Gravity of Seahawks' Situation, Not Draft History, Could Steer Team Clear of Early-Round Cornerbacks
The last time the Seahawks took a cornerback in the first round of the NFL Draft, they were fresh off their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history—all the way back in 2006. With the No. 31 pick in that year's draft, they selected Kelly Jennings out of the University of Miami, who etched out a decent five-year career in the Pacific Northwest.
One year later, Seattle spent its second-round pick—slotted at No. 55—on Maryland cornerback Josh Wilson. To this day, some 15 years later, Wilson remains the last cornerback taken by the Seahawks within the draft's first two rounds.
Since then, they have played 241 regular-season games, 20 postseason games, won a Super Bowl, lost a Super Bowl and so on and so forth.
Needless to say, it's been a long time.
Under the regime helmed by current head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider, which took over in 2010, the Seahawks have taken a cornerback within the draft's first 100 picks just once: UCF's Shaquill Griffin in 2017. With the likes of Earl Thomas and Marquise Blair, they have used second and even first-round picks on the safety position, but never corner. In fact, they've hardly drafted the position in general.
To further illustrate this, here's a full round-by-round breakdown of cornerbacks selected by Seattle in the Carroll-Schneider era:
- Third round: Shaquill Griffin (2017)
- Fourth round: Walter Thurmond III (2011), Ugo Amadi (2019), Tre Brown (2021)
- Fifth round: Richard Sherman (2011), Tharold Simon (2013), Tye Smith (2015), Tre Flowers (2018)
- Sixth round: Byron Maxwell (2011), Jeremy Lane (2012), Eric Pinkins (2014), Michael Tyson (2018)
That's it. That's the list.
By this count, with Schneider and Carroll heading into their 13th draft together later this month, the Seahawks are averaging exactly one cornerback taken per draft with an average round of selection of 4.9. Shave off safety-to-cornerback converts Amadi, Tyson, Pinkins, and Flowers and Seattle has selected a traditional corner just eight times in its last 12 drafts.
Evidently, the Seahawks have been reluctant to use high-end resources on the position and clearly prefer to build out their ranks on a budget. This may tell us where their head is at right now.
In possession of its first top-10 pick in over a decade, Seattle may very well have its choice of this year's two best cornerback prospects: Cincinnati's Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and LSU's Derek Stingley Jr. But while its interest in the top of the cornerback class appears real, many are hesitant to buy in simply because of the team's aforementioned history drafting the position.
At the end of the day, though, each offseason presents new challenges and roadmaps, thus changing a team's draft strategy on a year-to-year basis. This isn't—or at least shouldn't be—a philosophical matter, but instead one of opportunity and circumstance.
If the trend indeed winds up being broken in a little under two weeks, odds are it will likely be for Gardner, who's confirmed to be one of the Seahawks' top-30 pre-draft visits. It's not hard to see why Schneider and Carroll may fall in love with the Cincinnati product; he's 6-foot-2 with arms of 33-plus inches and is one of the most accomplished cornerbacks in college football history, never surrendering a touchdown in over 1,100 snaps played.
If he falls—and that's a big if—to Seattle's pick at No. 9, it would be, at the very least, mildly surprising if the organization went in a different direction. After all, we're talking about a potential blue-chip prospect at a position that's quickly become of great need for Seattle following the free agent departure of 2021 starter D.J. Reed.
But the team's other glaring needs at quarterback, offensive tackle, and defensive end could get in the way of that coming to fruition. Considering the rareness of Seattle's draft position, this is one of the most difficult and important decisions Schneider and company have had to make and a misstep could set the organization back significantly.
While the Seahawks' history with cornerbacks may not have any bearing on their overall strategy, it may indicate their preference if a situation in which—for the sake of example—Gardner, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis and Mississippi State tackle Charles Cross are all available at No. 9 occurs. Would they actually forego the opportunity to secure a potential franchise-altering talent for a seemingly one-of-a-kind player who fits their mold to a tee, even if the latter may be more of a sure thing?
History says cornerback will fall down the pecking order. But generally speaking, if this trend continues, it won't be due to some preordained unwillingness to avoid the position like the plague. It will strictly be determined based on the circumstances of 2022 alone, either because the right player didn't fall or it didn't fit the gravity of Seattle's decision.
