History Hints Bevy of Top-75 Picks Will Bode Well For Seahawks in 2022 NFL Draft

Once viewed as two of the best personnel minds in the business, the shine has worn off a bit for John Schneider and Pete Carroll in recent years. But Seattle's brain trust has remained effective finding talent with top-75 picks, which should give fans faith they can capitalize on four such selections in the upcoming draft.

During their first three drafts together, Seahawks general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll built the foundation for a perennial contender, unearthing elite talent from the first to the seventh round. Cornerstones such as quarterback Russell Wilson, safety Earl Thomas, cornerback Richard Sherman, and linebacker Bobby Wagner helped usher in the most successful era of franchise history.

However, since 2013, Schneider and Carroll haven't found near as much success in the draft as they did earlier in their tenures. While they have still found game changing talent such as receivers Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, they have consistently missed on early round picks and haven't found as many day three gems in recent years. These struggles finally caught up with Seattle a year ago as the team plunged to last place in the NFC West with a 7-10 record.

In the aftermath of a disappointing campaign, the Seahawks made two franchise-altering moves by trading Wilson to the Broncos and releasing Wagner in a cost-cutting measure. With the departure of the two future Hall of Famers, no players remain on the roster from their most recent Super Bowl squad, signaling a full-throttle rebuild for the first time in more than a decade.

Exactly 11 years after they assembled their heralded 2012 draft class featuring Wilson, Wagner, and defensive end Bruce Irvin, Schneider and Carroll now face their stiffest test yet as they enter the most critical draft of their respective careers. Armed with four picks in the top 75 selections, including a top-10 selection acquired from Denver, they have the draft ammunition necessary to quickly reload Seattle's roster for the present and future.

While their recent drafts have sullied their reputations a bit, if there's a reason why fans should be optimistic about Schneider and Carroll being the right men to orchestrate rebuild efforts and make the most of that draft capital, they have historically done quite well when holding at least three picks inside the top 75 selections.

In their first season with the Seahawks, Schneider and Carroll inherited an advantageous situation with a pair of first-round selections in the 2010 NFL Draft. Making the situation even better was the fact both picks fell in the top-15, including the 14th overall pick which had been acquired from the Broncos one year earlier.

Bolstering Seattle's offensive line, they tabbed Oklahoma State tackle Russell Okung as their first draft choice at No. 6 overall. Moments later, they landed a ball-hawking safety in Texas star Earl Thomas with the 14th overall pick. Picking late in the second round at 60 overall, Schneider also snagged a playmaking receiver and return specialist in Notre Dame's Golden Tate.

Right away, Okung and Thomas became immediate starters for the Seahawks, with the latter picking off five passes as a rookie. While injuries prevented Okung from reaching his full potential, he still started 72 games and made a Pro Bowl in six seasons with the organization. A central component of the vaunted "Legion of Boom," Thomas emerged as one of the best safeties of his generation while earning five All-Pro selections and making six Pro Bowl squads.

As for Tate, despite a slow start to his career, he turned things around in Seattle catching passes from Wilson. Eventually turning his production into a lucrative contract with Detroit in free agency, he caught 109 passes and 12 touchdowns in his final two seasons with the organization and proved to be an integral part of their Super Bowl XLVIII run.

Two years later, Schneider and Carroll once again had three picks inside the top-75 and reeled in arguably the greatest draft class in NFL history. But at the time, the class was actually panned by the majority of draft experts, including Bleacher Report giving the Seahawks an F grade.

First, Seattle shocked everyone by drafting Irvin, who was viewed as a second-round talent by most analysts, at No. 15 overall. While he never managed to record double-digit sacks in a season, he made an immediate impact rushing off the edge with 8.0 sacks as a rookie and produced 22.0 sacks and three interceptions in four seasons with the team.

Dropping into the second round after missing the NFL combine due to an illness, Seattle took Wagner at 47th overall and he eclipsed 100 tackles as a rookie, promptly becoming a household name as one of the league's premier linebackers. In 10 seasons with the franchise, he earned All-Pro recognition eight times, made eight Pro Bowl teams, and amassed a franchise-record 1,383 tackles, 11 interceptions, and 23.5 sacks.

As if Wagner wasn't already a remarkable day two value selection, Wilson now stands out as one best draft picks in any round. Dinged by many draft pundits for his lack of height at 5-foot-11, he remained available when the Seahawks selected him 75th overall in the third round. After beating out veteran Matt Flynn to win the starting job in Week 1 as a rookie, he never looked back, resetting the franchise record books with 37,059 passing yards, 292 touchdown passes, and a 101.8 passer rating in 10 seasons.

More recently, Seattle has held three picks in the top 75 selections in two of the past three drafts. To varying degrees, they found difference-making talent with those picks, though neither class comes close to comparing to the first two instances.

Back in 2019, the Seahawks traded defensive end Frank Clark to the Chiefs to acquire an additional first-round pick. They traded down multiple times with their other first-round selection, ultimately using pick No. 29 on TCU defensive end L.J. Collier, a decision that hasn't fared well to this point. Collier has registered only 3.0 sacks in three seasons and missed seven games in 2021 as a healthy scratch.

On day two, Schneider used the 47th overall pick on Utah safety Marquise Blair, who has shown promise when healthy. Unfortunately, knee injuries have limited him to just 22 games in three seasons and he will enter the final year of his rookie deal with much left to prove.

Luckily for Schneider and Carroll, while their first two picks haven't worked out as hoped for different reasons, they were able to salvage the draft by trading back into the second round and selecting Metcalf at No. 64 overall. Becoming an instant starter, he broke Steve Largent's franchise mark with 1,303 receiving yards in 2020. Just 24 years old, he's one of only seven receivers in league history to record 215 receptions, 3,170 receiving yards, and 29 touchdowns in his first three seasons.

Last but not least, the Seahawks again had three top-75 picks in 2020 and threw a few curveballs at draft analysts. In the first round, they selected Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks at 27th overall. An ascending talent who looks ready to carry the torch passed by Wagner, he became a full-time starter in 2021 and registered a franchise-record 184 tackles while earning an All-Pro vote.

With two day two selections, Seattle added a pair of future starters in linebacker Darrell Taylor and guard Damien Lewis with the 48th and 69th pick respectively. While Taylor missed his entire rookie season recovering from leg surgery, he produced 6.5 sacks in 2021 and flashed star potential in spurts. Lewis battled injuries in his second season, but he earned PFWA All-Rookie team honors in 2020 and remains a key part of the team's long-term plans along the offensive line.

Though the jury remains out on the 2020 class two years into their NFL careers and the 2019 group has underwhelmed aside from Metcalf, Schneider and Carroll drafted 12 players in those four classes. With Wagner and Wilson being the headliners, those 12 players have amassed a combined 28 Pro Bowl selections, nine First-Team All-Pro selections, and six Second-Team All-Pro selections. Those numbers will only improve if Metcalf, Brooks, Taylor, and/or Lewis add to their resumes as Seattle hopes they will in coming seasons.

Keeping that track record in mind, while there are plenty of reasons to criticize Schneider and Carroll for inconsistent drafting playing a role in the team's decline, they deserve the benefit of the doubt holding four high picks in a deep 2022 draft class. While it would be too much to ask them to replicate the star-studded 2012 class, if they can find multiple immediate impact starters as they did in 2010 and 2020, that would go a long ways towards getting the Seahawks back into contention quickly.