Penny, L.J. Collier, Rasheem Green, and Shaquill Griffen.

Any way you slice it, Adams will be expensive to trade for. However, the two-time Pro Bowler could turn Seattle's defense from questionable to formidable and Pete Carroll is towards the end of his coaching career. The Seahawks believe they can win a Super Bowl this season and if they believe they are a contender, they owe it to themselves, their players, and their fans to pursue a player like Adams. These types of superstars don't hit the market often, but when they do, Seattle hasn't been afraid to pounce and should pursue him.